Woohoo! Say hello to my new baby!

This post is for the bag lovers! Anello is the new bag craze sweeping Asia lately, but it’s so difficult to find a guaranteed “authentic” bag since there are so many fakes!

Anello is a Japanese brand selling backpacks, and one of their well-known features is the metal umm.. opening on the bag zipper. Hard to explain, more on that below.

There are many outlets selling Anello bags online but even though the online shops seem legit, I’m still not really sure if the bags sold are authentic, you know? The online shops might not even be aware that their suppliers are providing fakes.

I was so happy when Anello finally opened a branch in Manila! I dragged J to browse the first branch in Megamall with me, but I waited for the bigger flagship branch to open in Estancia Mall. Bigger store, more choices, ya know! My birthday is coming up so J said he would get me one for my birthday. Thank you, babe 🙂

ANELLO FLAGSHIP BRANCH ESTANCIA MALL

Today is the day! We went to the Anello flagship branch in Estancia Mall. I like this branch better than the one in Megamall because it’s bigger and less crowded. And there are more bags to choose from!

Here’s a quick view of the store:

First, I kinda went nuts trying out the different bags.

Why buy at the Anello store?

I chose to get my Anello bag from their store because I want to be sure that it is authentic. I have nothing against people who buy fake bags. I get it. The bag you want is P100,000. The fake is P2,000. Heck, I still have some of my own fakes from when my bag addiction first started and I was a clueless newbie. Also from online purchases where the seller claimed they were authentic (but they’re not). But now, I don’t buy fakes anymore because I realized that it’s just wasted money. The more I got into bags, I didn’t want to use the fake bags anymore so what I spent on it is just wasted money talaga. I just end up using the fakes when I know the bags might get dirty, like when going grocery shopping, attending children’s parties, going to the carnival, going swimming, going to Divisoria… If I really can’t stand the fake bag anymore I just give it away to someone who wants it.

Anello bags are relatively inexpensive as far as branded bags go. Most of the Anello bags are from P2,000 – P3,000. The not-really-sure-if-authentic Anellos online sell for P1,800. I mean, seriously, the price difference isn’t that big. Just add the extra few hundred pesos and get the real one na, right? At least when you’re using the authentic bag, you can use it with full confidence, knowing it’s real.

Also, when you’re buying at the store, you can really take your time to find which bag looks the best on you. You can try out different bags in front of the mirror. You can also inspect the bag before buying.

ANELLO BAG REVIEW

Tricolor Boston (P2,450)

After looking at all the bags and much more bag modeling in front of the mirror, I finally decided on this tricolor Boston bag. This tricolor is one of Anello’s signature looks.

I love this design! I love the Boston bag. Almost all of my favorite bags are of this classic shape. It is roomy enough for all my things, I love how big it opens up. It’s a good size for me, visually speaking. What I mean is, if you’re on the healthy side like me, you don’t want a tiny bag because it will make you look like a giant! The tricolor also looks great when I’m holding it, it just pops! It is eye-catching but not too girly. It looks sophisticated. (It looks better in real life than in this picture 😀 )

IT IS PERFECT!!!!!

I was so happy that we finally found a bag for me!!!! It’s decided. We will get this one!

So the staff went to get new stock of the bag. As usual, I inspected the bag, inside and out, before buying. Unfortunately, the first bag had a slight defect, the stitching was not that great, and not that straight, especially in the inner lining. I mean, I’m not expecting Louis Vuitton-level quality stitching here. It’s a P3,000 bag, not P50,000. But I was expecting better quality stitching than this. By the stitching, it was very obvious that it was “made in China”. I didn’t even look at the Made in China tag yet and I already knew. I was expecting “Made in Japan” quality but got “Made in China” quality.

After going through more stocks, I finally picked a bag where the stitching was acceptable. This is why you should buy at the store! And then I checked the strap. And I saw this:

I went through all the other stocks of this bag as well and all the straps had this “line” too. I was so sad 😥 I really, really, really wanted this bag!

It looks like a ballpen mark but it’s not a ballpen mark. The material is translucent and the way the strap material was folded becomes visible. When folded, the strap material should have met in the middle, but they didn’t meet in the middle, so the gap is visible, causing this ballpen-like mark.

I still really, really wanted the bag. I asked the staff if I could get a blue strap or a red strap instead, but they said I can’t. I can only get the strap that comes with this model.

SAD SAD SAD 😥 😥 😥

I’m not giving up on it, but I tried to look for another bag.

