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I first saw Mia Tui on Instagram, and was immediately attracted to their travel bags, with appeared to combine attractiveness with practicality.
Their folding travel bags looked particularly useful, and I’d been looking for a compact tote-type bag for overnight and short trips. Mia Tui often run excellent discounts and bundle deals, and I managed to snag the Alex folding tote at a great price.
So far so good, my daughter and I have used them both and they’re very handy indeed.
Anyway, I had also been drooling over the Jennie Travel Bag. I dislike carrying multiple bags, but most travel bags require a separate handbag.
The Jennie, however, offered lots of organizational features. It looked like a rather more sophisticated alternative to my usual backpack for travelling.
Only thing is, I couldn’t really justify spending £55 to buy it. At least, not until I had some travel plans.
But then, serendipity!
I entered an Instagram giveaway for one of these bags, and I’m sure you can guess what happened next.
Yes, I won! I’ve never won ANYTHING in a giveaway, though I don’t enter them often, which probably explains it.
Please note that this page contains affiliate links, though the affiliate program has nothing to do with the giveaway.
Anyway, when the lovely people at Mia Tui asked what colour I would like, and I selected the pleasingly neutral Graphite. (There are tons of other colours though.)
They also offered me the option of the Changing Bag add-ons. It’s still a normal Jennie bag, but it includes a few extra bits that convert the bag into an extremely attractive changing bag.
My daughter is way past the baby stage, but I do have friends who have babies, so I’m gifting the extra baby bits. For the sake of completeness I’ve still included them in this review.
So, let’s have a proper look at the bag.
Delivery was super fast, it arrived in two days.
The bag has both shorter tote-style straps, and a detachable adjustable long shoulder strap.
Here’s the shoulder strap. It’s useful to have if you want to wear the bag cross-body, but I personally favour the shoulder tote-style carry.
The front of the bag has the Mia Tui logo, in the same colour so it’s quite discreet.
The back of the bag has a very clever feature.
Do you see that little star? That’s a zip pocket. But it’s not just a zip pocket.
Behind the pocket is an opening that will fit over the handle of a wheelie suitcase.
See? Pretty clever.
Now, the inside gets even better.
One of the main selling points of Mia Tui bags is their epic organizational features.
Inside the bag are two pockets, one on each side.
The bag comes with those two pockets filled with even more goodies.
First, a clear zipped bag.
This is a good size for your mini liquid bottles at the airport, and the zip has a wrist strap.
In changing bag mode, you could probably squash a onesie in here that has been desecrated by gross baby bodily fluids.
It’s very useful, though I will say that it doesn’t look super robust. It remains to be seen how long it will actually last, but unless you’re a super regular flier (or have a seriously vomity baby) it should be fine for a while.
This mini zipped bag is in the other pocket.
It matches the large bag, and comes with both a wrist strap and a long shoulder strap.
There aren’t any separate compartments inside, but it would be incredibly useful as a small evening bag.
There’s space to throw in your purse and phone and a couple of keys, and is ideal for those times you don’t want to carry around a large bag.
See? A pretty useful size, big enough to fit stuff in, but not so big you’re tempted to overfill it.
As well as the side pockets, you also have two insulated bottle holders.
They fit a water bottle or travel cup very nicely.
These are one of my favourite features of this bag, because I always carry water, and having easy access to the bottle is very important. The holder on the left is slightly offset, whereas the one on the right is in the middle of the bag.
The offset pocket can be easily accessed without opening the zip all the way.
In changing bag mode, these will also fit regular baby bottles. The insulation probably won’t keep them icy cold for hours and hours, but it should be enough for a morning or afternoon out.
Another big bonus of this bag is the interior colour.
So many bags have black or dark linings, which is actually incredibly impractical because you can’t see a bloody thing! The bright blue material makes it much easier to see your stuff inside.
More handy pockets. At the zip opening end you have a phone pocket and pen pockets.
Again, easy access without opening the bag all the way.
There is also a key clip, which is one of the most useful things about this bag.
I discovered when I used the bag properly, that the key clip is elastic!
When I used the bag (you’ll see more about that in a bit) I was working late, and got home at about 0130. It’s pretty dark outside my house, but all I had to do was dig down into this corner of my bag, grab my keys, and the elastic stretched enough for me to unlock my door without unhooking the keys.
Let me tell you, at that point I had been awake for more than 20 hours and had a pretty stressful day. If I’d had to actually remove those keys from the clip, I’d probably have collapsed in a pathetic heap, cried, and curled up to sleep on the doorstep.
But I didn’t, because I could reach the keyhole.
This is how the bag zips up. The phone pocket etc. are on the right where the zip opens.
It’s not completely sealed up, so if it’s pouring with rain you might want to consider an umbrella, but the spaces on either side of the zip are small.
If you carry it on your left shoulder the logo will be facing out, which is more likely for right-handed people. Though of course you can carry it whichever way you like.
Couple more handy features.
Metal studs on the bottom of the bag.
Oh wow, so many bags don’t have these, which is SO dumb!
Of course, the studs won’t completely protect the bottom of your bag from exceptionally rough surfaces. As it’s unlikely this is the kind of bag you’ll be dragging up a mountain, these studs will cope well with general putting-on-the-ground.
