Steal the Style: Speckled Clutch Bag

I was casually browsing through ASOS (as you do before payday...) and came across these two clutch bags that looked almost identical but had completely different price tags! I felt like I had tell you that you can get some things so similar to designer for a fraction of the price. There are of course going to be some positives and negatives to both so that's why I thought I'd compare them for you.

I would like to keep doing posts like this if I spot anymore product matches, so please let me know if you'd like to see more of these! 

Lulu Guinness Hug & Hold Clutch in All Over Speckle Print £225

I do have a rather sweet spot for Lulu Guinness, everything's just so cute and quirky without being garish. Until I had looked closely at this bag did I realise that the black speckles were actually little lip shapes which is a lovely touch. 

The bag is made from 100% leather and the lining is 100% cotton so the material quality is pretty high, however for the price I would've expected a silk or something more luxurious to be used for the lining. It has a textured matte finish which I think works with the design really well, the leather material probably helps make this texture.

I love the little lip shape cut out in the corner where the chain goes through, again it's a very Lulu Guinness touch. The chain is only long enough to go around your wrist so you can't convert it into a shoulder bag unless you attach your own longer chain to it, which is doable but I guess it is meant to be a clutch not a shoulder bag. 

The size is quite large at W36cm H16cm so you can get plenty in there if you need to, even your iPad or tablet could fit inside along with your essentials which makes it perfect for on the go! 

Monki Annie Bag £15

I do reckon that Monki have spotted the Lulu Guinness bag and have made their own version, but I could be wrong. It's just so similar I would be surprised if they hadn't.
The speckles are just speckles, not a specific shape but that's probably down to them not having an iconic shape like Lulu does but it still looks just as effective from a distance.
It's 65% cotton and 35% polyester so it's not totally synthetic but it's not quite the same as leather. If you're against bags being made from animal skin then this would be perfect for you if you still want the style. They have managed to give it a matte texture to it as well which makes it look more pricey.
I like the fact that you can remove the chain if you want it to be just a clutch, unfortunetly you don't get that option with the Lulu Guinness bag.
This bag is slightly smaller at W23cm H16cm so you wouldn't be able to fit your favourite magazine in their but there's two separate compartments so one could become your beauty section and the other your money and others bits.

Overall they are visually so incredibly similar its up to you which one you want to get, there is a huge price gap so it depends on what your budget is. If you have the money and want a bit more character then go ahead with the Lulu Guinness but if you just want something stylish for less then go for the Monki bag, from a distance people may even think its the Lulu one!

You can purchase both these bags from ASOS and there's currently a discount code so don't forget to type in ASOSGLAMOUR for 20% off at the checkout.

I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if you want to see more like this. 

Print Vs. Digital

So many of you probably heard the news about Company magazine no longer creating print magazines and instead going fully digital from October this year. This is one of the first major magazines to do this change and I don't think it'll be long until others join on the band wagon.

Earlier this year at university we actually had a discussion about digital taking over print and I think it's a big and very current debate, so I wanted to create this post so us fellow bloggers can express our opinions on the matter.

I personally prefer print and beg for it not to disappear, every month I purchase at least one magazine, sometimes I even end up with about 5! I like having something in the palm of my hands that I can flick through, cut out and scribble on, it's all part of the novelty of a magazine. They also become almost like a decoration in my room, I keep them all in pretty filing stands and you can see all the pictures popping through. 

I've noticed that some magazines give you the option to also purchase it on your tablet or phone which I think is a good idea, in the fact that you can purchase the magazine whenever you want as long as you have access to internet. 

I have Stylist magazine on my phone, this is mainly because where I live I don't really get access to Stylist as they are often handed out in the city but I still want to be able to read it every week. It is really handy as it means I don't have to fold up or roll up the magazine in my bag and I can get access to it every week at no cost.

The problem with downloading magazines is that you can't do much with them once you've read them and you can't really store many as your phone or tablet storage fills up fast.

I don't own a tablet, I just have my phone so the screen is much smaller which limits the creativity of the design or they just shrink it down to the point that you can barely see the detail anymore and in fashion the detail is so important! 

There would be no such thing as freebies or samples with online magazines, unless they supply you with a voucher to get it free. For many beauty brands it's a huge marketing technique in having samples and testers in magazines as it can reach their target market much more directly, that would be no more in digital! Yes they can still advertise, but the majority of people like to try before they buy. 

There are many other things I could say that are positives and negatives about them but I don't want this post to drag on into a full on essay! I would just like to say good luck to Company Magazine in their step into digital publications, I will miss your lovely matte paper.

Now it's your turn to get involved, comment below what your opinions are on this debate, it would be very interesting to hear.