One of my friends is pregnant with her second child and so when the opportunity came up to review a changing bag from Tippitoes I thought of her straight away. I asked her which one she wanted to review and she picked the Uptown Changing Bag which is a bucket bag shape made from a classy white quilted fabric with PU leather finishing touches.

When the bag arrived we were pleased to see it is just as stunning in the flesh as it is on the Internet. It is a gorgeous bag and makes for a very sophisticated changing bag.  My friend loved everything about it….except for one thing… there is no long strap/ shoulder strap. Which was a real disappointement.

When she picked this one from the website she presumed that it would have a long handle so you could attach it over the pushchair handlebar but unfortunately it doesn’t have one. The bag has two grab handles which means there is no way she can put the bag on the buggy that she has as it has a one-piece handlebar. The shopping basket underneath the child’s seat is too small to accommodate the bag so this means that she would need to carry the bag around instead.

This wouldn’t be ideal as she is going to have to hold her older child’s hand when she is out and about pushing her newborn in the pushchair. She isn’t going to have a spare hand to use to carry the lovely Uptown bag. It is such a shame as the bag is so pretty and fashionable but if she can’t use it alongside her pushchair then the likelihood is that it will be kept in the wardrobe until she no longer needs to use a changing bag and can instead just use it as a normal handbag.

One of the best selling points of the Uptown bag is just that though….it will be usable as a handbag after it is no longer used as a changing bag. There is no way you would guess this is a changing bag unless someone told you. It is just so sophisticated and you’d never realise it has all the usual changing bag features.

The Uptown bag comes with quite a thin beige fold-up changing mat and an insulated bottle holder made from the same quilted material as the bag.  I like the fact that the bottle holder has a looped handle which fastens with a keyring-style trigger snap clip.  This means that you can unclip it and loop the handle over your pushchair handlebars or loop it through the grab handle of your changing bag and then the bottle bag will be easily accessible. 

I do think it is worth noting that although the label on the Uptown bag says it comes with a ‘Bottle warmer ‘what they actually mean is an ‘insulated bottle bag’.  There is no heating element in the bag supplied …you need to warm the bottle prior to putting it in the insulated bottle bag.  Once the warm bottle is in the bag it will then be kept warm because of the insulation. You can also put a cold bottle in the bag and the insulated interior will then keep the bottle cold for you.

Tippitoes says that the Ivory coloured Uptown bag can be wiped clean with a damp cloth but we haven’t put this to the test. Personally the thought of having a white changing bag makes me feel queasy as I just know my daughter would get tomato sauce or chocolate on it! Fortunately my friend loves the stylish ivory shade of the bag and she doesn’t share my trepidation about the colour.  If you are looking for an alternative to the standard black changing bag and you want something a bit unusual then the Uptown bag is a good choice to consider. It is bang on trend and the design will not date.

  

The bag has a pocket on each side of the bag which is the full length of the bag  and then on each end is a deep pocket. All 4 of these outer pockets fasten with a press stud even though the website mistakenly says only 2 of them do.  Inside the bag there are 3 deep elasticated pockets, a zip-up pocket on the lining and at each end there is an elasticated strap to help you store things like a drink bottle, a packet of baby wipes or a rolled up muslin, etc.  

The lining of the bag is wipe clean and looks to be slightly waterproof, which is always an essential on a good changing bag.

In conclusion, my friend loves the bag as it so girly and feminine but she would love to see a slight improvement with the addition of a removable shoulder strap. She is not quite sure that the bag is as spacious as her current changing bag which is one that came with her pushchair. She thinks she may struggle to get all the things she needs for a day out in the changing bag but as the name suggests it is perfect if she is just popping uptown.

She does think the bag is quite expensive at the retail price of £35.75 and she thinks it would be better priced at around the £25-£27 price mark. However if the bag had a shoulder strap then I think the price tag of close to £36 is about in keeping with similar bags that are made to the same high standard as this Uptown bag. I love the bag and I think it is perfect for any Yummy Mummy. The only thing I’m not too keen on is the slightly fish-shaped faux leather details on the poppers and main bag zip.

If you would like to visit the Tippitoes website to buy your own Uptown Changing Bag then please click here.  There will be no P+P charges to pay as you will have spent more than the required £29.99 for free delivery.  I always like it when you don’t have to pay P+P costs…it always feels like you are getting more of a bargain!