Nylon Backpack Mini in Red (P2,850)

The staff suggested the Charcoal Gray color Boston bag, but when I was trying it on, the color just didn’t suit me. It looked boring. He also suggested the leather type, but the leather used is synthetic leather, and I had some bad experiences with synthetic leather bags. I had a Zara synthetic leather bag that just started to peel off after 2 years! As in, the leather was disintegrating. I loved that bag pa naman. So no, no more synthetic leather bags for me, thanks.

I finally picked this red nylon mini backpack. It looks good on me as well, and the more I looked at it in the mirror, the better it started to look, too. I don’t have this style of bag yet, so why not?

The bigger one is only a few hundred pesos more, but it just looks too big for my daily bag. I look like I’m going to school or something. Or going away for the weekend. Too big.

I still liked the tricolor Boston, but what can I do? I don’t want to pay good money for a flawed product. I was afraid that the mark would get worse as time went on. So the red nylon backpack it was.

ANELLLO NYLON BACKPACK MINI BAG REVIEW

Again, I inspected the bag. The first one I checked had bad stitching again (the back zipper looked like it had severe scoliosis), but the second one I checked was good. So, remember to check the bags before paying!!!

I love the red backpack! So far, I have only been using it for one day, but it’s very functional. I am also very happy to have found a nice bag that is not that expensive. It is so much cheaper than a Longchamp Le Pliage, which was my daily bag for a long, long time, until I switched to this Anello.

While I do my best to take good care of it, since it is not that expensive, I will not go ballistic if food gets spilled on it or something. I feel like I will be using it more without worrying if the bag will get deformed when I put my water bottle in the side pocket, for example. The value of the bag for me now is more sentimental than monetary.

So for my bag-loving readers, here are the pictures! You can use these to compare to see if you got a real vs fake Anello.

This is what the front of the bag looks like, still with wrapping on the zipper pull.

The nylon material is smooth and luxurious and shiny. Here’s a closer look at the handles.

Front pocket:

The bottom has synthetic suede, so keep that in mind when cleaning it.

The front pocket zipper pull still has this plastic covering which was difficult to remove! I still had trouble peeling off the entire thing.

Here’s the back. It’s a backpack, but I just plan to hold it using the top handles, like a handbag. I’m not really a backpack person. But this will come in handy for those times when I need both hands. I don’t think they will hold up anything really heavy though.

The back zipper, which I call the “easy access zipper”. This lets you easily access the things in your bag without having to open the top zipper.

The “easy access zipper” is something that I always have to be mindful of, however. I always make sure that the “easy access zipper” is away from possible pickpocket opportunities.

All the zippers of the bag are very smooth.

Here’s what the inside looks like. The lining is actually a dark brown, it’s just not showing correctly in this pic. The top closure zippers have a metal frame inside that let the bag open up that big. This makes it easy to put things into the bag, and also makes it easy to see what’s inside the bag.

While the zippers are smooth, it’s not that easy to close the zippers with one hand. You’ll most likely need two hands to close the zipper because you have to make sure the metal frame is aligned properly before zipping it closed.

There are two pockets, and they fit my cellphone just right (Huawei P9, 5.2 inch screen). Before buying, check to see if your phone will fit:

The stitching quality on this bag is heaps better than on the Tricolor Boston:

Bias hem on the inside seams: which is kind of rare on cheaper bags since it’s extra effort vs just doing a simple hem. Notice the brown ribbon thing that’s sewn into the bag? That’s the one. This makes the bag sturdier because the seams won’t fall apart as easily.

Side view: both sides have side pockets (for a water bottle or something)

Tag:

Button says CARROT

Zipper Pull:

The staff at the Estancia Mall branch were very patient and helpful throughout all my bag picking. Thank you! 🙂

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR ANELLO BAG

The told me that all Anello bags are not washable. If your bag gets dirty, you can just wipe off the dirt with a damp cloth. They say that if you wash the bags, the material might shrink or warp, and the metal things inside might rust. I asked them, are you sure? Aren’t those things stainless steel? They didn’t know, either.

However, I plan to hand wash mine if it gets dirty. I have washed countless bags, from Nine West canvas/leather bags and Longchamps to leather Coach bags, and they all looked really great after. It’s only bags more expensive than Coach that I don’t dare wash. You just have to use common sense and wash and dry each bag appropriately based on what material it is. For real leather bags, you need to moisturize the leather after washing.

Update: I must have tempted fate. I spilled some iced tea and got some on my Anello! So, I was forced to wash my new bag. But fear not, I shared How I Washed My Anello Bag in a blog post. 🙂

There are several Anello Philippines Facebook pages but this is the official one:
Anello Philippines Official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/anellophilippinesofficial/

I hope you found this post useful!

HAPPY BAG SHOPPING!