If I’m honest, this purse was a bit of an impulse purchase. I had my eye on the Sofia 8.75 (review coming) but that bag was more than double the price and the Half Moon’s interesting silhouette, clean lines, and tidy little stitches won me over, and I do love a shoulder bag. So, I did what anyone would do — I bought both.
SPECS
Item: The Row Half Moon Bag
Price: $2100 CAD
Color: “Cherry Wood”
I had hoped that the Half Moon bag would be the one that worked out, because the price is so reasonable (given that it is a high-end bag made of leather). The Celine Ava in Canvas is mostly made of, well, canvas, but it’s a bit more expensive than this bag.
Things I Liked
But let’s talk about the bag! The contrast stitches are neat, the silver-foil embossed logo is small and could go unnoticed out and about, and the zip feels high-quality. I like that the design of the bag is one that the zipper’s position is not on the side or anything, because the way it is, it’s a lot less likely that I’ll damage the dauntingly smooth bag trying to get into it with my nails. The interior feels luxe but at this price point, it’s obviously not made of leather.
Things I Didn’t
The actual bag itself though? It’s pretty tiny. I’m 5’5″ and generally a size M (140 lbs) and this bag looks like a little tiny child’s toy on me. It looks like the bag you’d give a six year old to play with and they would fill it with nickels and candy. It’s that small.
I don’t know why all of the photos online make this bag look so much bigger! Sure, there are measurements, but I think that a lot of the time people go by the photos on the model because not a lot of people know off the top of their head how big 8″x7″ is. It’s really not apparent how small it is until you take it off and hold it in your hands, which you have no choice to do because…
How You Can Wear This Bag
You can hold this bag in your hand by the handle. You can put this bag in the crook of your arm. But you cannot wear this bag as a shoulder bag.
It may sit there for a minute or two, but on my shoulders, which are fairly broad and not at all sloped, it falls right off. There’s a video I found reviewing the Half Moon bag that says essentially the exact same thing, that the bag is rigid, so the strap is structured. It’s big enough for your arm and shoulder for sure, but when you put it there and close your arm to rest it over the bag (as one tends to do with a shoulder bag), it just falls off. I think if it were warmer and I was wearing, say, a tube top I might have more luck as the bag would have more friction against my skin and perhaps not slip off, but if you’re wearing any kind of garment (especially a coat!) it jumps ship pretty much immediately.
The Bag Zipper
One of the first things I noticed when I took the bag out of the dust bag was how messy-looking the zipper was at the end of the zip. In the photo, where the little metal rectangle is, there’s the end of the zipper that looks pretty rough and fuzzy for a $2,000 CAD bag.
The Verdict
I would have absolutely kept this bag had if it didn’t do the shoulder thing. That was a dealbreaker. The size was not, the messy zipper was not, but being unable to wear the bag as it was clearly intended couldn’t be overlooked. You can buy strap grip tape if it falls off of your shoulder too, though I haven’t used it so I can’t comment on how well it works.
What do you think of the Half Moon bag?
Until next time,
Megan
Thanks for reviewing this bag, I’m glad I read this before I bought it!