Loewe Mini Puzzle Bag Review: Take 2, Sadly Still a No

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I succumbed to the temptation of a sneaky 20% off discount from Matches Fashion a few weeks ago and ended up buying myself a Loewe Puzzle Bag on a whim late on a Thursday night. My husband and I were watching telly on the couch after putting the kids to bed (Gogglebox if you were wondering) and I turned to him during an ad break to tell him I’d just dropped $3K on a bag. Like, whatevs. No big deal. In my defence, a 20% discount on a designer item is huge, particularly on a bag that I’ve spent SO MUCH TIME contemplating (you guys must be soooo sick of me right now). And with the safety of free returns? A no brainer, right?!

Despite resolving to park the idea of a Loewe Puzzle Bag back in May this year (and ending up with the Gucci 1955 Horsebit bag instead, which I’m still absolutely smitten with by the way), I’m hardly surprised the Puzzle Bag still lingered in my mind. It was always unfinished business.

So I bought it. And in a somewhat random move, I bought the Puzzle in a size and colour that I hadn’t expressed much interest in – the mini sized Puzzle in yellow. Two reasons for my decision: 1) I was never sold on the small Puzzle (I touch on that in this blog post – I felt like it was a tad big?) and 2) I’m in a yellow phase at the moment and love the idea of a statement coloured bag given my sea of neutral (read: black) bags.

Within a few days, the bag arrived on my doorstep, lightning fast shipping all the way from the UK (DHL express shipping is God’s gift to us) and it was a rather exciting unboxing moment for me. Despite feeling all the initial bag lovin’ feels, I put my online purchases through some scrutiny during the returns window, to see whether there’s a place for them in my wardrobe including whether they wield the necessary styling power. I don’t share these thought processes often (this is the last blog post I shared of this kind) but considering this was a spendy purchase where I’ve taken you along with me for the ride, I wanted to share my thinking.

Part of the ‘should it stay?’ test is whether I can style the item in question in at least 5 different outfits. This is particularly relevant in this scenario as I decided to go all rando and buy myself a yellow bag. A black bag wouldn’t be subjected to such scrutiny.

Here are 5 test outfits I put together as part of my decision making process:

Test Outfit #1

I really liked this ensemble and how the yellow really pops against the brown and cream tones in my outfit. I have a decent amount of dark brown in my wardrobe and this knit was the first one that came to mind when styling with this yellow bag. Off to a relatively strong start here folks.

Loewe bag (also here), The Curated knit* (sz XXS), lululemon top (sz UK 4 – AU link, US link, CA link), Lilysilk skirt* (sz 27), New Balance sneakers (also here), Arms of Eve earrings*

Test Outfit #2

In an effort to see whether the yellow bag would match other yellow tones in my wardrobe, I put together this next test outfit. Unfortunately I wasn’t vibing this one as much as I was hoping to and if anything, it really highlighted to me the type of yellow I prefer – the warmer, mango colour of my cardigan, as opposed to the cooler yellow tone of the bag. Hmmm….

Loewe bag (also here), Sezane cardigan (sz XS), Nobody Denim jeans* (sz 25 from their petite range), Birkenstock Bostons (also here and here), Arms of Eve earrings*

Test Outfit #3

Does yellow pair with navy? I think it’s safe to say it does! And while I think the colours look quite good together in this casual outfit, I couldn’t disregard the feeling of wanting to opt for another bag if I was actually getting ready for the day. I like the yellow, but I feel more comfortable wearing one of my brown bags with this outfit instead, which is a telltale sign that if I were to hang onto the bag, I would likely not reach for it as much as I should.

Loewe bag (also here), lululemon tank (sz US 4, US link here), Nobody Denim jeans* (sz 25 from their petite range), Birkenstock Bostons (also here and here), Arms of Eve earrings*

Test Outfit #4

This outfit appears in this reel (where I don’t hide my indecisiveness) and perhaps in contrast to my previous outfit, I consider the dressier and more structured nature of the pieces I’ve styled in this look to be more suited to the Loewe bag. It pops really nicely against the indigo colour of my jacket and I do feel stylish and comfortable in this ensemble. Could the outfit be easily as effective with another bag in my collection? Probably.

Loewe bag (also here), Sezane Will jacket (sz XS), Sezane breton striped top (sz XS), The Fold trousers* (sz UK 8), New Balance sneakers (also here), Arms of Eve earrings*, beaded bracelets*, bangle*

Test Outfit #5

And for my last test outfit, I popped on my denim dress – this is probably my favourite outfit of the lot – the denim, the chocolate brown, the yellow really does work with these colours.

Loewe bag (also here), Sezane dress (sz XS), Arms of Eve earrings*, R.M. Williams boots (also here, read my review here),

The Verdict

I really wanted to love the bag, but as I had my rational thinking cap on, it probably won’t come as a surprise to many of you that I ultimately decided to send the bag back. For starters, the colour wasn’t proving as versatile as I’d hoped. I think there are other ‘pop of colour’ bags that would be less difficult to style. But the fundamental reasons why I chose park the bag in the first place came to light once again as I was playing around with it. The strap is too long and isn’t adjustable (I know I can get this fixed at a bag spa but that’s beside the point) and the mini size is a tad too structured and boxy for my liking (I like the slouch of the small size, and indeed the new Puzzle Edge bag, but more on that another time!).

So after years of lusting after this bag, I can definitively say the Loewe Puzzle Bag isn’t for me. As for the Puzzle Edge bag? That’s another story. I shall spare you my feelings on that bag while I gather my thoughts on the style – count yourselves lucky 😅

I hope you found my Loewe Mini Puzzle Bag review to be helpful if you’ve been umming and ahhing over this style.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

P.S. Why I decided to pass on the Loewe bag the first time round and five essential shoes for the office.