M.Z. Wallace Bag Review.

I published a series of Instastories providing a detailed M.Z. Wallace bag review (mine is the medium metro tote in rose gold) and was overwhelmed by the response — a lot of you were dying to know what I’d think of it and how much it can hold. The TL;DR: I love it and it is enormous. It’s a proper Mary Poppins bag. I can fit all of the essentials for both children (full list of what I typically carry below, per multiple reader requests), my own must-haves, and even a pump and its associated parts (I tested this because so many of you asked though I no longer pump myself). It was pretty full with all of those items in it, but for a travel day? No-brainer. (And you can see it fully stuffed with everything, pump included, in the photo above!) But for everyday use (sans pump), it was roomy!

A couple of the questions I got a lot:

+Which size did you buy? The medium. The large is CAVERNOUS. Could be used as a weekender bag.

+What did you think about the shoulder straps? Many of you had previously commented that the shoulders are really slippery and kind of slide off your shoulder. This has not bothered me, though I have not worn it for extended periods of time and often have my stroller to hook it onto. A reader suggested crossing the straps over one another on your shoulder to address this issue, which I have done and I have no complaints. Still, I think that if you are planning to wear this bag on a long daily walk/commute, it might be worth examining the issue more closely…

+Do you need both the backpack and the tote? If you’re only looking to buy one bag and you have two young children, I’d encourage the M.Z. Wallace metro backpack. I use it any time I am taking the subway with both children and often when I’m out for an “adventure” with both (i.e., museum, playground, etc), which — recently — has been fairly frequent. (Also incredible for travel with children as it enables you to walk around hands-free.) But if you have only one child, the tote is slightly more versatile IMHO. I don’t always love wearing a backpack; it feels more dressed-down than I usually am. In short, I know I will get very heavy use out of both, but when push comes to shove, I’d advocate for the backpack if you have two children / will travel a lot and the tote if you have one child. *Update: Now that I have left New York City, I revisited this M.Z. Wallace bag review to share that I find I use the M.Z. Wallace metro tote a lot more frequently, as we have a car, and I’m usually just lugging it from the car to whatever park/venue we’re heading to. Being hands-free is less of a priority for me now.

+What do you like about it? I love the style (so chic! would definitely wear this as a gym bag or an everyday tote without children) and it is feather-weight. I mean, SO light! I don’t know how to describe the fabric, and I don’t think it’s exactly “waterproof” or “water-repellant” but it certainly fares better in rain/mist/snow than my Goyard.

Now on to what I carry in my bag: I keep everything for each child in a separate pouch. The idea is that if I’m only with one, I can JUST take the pouch belonging to the child I’m with and cut the weight of my diaper bag in half. This is why you’ll see duplicates of a few things I keep in both of their bags. In the photo below, I have three pouches (one for me, one for each of my children); a wipes dispenser; and a water bottle. There is still a ton of room left.

In My M.Z. Wallace Bag: My Daughter’s Essentials (Nearly 3 Years Old).

All items below fit inside her monogrammed pouch, with the exception of the wipes dispenser, which I toss into the MZ Wallace on its own.

CAMELBAK

SNACKS

COUPLE OF BANDAIDS AND NEOSPORIN

THINKBABY SUNSCREEN

SPARE LEGGINGS (<<REALLY GOOD VALUE) AND UNDERWEAR

OXO WIPES DISPENSER

HAND SANITIZER

HANDFUL OF ORGANIC LOLLIPOPS (FOR IF I’M REALLY IN A BIND AND NEED A DISTRACTION/REWARD)

A LITTLE COLORING BOOK, A HANDFUL OF CRAYONS, AND SOME PUFFY STICKERS

MUNCHKIN DIAPER TRASH BAGS (JUST ONE OR TWO SEPARATED FROM THE ROLL — JUST IN CASE OF ACCIDENT, A GOOD TOOL TO KEEP SOILED CLOTHING SEPARATE!)

In M.Z. Wallace Bag: My Son’s Essentials (7 Months Old).

2 DIAPERS

MUNCHKIN DIAPER TRASH BAGS (ENTIRE ROLL — GOOD FOR STOWING SOILED CLOTHES, DISPOSING OF DIRTY DIAPERS, AND CONTAINING OTHER RANDOM MESSES THAT COME MY WAY)

OXO FORMULA DISPENSER WITH ENOUGH FORMULA FOR THREE BOTTLES

HAND SANITIZER

INDESTRUCTIBLES BOOK (HE LOVES THESE AND BONUS – THEY ARE SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT)

BUZZY BEE TEETHER

PACIFIER ATTACHED TO CLIP (AS I TYPE THIS, REALIZING HE DOES NOT USE A PACIFIER ANYMORE AND I CAN REMOVE THIS!)

CEREBELLY BABY FOOD POUCH

BUMKINS BIB (SO LIGHTWEIGHT, FOLDS TO NOTHING)

BOON SPOON

BURP CLOTH

GATHRE CHANGING MAT*

SPARE SOCKS (THESE HAVE COME IN HANDY MANY TIMES)

COVERALL (BACKUP OUTFIT FOR BLOWOUTS/SPIT-UPS/ETC — I LIKE A ONE-PIECE BECAUSE IT CAN DOUBLE AS JAMMIES IF YOU’RE EVER IN A BIND/OUT LATE/ETC, CAN BE APPROPRIATE FOR UNUSUALLY COOL WEATHER, AND ONLY REQUIRES 1 ITEM!)

*I have been obsessed with these since mini was born. They are easy to keep clean (wipe down!), stylish, and highly durable. They fold into a small square. I have several, including one I keep in the under-basket of the stroller and one in a bigger size which I use underneath mini’s place setting at the dining table every night.

In My M.Z. Wallace Bag: My Own Essentials.

WALLET

KEYS ON MONOGRAMMED CUYANA KEY CHAIN

FAVORITE LIPSTICK

USUALLY AN EXTRA TUBE OF HAND SANITIZER

KINDLE

If I’m traveling or out for longer, I often add a small pouch with additional cosmetics/lip balm, but that’s usually all she wrote!

P.S. My Amazon shop has more must-haves for littles.

P.P.S. Adventures in nursing. All of your questions about whether a pump would fit left me reliving my nursing/pumping days, and feeling all the feels about it.

P.P.P.S. My review of Citizens of Humanity’s famous Charlotte jeans.