Here’s What Happened When I Wore Treasure Fan’s Adorable Dino Love Bag

Most of the time, I scroll right past the ads that pop up between images in my Instagram feed.

Still, when I saw one promoting Treasure Fan's dinosaur handbags, I had to take a pause. The ad showed off a model clutching a little leatherette dinosaur purse, and I immediately knew I wanted one.

(via Treasure  Fan)

I quickly reached out to the company, who were kind enough to send me one of their Dino Love Bags in blue and grey, to see if it could be as cute in person as it was online. It did not disappoint.

The Product

Dino Love Bags are very sweet faux leather handbags in the shape of dinosaurs, namely stegosaurus, complete with big spines and a long tail. They come in a variety of bright colors and sell for $29.99 on Treasure Fan. Plus, they're just one of the items in the shop's  Dino Collection, which also features jewelry, baby onesies and other cute bags.

 

The Experience

I'm not typically much of a handbag person. I've had the same small black crossbody bag for the last six years, and I take it with me wherever I go. I like the convenience of knowing all of my stuff is in one place, and not worrying that I accidentally left my wallet or phone in my other bag. But I was willing to make an exception for this new bag for no other reason than that it's in the shape of an irresistible dinosaur.

When I first took the bag out of its packaging, I was a little overwhelmed by a strong, straight-from-the-factory plastic smell. Before I wore it out, I decided to let it air out for a day, and that seemed to do the trick to get rid of that stench.

In the meantime, I was able to admire every visual aspect of the bag. Though the color was described online as "blue and grey" I thought both shades were more green—but I didn't mind at all because green is my favorite color. At a little longer than a foot, it's smaller than I anticipated, but that simply adds to its charm. It has five spade-shaped spines on each side of the zipper, and its puckered face was created by bunching the material and adding metal studs on each side as the eyes. I also like that the creases on the sides of the bag simulate the appearance of dinosaur legs.

Though the black trim around the spines peeled a little bit in a couple of places, I don't really mind. For me, the overall aesthetic is so much more important to me than perfectly smoothed edges—though I anticipate some people will care about these details more than I.

The dino itself comes with a strap that clips on behind the head and in front of the tail to create a crossbody bag. The adjustable strap has a roller buckle and four holes to create different strap lengths.

At its longest, this strap was just the right length for me. I'm 5'2″, so your comfort with the length will depend a lot on your height and where you prefer a bag to hang on your body.

When the time came to actually take the bag for a spin, I found that the space inside was pretty tight. The bag has a simple design, with no special pockets or compartments, because there simply isn't room. While my wallet and keys fit comfortably inside, and while I can throw in an extra lip balm and pen if I need to, adding my phone to the equation pushes the bag to its limit and makes it tough to close the zipper.

With just my iPhone 6 inside the bag, I find that there's plenty of room, but I imagine you might have trouble fitting your phone inside at all if you have one of the newer, larger models.

When I eventually did wear it out, I loved the experience. I think the bag is quirky and adorable, but understated enough for everyday casual wear. When I want to blend in, it's small enough to not catch everyone's attention, but I can also wear it in such a way that people notice it when I want to show it off. I couldn't be happier with the praise I've gotten for the bag.

 

Bottom Line

If you think this bag is ultra cute and you have $30 to spare, I think it's worth the spend. Though it's not crafted from the best materials I've ever seen, the overall look is extremely effective and undeniably cute.

But if you're the type of person who brings all of your stuff everywhere you go, this might not be the bag for you. It's more of an accessory than a practical bag for toting around the necessities. I personally like that I can't lose my stuff in the depths of my bag, since there's nowhere for stuff to disappear. If you don't mind sticking to the basics of phone, wallet and keys, you'll enjoy carrying this bag around everywhere you go.

 

If you're shopping for cute bags, click HERE for the website that makes handbags that look like delicious desserts.