OK, before I get on to action shots, here’s a quick overview of the changing bag extras.
First of all, an organizer bag.
Mia Tui sells these separately as well; it’s called a Gem. It’s an impressively large washbag/cosmetics bag, with a zip closure and a ton of pockets inside for holding stuff.
You’ll quite easily fit nappies, wipes, and a spare onesie inside. Plus various other bits of crap that one inevitably needs when accompanied by tiny little people.
A folding changing mat.
Obviously I don’t have an actual baby to demonstrate it.
This one has pockets on each side, so you could actually keep your extra nappies and wipes in this, and use your organizer bag for other stuff. It would also make a great grab-and-go changing kit if you’re just popping out for a short time.
Damn, I really wish I’d had one of these when my daughter was a baby. I did have a portable changing mat, but it was crap, much smaller than this one and no pockets.
Finally, buggy clips.
These attach to the same metal d-rings as the shoulder strap, and loop over the handles of your stroller.
Just as an aside, there is a small price difference between the Jennie Travel Bag (£55) and the Jennie Changing Bag (£60).
But it’s only a fiver! All these accessories are available separately, but the changing mat on its own costs £5, plus there’s the bag and clips, so you’re getting a fantastic deal with this bundle.
Let’s have a look at how the bag performs in the wild.
I wish I had a fabulously glamorous adventure trip to try out the bag for the first time. Maybe flying to New York for the weekend, or going on a cruise.
Does the Royal Albert Hall count as a glamorous destination?
I used it for work. It’s actually a completely legitimate test.
It involved travel, plus carrying stuff around in the most efficient and practical way possible.
As well as my violin, which has backpack straps, I need to bring clothes, makeup, and possibly food to carry, plus all my regular handbag stuff.
Carrying a handbag + bag for clothes etc. + violin is a big fat pain, so I thought the Mia Tui Jennie should be the perfect combination of the first two bags.
Here’s what I fitted inside (clockwise from left).
Shoes, water bottle, pencil case, makeup bag, clothes bag (containing dress, trousers, and top), Trtl travel pillow, keys, magazine, Kleenex, Epipen, purse, sunglasses, battery.
It’s pretty full, but it closes up just fine.
I was also surprised at how it wasn’t super bulky. Perfectly manageable in fact; it didn’t slide off my shoulder at all.
The shoulder straps are wide enough so they don’t dig in even when the bag is full.
I ended up walking a nearly three miles in total with this bag on my shoulder (plus my violin on my back) and it was totally comfortable.
Water bottle, purse, sunglasses, were easily accessible without opening up the whole bag, and because the bag is wider than it is deep, I didn’t have to go digging through endless layers of stuff to get to things.
Oh, and I managed to stuff a sandwich in there as well.
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I have a couple of extra thoughts.
Mia Tui bags are made from fabric that is supposed to look like leather.
While it doesn’t properly look like leather, it certainly doesn’t look like that awful ‘pleather’ that is often called vegan leather. (There’s no such thing as vegan leather.)
The material is very soft, looks like excellent quality, and it seems to be pretty hardwearing.
I did notice that when I first unpacked the bag it had a slightly odd smell, which is not uncommon with this kind of fabric. But after I left it to sit out for a few days, the smell disappeared completely.
So I would suggest that you let your bag air out before you use it.
The suitcase handle slot/pocket on the back is a brilliant feature. It’s the perfect size for your phone or passport. The only tiny caveat would be to beware of dropping your passport through the open slot rather then into the pocket.
It’s quite a big bag. It’s supposed to be of course, but it’s worth considering. I’m 5’5”, and while it was fine for me, I think a rather shorter person might find it a little on the large side.
(Fortunately Mia Tui sell a smaller version of the Jennie, called the Mini Jen.)
I’m really glad I got the grey, because it’s a nice neutral colour and goes with everything, but now I want it in more colours! (The Rose Gold is gorgeous.) But I think the chances of winning another one are extremely slim indeed. Sigh.
I also love the look of the Sydney Backpack. Practical yet stylish. It’s almost impossible to find a backpack that doesn’t look like you’re about to head up a mountain, so this looks like a gem. If its organizational magic is anything like the Jennie it will be marvellous.
Conclusions
This is the perfect bag to take on your adventures if you want something which is smart and classy while fitting in a whole lot of stuff in a very efficient way.
If you’re a glamorous mummy who wants a changing bag that doesn’t look like a changing bag, this ticks all the boxes.
Even if you’re past the nappy stage, this is still a great bag for travelling with kids. Because let’s face it, kids seem to require a ridiculous amount of crap. But you’ll be able to fit your crap in too.
If you’re lucky enough to be jetting off somewhere fabulous, this will not look out of place in the first class lounge.
If you’re looking for a fantastic, and very reasonably priced, all-purpose travel bag, the Jennie is your girl.
And if you’re a musician who has to schelp clothes and shoes plus other crap, this will stop you looking like a bag lady.
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This is an awesome review of a great product, but if you fancy a laugh, you can read a brutal review of a crap product here.
You can read more reviews of stuff here and parenting stuff here.
I won this bag in an Instagram giveaway. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links, but the affiliate program has nothing to do with the giveaway.
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