I recently ranked the bags of the River Island x Enid Blyton collection in order of how much I wanted them. Stef thought slightly differently to me and her favourite was the Five on a Treasure Island Tote which is now, like all the rest, out of stock.

I then bought it for her birthday as I was looking for ideas at the time. Stef was generous enough to say I could open it up and take photos etc before I wrapped it and posted it to her. So here is my review of the bag – just remember I’m a book (and sometimes TV) reviewer – not a fashion blogger!

First impressions

The bag in real life looks just like the pictures on the website – which is always good. It felt quite substantial and of decent quality as well.

Although described as a tote bag, and having two short handles, it also has a longer detachable strap so that it can be worn cross-body as well. The strap is embossed with the River Island name (I assume that’s common on their bags) but it would have been nice if it had said Enid Blyton or Famous Five.

It also has a couple of dangling embellishments – a luggage tag shaped strip and a tassel. If I’m honest those sort of things tend to annoy me and I always end up cutting them off, but they’re obviously popular as they seem to be on everything now.

The tag is also Enid Blyton branded, and I would have kept that even though I probably wouldn’t end up doing anything with it.

The important question

Which is of course ‘how much can I fit in it?’ I’m not great with dimensions online and usually have to get out a tape measure so I can see how big something is going to be. Because with a bag of course you want to know whether your purse, bottle of water, umbrella and jacket are all going to fit in along side your book or e-reader not to mention the lip balm, tissues and nail file and whichever toy your son has insisted he has to bring along only for it to languish in your bag forgotten all day. Oh and the snacks – can’t forget those!

There are many ways you can show scale – actual measurements, of course, or putting the object beside a coin (or a banana!). I chose books.

First I tried to see how many copies of Five on a Treasure Island would fit. As I “only” have four they all fitted in, even the annual (sort of).

Then I wondered how many Famous Five books in general it would hold. The answer turned out to be fifteen Hodder & Stoughton hardbacks, with a very small amount of room to spare. Perhaps enough for a small purse.  (It would be very heavy, though, so I don’t really recommend carrying that many books about.)

There’s also a handy inner pocket perfect for the Famous Five card game.

The fine details

The bag lining is a nautical navy and white pinstripe which fits the Five on a Treasure Island vibe. There’s also a little Enid Blyton x River Island label on the inner pocket, and the Enid Blyton signature embroidered on the back of the bag.

It has a magnetic snap fastening which you can use to close the top of the bag (assuming you haven’t packed 15 hardbacks into it.)

The front of the bag is printed onto the textured canvas of the bag but it’s a very good, very clean print. The book title and the Enid Blyton signature are embroidered on, as are the border and little swirls in the corners.

Over all it’s a very nice bag and I think it’s well worth the £44 price (though it’s not worth the £150 it’s now on eBay for!). Looking at River Island’s other bags they seem to be priced mostly between £39 and £46 so it doesn’t seem that there has been any extra costs added for the licensing.

I can’t wait for my birthday so I can get my Smuggler’s Top clutch (and review it, of course.)

I hope that River Island will restock these bags, or do a new collection. They sold out within a week so I’m sure they’d have no problem selling more.