Mia Tui Bags

When I was quite heavily pregnant I waddled off to the Baby Show at the Excel Centre and there found myself buying two Mia Tui bags as they had a buy one get one free offer on – the Amelie in black (£59.99) and the Ava in red (£49.99).  I had been looking for a changing bag that I might be able to use as a handbag too and the Mia Tui bags fitted the bill.  I also bought a Grace in brown (£39.99 although I got it for the special price of £10 through their Facebook page as that colour is now discontinued except in leather) .

For large bags, they are very light.  Which is just as well as once I’ve put half the contents of my house in one in order to take the baby out for a quick walk I’m pretty laden down.  They are made of totally waterproof material inside and out so they are so easy to wipe clean and come in a range of really lovely colours.   Inside the bags came a few clear zipped bags and a clutch bag.  I’ve found both useful for storing things like sun cream, teething gel and bum cream.  I, personally, wouldn’t use the clutch bag as a bag but for keeping things nicely tucked away in the bigger bag it works well.

They have key clips which are brilliant as I’m forever having to hunt through dirty muslins and empty bottles to find my keys.  I’ve also been known to hook a dummy on the key clip so that it doesn’t get lost. The bottle holders in them are great for keeping drinks (for me, or the baby) upright so you don’t end up with a leaking bottle getting all the baby’s dry clothes wet.  They also had a small bag charm attached – although I think that may have been a perk of the Baby Show and you’ll need to buy that separately now.  I’m not a massive fan of bag charms but these ones are quite pretty and inoffensive .

The Amelie makes a good bag for swimming.  It holds towels, costumes and all the paraphernalia I need and neatly fits inside a swimming locker.  I’ve also used it as a beach bag and it did the job splendidly.

My childminder called my Ava “posh” so it makes the kind of impression I was after.

My only niggle really is that I find if I use them as a handbag they don’t stay on my shoulder and I’m constantly having to hitch them back on.

They’ve made a few changes since I bought my bags.  They now come with a detachable shoulder strap which is really handy because without it they won’t fit over the handle of my pram.  When I realised this was the case and that my bags didn’t have the strap I approached Mia Tui who very kindly sent me a strap for free, and threw in a charm too so a big thumbs up for customer service.  The new Grace now has a zip closure instead of a popper and that makes a lot more sense.  I love my Grace, it’s my favourite of the three, but I can’t use it when it’s raining or the contents get wet so in the winter I’ve turned to my Ava.

They also now make leather versions but until I can guarantee I won’t get poo or porridge on it I will hold off buying one.

Usually there are some good deals on their special offers page so if you’re not too fussy about the colour you can pick up a bag at a fraction of the price.

I’m really quite fond of my bags and they’ve now launched a couple of new ones, the Minnie Amelie and the Sofia.  I quite fancy a Sofia in my stocking this Christmas please Santa.

Mummy rating: 
Great for hanging on the pram, plenty of pockets, find they slip off the shoulder when used as a handbag though

Franklin rating: 
I’ve never been naked or hungry when out and about so I like them