Customer Reviews Kipling Alvar Crossbody Bag

It's a really nice bag, and it should be perfect for traveling thanks to the abundance of zippered pockets inside and out. One thing I wish I'd known, though, is that although the bottom width is 13 inches the top zippers aren't that wide, and it's impossible to put a magazine (a printed magazine, that is) inside the bag. I keep looking for a bag that can carry a magazine, but all of them seem to be just slightly too small unless you go with a messenger bag or something much larger than this one. I'll keep and use it, but I would like it even better if I could carry a magazine in it, too.

I chose this bag specifically for travel and outdoorsy use, something wider than my Kavu Keeper The material and stitching are durable and hold up to machine washing so far. I appreciate the number of pockets and only wish there was one more - an exterior back pocket (handy for things like brochures). I also didn't like the lining that came in mine - instead of the solid gray as pictured, it was gray with white polka dots - but it wasn't a dealbreaker. Overall, I would recommend this bag.

Color is just like you see it online. Very nice lightweight midsize bag. The gorilla that hangs off the side is the Kipling trademark, I guess. Luckily, it comes off.

Nice durable bag at a great price. The material is sturdy and my GF loves it. What more can you ask for?

I decided to return this bag because in the end it was too small to fit my needs. I need a purse that is very organized and this purse is great for that, but I also needed a purse that can fit a wallet, an iPad,a water bottle, and various small items like lotion and a mirror. All my small items fit just fine and stayed very organized, but when I put my iPad in, there was hardly room for my wallet and no room for a water bottle or any other items I might need to put in my purse through the day. However, I am giving this 4 stars overall because it is still a great purse, even though it didn't work for me. The strap is fully adjustable, which is really nice that it can be cross-body or over one shoulder. The material is really nice and easy to maintain. The purse is well made with good craftsmanship. I ended up with a purse from the same brand (Kipling Europa Large Crossover Bag) and love it.

I ordered it orange color and it's really a fabulous color and purse had tons of room and pockets and nooks and crannies.

The material is fine, nice and light, makes bag easy to carry. The plus side: it can carry a lot. The minus side: There are too many outside zippered pockets so I never know what I've put where. Purple color isn't great.

Arrived defective. Will order another one

This would look better in a different color, the color turned out to be a lot duller blue than what I had expected. Also the bag seemed a lot smaller than what I wanted. This was my first Kipling bag, not sure I the brand is a right fit for me.

Love Kipling bags. But this color does not match picture. It is purple and not blue. Not the color I wanted.

This bag is really cute but it doesn't work well as a cross body bag because when you lengthen the strap to wear it, the bottom part of the strap covers the bag's zippers, making it difficult to open it. It would work well as a shoulder bag, but that's not what I wanted so I am returning it. Cute gorilla, though!

I have a lot of Kipling products and have been using this brand for over 2 decades. Along with LeSportsac, Kipling is still my go-to brand (and actually preferred one) when it comes to travel paraphernalia because it's so lightweight but has robust zippers that make opening and closing pockets or compartments a breeze. I bought this bag in a black/white zebra print directly from Kipling because Zappos didn't have that design, and I'm a little on the fence about the bag. I bought it for traveling, as I like to have a small crossbody bag for important stuff like money, passport, boarding pass etc and a bigger one for the rest - but this didn't really turn out as useful as I thought it would be. For my personal use and preference, the individual compartments just aren't the right size and I feel that it will get very bulky very quickly without retaining its shape. However - I also think this would be the perfect bag for someone who's more of a minimalist and likes to stay organized. For me, I don't travel lightly and even my day to day bag is always crammed full - but if you're not like that, if you keep your purse/bag to the essentials only, this would be a great idea.

Extremely bright lemon lime color but that's what I wanted. This bag seemed smaller than I expected. I had bought another color for a friend - it seemed bigger than this one for some reason.

I have several Kipling bags. Years ago, I bought a couple of them to travel to Africa, and the country was full of dust, all I needed was just shaking it off. That was great. Since then, I bought many more Kipling bags. However, on small size bags, like Alvar, the shoulder strips are not attached to the sides, rather it is one strip going across the bag on the back of the bag, I really do not like that. When the bag is not weighted, it sags. That is my only dislike of it, otherwise, it is well made, and I loved little monkey hanging.