FRYE Jenny Soft Vintage Leather Hobo Handbag

I have had my eye on this bag for a long time--probably at least 18 months, maybe longer...I already have several Frye bags, so I am familiar with the quality of the leather and the construction (much better than any other brand I have owned, including some much pricier). I have been very pleased with the appearance and function but so far, the bags I have purchased have been the heavy, durable leather and are the satchel or traditional shoulder bag. I found the Frye website to have very helpful information in their "leather guide" as to the characteristics of the different leather types, as well as how they are finished. The reason that I held off on this hobo bag for so long is because I was somewhat hesitant to buy a "soft" leather--this is Italian leather that is described as having a glove-like texture and weight. I don't understand several reviewers who disparaged the appearance and/or quality of the leather--this is very high grade leather and is just beautiful. I recently received a gift card for my birthday, and I decided it was time for a splurge. I knew I wanted a hobo style, so I had a hard time choosing between this one and the newer Belle Bohemian, which also appears lovely. This model, the Jenny happened to go on sale for a little over 30% off, so that made my decisions easier. All of the colors look stunning, but it came down to the burnt red and the grey. I knew from the product image as well as many reviews of many different Frye bags that the grey is not really grey at all, but more of a deep brownish/tan. I was so tempted by the burnt red, but I figured the grey would be more compatible with my wardrobe and would be used more frequently, so that is the one I ended up ordering (just being practical, I suppose). It turned out to be fairly accurate to the color shown on my monitor, which will be perfect with anything I might wear--so I won't need to switch bags whether I want to wear all black, blue jeans & a tee-shirt, or something dressier. When I first saw a picture of this purse, I didn't really like the wide canvas strap--I thought it detracted from the overall look. But as it can be detached, no problem...as it turns out, I like the adjustable canvas strap--it gives the bag a casual, rugged look and it is comfortable and stays on my shoulder easily. The canvas strap provides plenty of length to wear the bag as a cross-body or shorten it up so it is almost the same length as the hand-held strap. I find that I can remove the wide strap and carry the bag over one shoulder with the hand-held straps as well, at least on days when I am not wearing a bulky jacket. With the wide strap removed, and just the hand-held straps in place (with beautifully braided detail) the bag looks much dressier, so plenty of versatility...I just leave both straps attached all of the time. Some reviewers mentioned that they find this bag to be too heavy. I imagine this is mostly due to the brass hardware associated with the straps, so if the wide canvas strap is removed, it will be a lightened a little, but not by much because there are three of the snap fasteners and two of them will still be in place when using the hand-held strap. I like all of the hardware, and I personally don't find this bag particularly heavy at all--for the size, it is actually lighter than some of my other Frye bags. This bag is large--I am glad there is an image of the model showing the scale as it seems much bigger to me than the dimensions would suggest. When I lay it out flat, I measure 17" across the top, from ring to ring, 10.5" from zipper to the seam at the bottom (measured at the mid-center of the bag where the little leather bar with the Frye logo is) and 12" from the base of the external zipper pocket on one side to the base of the external pocket on the other side. I imagine the official measurements were taken at the seams, but I wanted to give an idea of what the unloaded dimensions were. The base of the bag is rectangular so the sides of the bag taper as they rise to the top of the bag--so from the side it is wider at the base than at the top. I think it is best to zoom in on all angles since it is so difficult to judge an item like this when you can't see and handle it in person. I like the 'slouch factor' and this bag looks great even when it is not full, but if you have a lot of things to carry around, it definitely holds a lot! One product description I read mentioned a single external zippered pocket--mine has two, and they are not immediately evident. They are oriented vertically along the front side seam, and are great for tucking in glasses or keys (there is also a key fob inside the main compartment). Inside, there is a large zippered pocket on one side and two wide slot-type pockets on the other. It might be nice if a future model would have an internal divider with another pocket, but maybe that would compromise the design. I like the double zipper design with the tassels to make it easy to open. There are no little protective studs or 'feet' that some more structured purses have on the bottom, I am sure that would be ugly and obtrusive on this type of purse, but it does mean I will have to be careful where I set this down (or as another reviewer advised, hang it over a chair). I also plan to treat it with a leather protector next fall. I am absolutely thrilled with my gift, and it is a great addition to my small but growing collection of Frye bags. I know I will be carrying this for years...

I love the leather and whiskey color. Beautiful!! I wish it had a few more pockets, but there are two zipper pockets on the sides that aren't talked about in the description that are great and helpful. It is a little bigger, and therefore a bit heavier, than I was hoping for. Hopefully I will get used to it. I have two small children so having the crossbody to be hands-free and fling it behind me is useful. Also, I can throw my kindle or iPad in I t when I know I have some waiting to do. If you want a large, beautiful, quality purse, this one is great!

OK I am very picky about purses and looked for a long time for a purse that was high quality, the right size, and of course beautiful. I have purchased Frye boots before but never really looked at their handbags until now. I bought this purse and it is absolutely gorgeous. Leather is soft and luxurious, love the pockets on either end of the purse to hold phone, keys, airline tickets. I hate purses that have straps that fall off the shoulder easily, I bought this thinking I would use the long strap but the short one is perfect. Fits nicely, nice weight and doesn't fall off my shoulder. I have received many compliments already. I ended up buying some Frye boots to go with it. If you want a great handbag that will last for years this is the one!

amazing bag. The leather is super soft and is a great Hobo bag. My favorite is the zippers on either side that is the perfect size for my iPhone 6 plus! Not only is this the best bag I have ever bought but it is also a great $$$! Much lower than the same back at Von Maur, Nordstroms, or Dillards.

The FRYE JENNY HOBO BAG by FRYE is a pretty decent bag that has two inside slip-pockets and one zip interior pocket, as well as two outside zip pockets on both sides that are somewhat hidden, offering plenty of organization ability.The leather is nice and soft and has that intoxicating leathery scent and comes with its own dust bag. It also has two detachable straps so that you can either carry it on the shoulder or cross-body and it feels comfortable wearing it either way with a couple of caveats: the smaller strap has a braided design and is a little stiff at the beginning but it softens after a couple of hours wear and I used a different cross-body strap to wear the JENNY HOBO cross-body.This is why I deducted 1-star because the cross-body strap that this bag comes with is a wide canvas-webbed, seat belt like strap that's adjustable, but adds extra weight to the bag and I think it would get uncomfortable wearing it for extended periods because of the wideness and the course fabric/feel of the material it's made out of. I don't know why FRYE didn't make this cross-body strap out of leather like the rest of the bag? And if you keep the smaller strap attached while carrying it with the longer strap (whether the one it came with or another) the shorter strap will lift up (like the horizontal line in the capital letter "A") because of the way in which the straps must be attached to the bag.I used a slimmer strap that's made out of leather and I was able to carry the JENNY HOBO comfortably for hours cross-body all the while running through the streets of NYC, while on vacation, and I had no issues.The bag is very slouchy and will not retain the shape you see in the product pictures, so all of your stuff will pool in the center and make the bag sag while you carry it, and it is a rather deep when that happens, so you you'll have to dig for stuff, but can hold a lot.Anyway, the bag is a good everyday bag and it would've gotten 5 stars if they had just used a better cross-body strap than the one it comes with.

Larger than expected, and that is good. Extra room for travelling. Great looking bag that will never go out of style. I believe l will break my own record for purse carried most years. Record is ten. Hands down l feel that will only be the beginning for this bag. And the style will only get better with age.