Review: 1154 Lill Studio “Susan” Diaper Bag and “Jack” Pouch

The old diaper bag I’ve had for over two years now is, as I’ve said before, much like a computer case on steroids. Without a show of hands, I’d guess that most of you out there have a similar, BORING, bag. It was bought to appease the hub who didn’t want to carry a man-bag… or worse, a Winnie-the-Pooh, baby-patterned diaper bag. Sure, your bag works, but wouldn’t you like a diaper bag that is fashionable, functional, useful and NOT embarrassing for the hub to carry as well?

I’ve found that bag. 1154 Lill Studio now makes custom diaper bags as well as purses, clutches and accessories. Visit their very interactive website to play and design your own bag. You can make a custom creation from twenty-eight-plus styles and 150 fabrics that they frequently change (I assume seasonally). Custom bags take 3-4 weeks to ship and are considered final sales. Their website is too much fun, don’t do it at work (or do); you’ll find that an hour has passed before you know it! You can also order pre-designed bags.

When the “Susan” bag arrived for testing, I pulled it from its box. The bag’s dimensions are as follows:

Width: 13 1/2" (at base) 16" (at top); Height: 12 ½" (at center) 13 ½" (at sides);Depth: 6" (at base) 4" (at top)

Convertible Strap: Wear as a messenger: Strap Length at longest- 47"; Wear as a shoulder bag: Strap Length at Shortest- 24.5"

At first, I was worried that it was too narrow and would not expand to hold the bulk inherent in diaper bag abuse (I mean “use”). Immediately after transferring the old bag’s contents to the new, pretty, bag, my fears were put to rest. Everything fit: diapers, wipes, extra wipes, extra clothes for both kids, many burp cloths, plastic bags, medicines and creams, my Little Carr nursing strap, a blanket… you get the picture. I was even able to zip the bag shut.

My “Susan” is in the “Tangerine Dream” style and the interior is “lined in sturdy black wipe off nylon. Interior contains 4 sleeve pockets for organization.” The exterior has six pockets, two of which are on the ends of the bag. These are excellent for holding the used diapers away from the clean items inside the bag as well as for bottles. The strap is wide and comfortable for both me and my hub. The upper fabric is the faux suede. This was great as water rolled off of it when I got caught in a surprise rain one day.

The bag design is well thought out and does not look like a run-of-the-mill diaper bag. It is a great step up and forward from the “Diana” which did not have enough pockets to really be a diaper bag. The only design suggestion I have is that some of the interior pockets should have zipper closures; I realize, however, that this would raise the price of the bag (which I will address later in the post). Dimentionally, the bag is a little too tall for one of our stroller’s baskets, but it does fit into the other one, albeit a little tightly. I know that a lot of strollers have larger baskets than either of ours.

The look of the bag is trendy but functional, it will not go out of style. After diaper bag use, it could easily be used for work or the gym, but it’s too big to become a purse. It would also be a great carry-on for travel. I confess that initially my hub thought the bag “too girly” and used it reluctantly. After using it, he has changed his tune to “it’s great!”- I believe that means something coming from a man!

To order this bag either custom, to your taste, or pre-designed, will cost you $192.00. I am fully aware of how many diapers or cans of formula this comes out to be- and it’s a lot. Should you make the trade-off? It’s too expensive for me, but if you choose to splurge on this, you DO have to take into consideration that it is a custom-made bag, and therefore, made exactly how YOU want it to look. If that is important to you, then you will definitely get a handy, functional bag that is beautiful to boot. For most of us, sadly, the price makes it pretty out of reach.

I also received a matching Tangerine Dream “Jack” pouch- which is marketed to be a carrier for wipes and diapers. Also well made, it is simply a pouch that can contain a travel pack of wipes and a diaper or two. It looks trendy in your purse, but isn’t the most functional item a Mom could buy. I also used it as a mini-purse to put in my “Susan”. It carried my keys, ID, money, extra pacifiers and chapstick and had plenty of room for more. The “Jack” only has a small Velcro closure, so if not contained in another bag, the items would easily fall out. “Jack’s” dimensions are: Width: 7" and Height:10". For the price, $32.00, I would skip this if you were to splurge on the bag.

It should be noted that 1154 Lill suggests dry-cleaning your bags if dirty, not tossing it into the washing machine.

Now, for the formal Review, each of four stars….

Functionality: “Susan” *** and a half- Top down it is a great bag. The strap is adjustable and comfortable. The numerous pockets are useful and there are enough for all the little items Moms carry. The bag itself has space for all of the items that we Moms need and the inside is lined with a sturdy nylon. An improvement would be zippers on some of the pockets.
“Jack” * and a half- It does hold stuff, but doesn’t do enough for Mom use. It’s too nice for poopy diapers and the small Velcro closure doesn’t make it useful enough for other purposes.

Style: “Susan” ****- Beautiful, well made, CUSTOM to your liking, bag. Hundreds of possibilities to design your bag. You will definitely get compliments. It doesn’t look like a diaper bag. And damn, you look good carrying it.
“Jack” ****- It looks great in both your diaper bag and purse whether you choose a custom pouch or pre-made pouch.

Cost: “Susan” **and a half- This is hard to judge for once. Obviously $192 is a lot of money. I must consider that if one is to buy this bag, one is getting a custom bag in exactly the style/color one wants. You could easily end up with an original. For most of us, sadly, though, I’d say is just too much.
“Jack” *- $32 is just too expensive for its limited uses.

Overall Rating: “Susan” ***- Other than the price, which is considerable, this is a great bag. I feel trendy and attractive when toting this bag. It carries everything you need and looks beautiful at the same time.
“Jack” *- Cute, but not worth its limited uses,especially for the price.