A lawyer friend needs to buy a quality but not outrageously expensive bag for work. Right now, she uses two crappy bags slung over both shoulders. She’d like to replace these with one large quality bag, in the $300-$500 price range. Must be able to hold lots of paper (did I mention she is a lawyer?) so the bigger the better.
She was OK with these, but I’m wondering if anyone can recommend anything else. Or evaluate whether these are OK, or which one you like better. She liked all the pockets/dividers in #2, but the leather was a little shiny and garish (to me).
The lighter the bag itself, the better. I haul close to 15-20 lb of stuff on some days, and I did not want to carry another 8! My solution is a Tumi nylon tote. It only adds less than a pound to my load and is water resistant. On the days I really need to up things a few pounds, I carry a rolling tote. Both look professional enough for a lawyer. Let me see if I can find the pics of these!
Take a look at Tumi’s line of totes and briefcases. I have the Hayes triple compartment tote and love it. Comes with a padded compartment for a laptop. Free monogramming as well which really finishes it off. It falls just within your budget at $495 but if you can hold off they do run a sale every now and then. i believe their “Sinclair” tote is on sale now.
Thanks for the suggestions. What she has now is fake leather and canvass, and we want to up it a notch. So not Vera Bradley. Good point about the compartment for a laptop – I’ll mention that to her. The Tumi bag looks interesting. Is it OK to have a nylon – not leather – bag? Seriously – I have no idea.
I carried the standard leather “lawyers briefcase” many years ago. It did not have enough “give” for me and I now view them as having a somewhat dated look. Just my opinion though.
Are you getting some input from the recipient of this lovely gift? I consider a briefcase a really personal item and it might make sense to determine what features she values.
I’m not buying it! She is – so not a gift. I’ll just send her links. She is not new to the workforce – she’s been working for decades, just fashion impaired.
Honestly, so much depends on what she plans to use it for. Our law firm (and most others in HI) use rolling sample cases that are black leather or similar when they have heavy or bulky stuff to tote (briefs, memos, depositions). There are rolling briefcases made by Samsonite and others that could fill that niche. If it’s for everyday and NOT for heavy, bulky stuff, I looked around and found a light blue leather briefcase (no brand) that has lots of compartments and zippers. I love it, especially that it’s NOT black.
I went with a friend to Macy’s and Ross and looked around at their selection. She found bags she liked. I guess what I’m saying is that the name brand isn’t important a functionality IS!
Unless she is in a firm where there is some “dress code” calling for leather bags/briefcases, I do not see why nylon should not be considered. Synthetics offer more flexibility, expandability, and durability. Plus, these fabrics are usually perceived as being more planet-friendly than leather (I know, it is debatable ).
These are similar to what I have (I think Tumi no longer makes my version of the Voyageur):
Those two bags you showed, the handles are very thin. I would be concerned if they would break with a lot of paper and a laptop. I was going to suggest Tumi too. Nylon is very in and it is very sturdy. I have a Prada nylon bag for my laptop.
Thin handles really hurt your hands and shoulders. I’m a lawyer but work for a rural lifestyle corporation. We all carry nice backpacks ( Ogio or something) with our company logo on them.
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