For the Ladies: My Lovely Epiphanie

Last month, I entered the "What do you love?" contest on Epiphanie's website to win a bag of my choosing. I submitted a photo of my favorite place in the world (OK, continental US, since I've only ever visited Canada, Mexico, Spain and the Caribbean), San Francisco.

I never expected to win. I was in bed, getting ready to go to sleep, when I decided to peek at their website. I literally jumped out of bed, ran down the hall to our office, where Adam was working and I was all sorts of yelling about the fact that they had picked me! My birthday had been a few days earlier, so it was such an awesome birthday present! I knew exactly which bag I was going to choose - the Lyric.

Anyway, a few days ago, after I posted the picture of my Lyric at the MHC garden show a friend asked if I could review it. Sorry guys, this post goes out to all the ladies (that read my blog).

I actually debated a bit about whether to choose the Clover or the Lyric. I loved that the Clover held a laptop, but realized quickly that bringing my laptop around with me, when I also needed a purse and not my laptop backpack was a rare event. I'm a grad student who carries my laptop around with me like it's attached to my hip. I'm even doing a 365 project and love having my camera on me at all times. However, I have shoulder/back trouble thanks to years of heavy shoulder bags (what can I say, I hated carrying a backpack in high school and college) and I don't like the way that regular cross body straps cut into me (ladies, I know you know what I mean). Even traveling, I generally take my iPad or Kindle and not my laptop. So I unfortunately decided the beautiful Clover was just not for me. I could totally see this bag being really useful for an on-the-go business woman and if that day comes for me, I would definitely buy it.

The main reason I was so excited about the Lyric as opposed to the other (awesome) bags was because of the single (braided) strap. When it comes to purses, I love single strap ones. I get really frustrated when one of the straps falls down, I could imagine this being especially bad if I'm trying to crouch down to get a shot.

The other reason I wanted this bag, was the width. I didn't want a bag with a lot of junk in the trunk, if you know what I mean. A wide base = harder to hold on my shoulder, especially with the two strap deal. (This is a picture of the bag almost stuffed to the brim with my Nikon D90 with battery grip and most of the stuff in the "inside the bag" picture below)

I also loved that they incorporated the iPad pocket as a zippered part that's easily accessible, but still hidden in the back.

The inside of the bag holds just enough stuff. I have been able to fit everything from my 70-300mm zoom, my 8mm fisheye, my 50mm, my lightscoop (or my SB-700), my makeup/medicine bag, my memory card keeper, my phone charger, my filters, a few cables, my Gorillapod, and my wallet in it all at the same time (with my Nikon D90 in the center position) with a little room to spare.

The front pockets hold my chapstick, lipgloss, gum, anti-bac hand gel, lotion, hair ties and clips, keys, and iPhone.

I love that if I feel like carrying the bag on my shoulder, I can do that. Or if I feel like carrying it cross body to hold on more securely while I browse the lower racks at Anthropologie (ehem, I mean, take a shot from a low angle, because, it's a camera purse :) ) I can do that too!

All in all, I definitely made the right choice for me! Major thanks to Epiphanie for selecting me as the winner for their contest - I can't even express how happy I am with this bag!! :D