I spend a great deal of space on this blog showing you lovely things to buy and speaking admiringly about brands.

I do not, however, spend the same amount of time telling you what I thought when I actually bought an item.

I actually do not buy most of what I show on the blog – much as I’d love to do so, my child’s education fund glares back at me from every online shopping cart. Additionally, my rapport with vendors/brands/companies is not at the level (yet!) where I receive many items for review/wear to showcase on my blog. Without that lovely gratis it is just too expensive to test everything I show you.

But who are we kidding – I do buy a few things and you deserve to know what I think! Enter my newest (soon to be) recurring post “After the Purchase”. This will be my raw opinion.

Of course because I’m me and nothing is simple in KDG world, I will be discussing an item that I purchased in order to highlight it in a “What I Wore” post. So, you actually have not seen it yet. This is a bit of “I was going to recommend this to you but now I’m not sure…” situation. Read on and make your own assessment —

Modern Zip Backpack – Large in Black & Black Leather – Everlane $68

I think Everlane is one of the best clothing brands out there. I have been aware of them since they first started ramping up. I’ve gifted their weekend duffle to a friend and purchased several tee shirts.

My purchase of the Modern Zip Backpack came at the intersection of the resurgence of the backpack as an acceptable tote and my foray in to public transportation for my daily commute.

When I saw Everlane’s backpack I figured I could find style and rigor in harmony.

Hm.

Upon receipt of my purchase and a little over a week’s use I am not 100% happy with the product.

The material is pretty much the same as that of the JanSport that you had in middle school but a bit stiffer. The material picks up every willow whisp of dust, clothing brush off, etc. My lovely black backpack has little cloth pills dusted over it. Not attractive.

The shape is sleek and efficient. So much so that I was afraid I was not going to fit everything I needed in there. Lo and behold I could! It holds my federal government clunky laptop (in its own special built in sleeve), my 18-month day planner, my  3-subject notebook that holds all the notes and lists necessary to my life at work, my work badge and work cell phone, my Stella & Dot pouf with all my on-the-go essentials, my wallet, sunglasses, my personal cell phone and my keys. So okay then – good stuff!

Now the almost death knell – the zippers. The zippers that would apparently rather do anything but unzip. Not that zipping up is a breeze either. I literally have to wrestle with the zippers for over a minute to get them to go in either direction. This applies to both the zipper on the main compartment and the zipper on the smaller outside compartment.  Not being a seamstress I cannot assess whether it is the way the zippers have been installed or if it is the quality of the zippers themselves. Either way, this integral function to using the backpack is abysmal.

The backpack material, while annoyingly magnetic to any flying speck of dust, is not as heavy weight-wise as it appears. I do not find that the backpack adds any significant weight above that of its contents.

The pockets on either side of the backpack are blessedly deep. You can slide in a sunglass case or metro card without fear that it will fall out. The pockets would be better if they had some elastic give to the material of the pocket to accommodate something with the full diameter of a circle. The side pockets do not seem to be built for water bottles. And frankly, isn’t that a major part of their existence?

So kind of a mixed bag. The zipper thing is REALLY annoying and I am not pleased. I am hoping that the zippers will relax with time and use. I’ll let you know.

I will say that I am not changing my opinion of Everlane on this one product. That would not be fair. As to whether you should purchase this product – I’m not sure it is the best representation of what they do so well.