Style Meets Function: A Petunia Pickle Bottom Cake Cameo Clutch Review

I always thought that I am a practical girl when comes to selecting tools.  When I kept going to the "Clearance" page on the West Coast Kids web site to admire the Petunia Pickle Bottom Cake Cameo Clutch in Mocha Berry Cream, I wondered what got into me.  I meant, European cut velvet and tweed hardly sounded like a baby friendly fabric combination, right?  But the lovely pattern and the fabulous color combination of beige, brown, and pastel blue appealed to my aesthetic sense in so many levels!  So I called the West Coast Kids Richmond location and asked if they have any Mocha Berry Cream Cameo Clutch in stock.  I was told that there was only one left and a ladywas about to purchase it.  Bummer!  Not my luck I guess.  Maybe I will check out the Crosstown Clutch, the "little sister" of the Cameo Clutch as I like to call it, when I go to the store next time.

A few days later, I made a trip to West Coast Kids to pick up some toy straps.  I went to the diaper bag section to adore the Petunia Pickle Bottom bags.  I could not find any Crosstown Clutch, so I asked a sales associate if they had any in stock.  Turned out that their Richmond location did not stock the Crosstown Clutch, but the lovely lady told me that they had a couple Cake Cameo Clutches in store.  And there it was, the Mocha Berry Cream Cameo Clutch sitting in and amongst other bags and clutches from the Cake collection.  I took the clutch down from the display case to check it out, and it was love at first sight.  I own a lot of bags, and I could tell that the Cameo Clutch was very well made the moment I held it in my hands.  The clutch still costed a little over $100 after the discount, but I also believed in "you get what you paid for."  After showing it to my husband and got his seal of approval (it makes me feel less guilty about splurging on the clutch; silly I know!), I brought home the Mocha Berry Cream Cameo Clutch.  I carefully placed the clutch in the dust bag that came with it and neatly placed it on my purse rack.

Coin purse in matching fabric and hardware.

For the next forty-eight hours, I found myself constantly reaching into my purse rack for the Cameo Clutch, taking it out of the dust bag and adoring it like a piece of art.  The Cameo Clutch is a piece of art.  In a clutch roughly the size of a piece of letter size paper, there is a very generous size changing pad, a "Cake" monogramed wipe case (both items are in the pastel blue color that matches the tweed on the clutch), a coin purse in match fabric, and a lot of room for other items.  I have a wedding to attend in two months time; I thought that would be the perfect time to debut this clutch.  After all, I am too fashion conscious to carry a bag that screams "diaper bag" to a lovely affair in a heritage farm while wearing a vintage party dress.  One afternoon, I stumble upon some play kitchen ideas on the IKEA Hackers web site.  My Cameo Clutch sat quietly on my purse rack for days as I was fully engaged in planning an IKEA hack play kitchen for my daughter.  Then I wanted to make a trip to IKEA to check out some supplies for the play kitchen.  I thought, why not take my Cameo Clutch for a test run?  After all, I believed that the Cameo Clutch should be similar to its "little sister" the Crosstown Clutch in function, "perfect for trips across town and back" as Petunia Pickle Bottom put it.

Interior pockets and detachable changing pad.

I put two eco-disposable diapers into the same compartment where the changing pad was placed.  Instead of using the wipe case, I just took my half-full pack of wipes, which is roughly the same thickness as the wipe case.  I put my credit card, ID, and some case into the coin purse which I hooked onto the key clip along with my house key.  I also packed my cell phone, a burp cloth, a sleeper, a soother, and a wet bag into the clutch.  To my surprise, the Cameo Clutch zipped up nicely and did not look overstuffed.  I did found the clutch to be a little awkward to carry; it was a little too big to carry under my arm, and it was a too heavy to carry comfortably using the wristlet strap.  That was when I really wished I pay the extra bucks to purchase the current model of the Cameo Clutch: PPB changed the design of the strap so that it can also be worn as a shoulder strap as well - Brilliant!  I ended up carrying the clutch under my arm.  I was very pleased with the fact that I did not have one single moment where I thought "damn I need something but I do not have it with me because it does not fit into the clutch!"  If nothing else, going out with my baby and the Cameo Clutch taught me how to pack smarter and lighter!  While I did not have to change my daughter's diaper during the IKEA trip, I did make use of the changing pad as well as the wipe case in my next trip out with the Cameo Clutch. (After a successful trip out with the Cameo Clutch, I was hooked!)  I love that the changing pad is bigger and more compact than the one that comes with the PPB Touring Tote.  All in all I really like the Cameo Clutch, and I will have to work on getting a Crosstown Clutch for everyday use!