Work Tote

My parents wanted to get me a nice "lawyer bag" for graduation. Little did I know, finding a quality office/court-appropriate bag to tote around would prove to be ridiculously difficult.

The totes I found were either:

a) too small 

       I don't need a weekender, just something to fit some files and at least a laptop.

b) too flimsy 

       Ideally, I was looking for something sturdy enough to stand on its own.

c) too fashionable* or 

      Black or brown leather. Boring. But necessary.

d) actually a diaper bag

     True story. Every single bag I was drawn too came with a changing pad haha.

*I'm all for fashionable work bags, believe me. But certain bags are just not made for most office settings (or, especially, not made for court): patent leather, bright colors, flashy prints, designers' monogram plastered all over it, polka dots, etc.

I wasn't interested in spending their life savings on this gift, but I wanted (and they wanted for me, of course) a nice, quality, durable bag that was designed to really last. As it turned out, a great, functional, appropriate bag was really hard to find! I narrowed it down to my go-to, favorite designers and checked them all out in person before making a decision. So, for anyone else who is in the market for a similar bag, I put together a little list of my top picks. {Based on: simplicity of design, durability, quality of materials/leather, space, and personal preference!}

1. Tory Burch

2. Kate Spade

3. Michael Kors

4. Michael Kors

5. Tory Burch

I settled on the Kate Spade. It is really well-made ~ sturdy, great interior pockets/storage, and easily can accommodate files and a computer without anything poking out the top or sides. It definitely looks like a "work bag" and not a purse - which is exactly what I was going for. duh. I gave my new lawyer bag a trial run at my first big girl job interview last week and further confirmed my choice -- I love it! 

Would I rather have spent that kind of $$$ on 15 other dumb little things? Probably. But all this to say, I'm happy to have found a work tote that I will (hopefully) use for a verrrry long time. And since it wasn't as easy of a search process as I initially expected... it was worth taking the time to really look and hopefully my research and testing of these silly bags will prove to be helpful to someone else who embarks on the same search down the road ;)

Anyone else have work tote favorites to share?? I'd love to have more options/ideas to pull from for future reference!