Louis Vuitton Monogram vs. Damiere Ebene

I've always wanted a Louis Vuitton Speedy bag for as long as I could remember, but regrettably never purchased one since the price keeps increasing for these bags. Last year alone, there were two price increases on the Speedy's.  A few weeks ago, I came home to a giant Louis Vuitton box and inside was the Speedy Bandouliere 35 that my husband surprised me with. The 35 was much larger than I expected, and with the straps on the Bandouliere style, the bag resembled an smaller over-night travel bag.

Over the next 2 weeks, I made 4 trips to my local Louis Vuitton  trying on different sizes and styles. My dilema was: 

      1. Keeping the 35 or exchanging it for the 30

      2. Which pattern? Monogram vs. Damiere Ebene

While at the store, the sales associates made suggestions for alternative styles, but I knew I wanted to keep the speedy. After all, the speedy is number 3 on the top 10 classic handbags of all time list- the Speedy was originally created in 1930, and it's more popular than ever now!

In my head, I debated between the 35 and 30. I travel quote frequently for work, so the 35 would have been great for traveling - there was more than enough room in it for an ipad, laptop, scarf, and even a sweater. However the 35 looked a little too large on me as an everyday bag. 

My second problem was the pattern - I was originally gifted with the monogram, but after doing more in-depth research, I shied away from it.

MONOGRAM PRINT-

PROS: 

• Light colored handles made the bag more versatile while pairing with different outfits/colors and could be used all 4 seasons
• Classic recognizable logos (althought this could be a negative as well)
• This is the pattern I've always wanted

CONS:

• Vachetta leather on the handles and straps. When the bag is new the leather on the handles and straps is a beautiful light beige color, and over time it darkens with use (although some people prefer the darker color). This darkening process is called patina. I didn't mind patina, but my fear was the color change would not be uniform across all the leather, and didn't want to end up with spotty handles and straps. (Please see photo below for patina process).
• High maintenance - the sales associate told me not to touch the handles after applying hand lotion, hand sanitizer, and definitely not while my hands were damp after a wash - all of these would cause spotting on the light colored leather. She said it was best if I didn't use it very often.

This was my biggest issue with the monogram print - I wanted this bag to use everyday, but if it was so high maintenance, I'd be scared to use it!

This image captures the patina process very well:

DAMIERE EBENE PRINT - 

PROS:

•  This was the original LV design
• The print is classic and looks great on all age groups
• The leather on the straps and handles are treated, so when it rains, just wipe try! There will be no spotting and discoloration

CONS:

•  It's darker than I like for a bag (but I'm getting used to this, and am loving it more and more!)

So after 4 trips to Louis Vuitton, endless research on the internet, and debating about it for 2 weeks, I ended up with the Speedy Bandoulier Damiere Ebene 30.