Filofax Domino: Elegance in Simplicity

Finally the time has come for me to review an organiser with which most of us are familiar with, the Domino.

I received my Pocket Domino as a birthday present this year. This was an organiser that didn't rouse any interest in me at first, mainly due to the limited colours that were available in previous years and the fact that I found it rather flimsy and not as glamorous as favourites of mine, such as the Finsbury or the Urban.

This year though, Filofax presented the Domino in two of my favourite colours: Lavender (purple) and Slate (grey). I must confess the reason I didn't get one as soon as I saw them on the store last spring was because I simply couldn't make up my mind on which to choose, as they're both beautiful!

But on my birthday I finally settled on the Lavender one and I am currently using it as my main Filo.

Before I had it, I decided to give my beloved Fins a rest by switching to the Pocket Chino in black. And although this organiser was pretty, fun, and soft to the touch, I ended up finding it bulky, complicated and high maintenance (yes, even with the black colour!) as it would attract quite a lot of dust and lint. But I'm not here to bitch about the Chino, so let's move on!

After one month with the Chino, I decided it was time to give the Domino(and its lack of 'pockets I like') a go.

The first difference I noticed after moving all the Chino's contents 'as-is' into the Domino was the slimness of the whole organiser.

Oh, the loads of free space I still had for additional sections and notepaper and photos and passports and cards  and and and...   (remember to breathe...)

The second discovery I made was during actual use of the Domino. I had switched on the day we had started looking for a new flat and I made a point of asking each agency for their business card for the sake of keeping track of which ones we'd been to, and of those, which ones had shown us something or had told us they would call us once they had something available. 

The Domino proved to be extremely practical in the sense that opening and closing it was very quick and easy; and the top card slot could easily house the 3-4 cards I would get in a day, not having to fill up all the slots with just agency cards!

Other features I've really come to love in this lil' fella are:

• Its ability to lay flat straight out of the box ( I know Yvotchka loves this!), no matter which section you open it,  at the very beginning or the very last of its contents, it will ALWAYS lay flat.
• The elasticated pen loop, which I noticed, isn't available in previous models. (Theirs is made out of the same material as the inner lining.) I think this small change makes a HUGE difference, for it allows us to carry thicker pens, or like I sometimes do, carry two pens inside the loop!

As we all know, though, nothing is perfect and there is always a BUT!

Before using the Domino I had a few concerns regarding its use:

1)The elastic band closure: I was convinced this would in no time lose its snug fit due to constant use of the organiser, and becoming an unsightly, limp elastic hanging from the spine.

I admit this is still my main concern; I've only been using the Domino for nearly two months. But I must add that I use it heavily, opening and closing the binder at least ten times a day, and I often add extra bulk to it such as my passport, A4's folded in 4, wet wipes... 

and the elastic can still sit snugly if I empty the whole contents of my Domino.

This type of closure is also quite practical as you can stash papers on the outside of the organiser, and when you're writing on the right side of the Filofax, it doesn't get in the way, as most strap closures tend to do.

2) The absent full width wallet pocket: This is one of the features I love the most about my Finsbury and Urban, as it would be the place I would carry my passports, plane tickets, money, receipts, you name it! It was the pocket for whatever I fancied!

I already experienced this lack on the Chino, and even though it comes with zippered and secretarial pockets, I did miss a place for the stuff I mentioned earlier.

The Domino is different, though, as the elastic closure and the two vertical slots on both sides of the interior make up for it. I now stash my passport and the occasional A4 (folded, of course!) on the back of my Domino, while all other bits of paper and other random stuff can go into the other pockets.

To sum up, this is a lightweight, no-fuss, no-bullshit organiser that has become my sidekick during these two months. As a matter of fact, I don't think I'll be switching to another organiser (my unboxed Raspberry Fins will have to wait still) in a long time.

And I honestly recommend this organiser to ANYBODY!