Saturday 5 July 2014

Compare and contrast the black de Villiers and the red one

If you've been following the last few posts, you will know that I won a black de Villiers slimline binder on eBay and as soon as it arrived in the post, I sent it to Steve (from Philofaxy) as a swap for the red one that Anita had posted about on Philofaxy - see here - and given to Steve.

Still with me?

Anyway, followers of my blog (bless you! Have you nothing better to do?) will also know my love of red, shiny things (too many posts to list about red, shiny binders!!). I've been using the red de Villiers for about a week or more now and I still LOVE it.

Eagle-eyed readers of posts on the two de Villiers binders may have seen some differences, but for those of you who didn't, let me show you a couple.

Leather:
The leather of the black version was quite grained and not smooth and shiny. I don't have any binders like it, but from pictures on the web, it might be a bit like the Richmond filofax leather (but don't quote me on that!). The red binder however, is shiny and smooth - almost patent leather in texture but not so plasticky! IT. IS. GORGEOUS. Just sayin'...

front of the black version
front of the red version
back of the black version
back of the red version

Interior:
The interiors are mirror-images of each other. The black version has the card slots at the back, whereas the red version has them at the front:

Interior of the black version (also showing the grain of the leather nicely)
Interior of the red version


Well, there they are. What do people think?

4 comments:

  1. Love that red! Stunning.

    But I'm anxiously awaiting your setup pics. I see 2, maybe three full height pockets?

    I keep wanting to go slimline/compact, but so far the two I've tried (Cuban slimline in Chili and Luxe Compact in Crimson - both wonderful) have not been functional for me. I have no trouble with the small rings - it's the pocket setup that has been useless.

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    1. Hi there,
      There are three full height pockets - one behind the cards and the two you can see on the RHS. No zipped bits.
      Set-up post should be out tomorrow! :-D
      Have you looked at the slimline/compact Holborns? They might work for you with their multiple card slots and pockets?

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    2. Unfortunately the Holborn has the same card pockets as the Luxe. Those sideways card pockets are too narrow for US business cards - I end up with a lot of appointment cards for my family's doctors, dentists, salon, etc. If I use the plastic pocket inserts, they take up more room in the rings, so I'm forced back in a Personal.

      Also, I try to give priority to function over form, but I can't get past the Holborn's contrast stitching. Even the Malden is on my no list, although that aqua Pocket keeps calling my name.

      Luckily, I have two older Kate Spade Personals with 8 wide card pockets, and my beloved secretarial pocket. I end up using the 23mm rings to store my multi pen. The KS binders have minuscule pen holders.

      I also have a Franklin Covey Compact Sophia with lovely 19mm rings. But it has has an annoying slip tab closure, is cut large for the wider FC pages, and takes up a lot of space in my handbag. Plus it's white leather, which hasn't survived usage well.

      As lovely as my 3 binders are, the grass always looks greener with smaller rings….

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