Just over twelve months ago now it was time for me to leave my part time job. I was moving out of my parents house and moving twenty five miles away so therefore it wasn't really possible for me to continue working where I did for just a few hours an evening. Even if I hadn't moved I was becoming ill and therefore I would have probably had to have left anyway but that's beside the point!

Anyway, my lovely boss and her husband decided to buy me a goodbye present as we were close and I had spent a lot of time with them both over the past eighteen months! She knew I was a fan of Cath Kidston and I was really pleased and grateful when she handed me this gorgeous purse. I had had my eye on these for a while but being a student and preparing to move I just didn't think that spending that much on a purse was a sensible idea, after all I did have one that did its job so it was a case of I didn't need one so it could wait.

I immediately loved my purse and I think she could tell that  As soon as I got home that evening I transferred all of my stuff from my old purse to my new one and set about using it!

The purse is quite big in size compared to some, it is about six inches long, four inches tall and between 1.5 and 2 inches in depth. My purse has the green spray flowers design which is one of my favourites, it is very similar to the picture above apart from the background being a green colour instead of blue. Also, my flower clusters are a little bigger and it has a tab with a button at the top which is brown leather and has a little brass Cath Kidston button on. The purse is made of oil cloth which has a wipe clean surface but doesn't look particularly shiny which I like.

Opening the tab, the purse unfolds into two and one side houses cards where there are four compartments and a larger compartment behind this for receipts or other things you may wish to keep hold of. The other side also houses cards and has space for 6 although one of these does have a clear window so could be used to display a photo. Behind these there are two long pouches which you can slide things into easily such as receipts etc. This side backs onto a zipped compartment which is just a simple place to store your cash which is separated in half by another piece of the oil cloth allowing you to separate coins and notes or whatever.

The purse has 10 compartments for cards which is a really good amount in my opinion because lots of purses I have had had half of this amount. I have way more cards than ten what with all the store cards, student cards and of course debit and credit cards but I tend to store my most used cards which are my debit and credit cards along with my driving licence along the side where there are space for 6 and then I store other cards in the compartment which has 4 pockets. I have found these ones fit 3 cards in each no problem so I have supermarket loyalty cards in one, beauty shop loyalty cards in the next, then petrol station loyalty cards and finally my membership cards for English Heritage and National Trust in the final one. Then I store all of my other cards (National Insurance card, Bite card etc) in the large pocket behind these. I really like these pockets because they are lined with a very pretty floral patterned oil cloth which goes really well with the spray design. I find this purse great for cards, even those that I store all together in the large pocket are easy to get to and quick and simple to find the one you are looking for. The only minor problem I have found with the card section is the slot with the window - I store my driving licence in this and when I go out if I am asked for ID I need to get it out which I find difficult. I don't have particularly long nails but I can never pull it out! However, most people would use this slot for a photo I imagine so it's not too much of an issue.

The coin side is great. The zip to open it has a leather tag to use to pull and as the zip is quite a chunky one I have never had a problem with it getting stuck or anything. You can fit a lot in this purse and still be able to shut it fine which is great if you have a lot of change. I do have one small gripe with the coin section which is that if it's been upside down in your bag and you unzip it, where some coins have 'escaped' they then fall out of the side. I can't really think of a resolution for this apart from maybe making the middle separator a bit taller so that the coins stay in their own compartment all of the time.

I have been using this purse for over a year now and it still looks as good as new. The oil cloth fabric means that it doesn't get scuffed or marked and the fact that the inside of the purse is also oil cloth means that dirty coins don't end up leaving grubby marks inside. The zip is of a really good quality and the purse is simple to use and quick to get into. I love the look of the purse and I am always proud if carrying it as I think it looks very pretty and feminine but also, I am aware that it is extremely practical. Touchwood, I doubt that my purse will suddenly become unusable anytime soon but if it did, then I would certainly buy another one because of the fantastic quality. Cath Kidston designs appeal to most females so these are great if you are looking for a gift whether it be for a teenager or someone older. Wholeheartedly recommended.