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Practical and Professional Bags and Briefcases for Women
BY: Judith Rasband • Sep 11, 2017
“If you can have it, carry it. It’s the simplest way of adding accessories and comforts to your ordinary days.”
Business or Corporate women face the dilemma of what to carry, purse or briefcase. The questions is how to keep business folders and documents neat, clean and organized or your lunch in tact; how to have keys, cards, pens, wallet and makeup close at hand; how to travel across town, present a paper, promote a product, or shake hands with ease and without looking like a bag lady.
A purse if often too feminine, a briefcase too masculine, a purse and a briefcase too cumbersome and pockets are absent or impractical. There seems to be no one perfect solution for all women, but instead a variety of solutions based on how much you have to carry and where you work.
If you carry a lot legal briefs, professional journals, binders and books, a large tote bag or briefcase is required. If desired, they double as overnight bags for business travel. If a few papers are the norm, a slim envelope bag or portfolio is sufficient. If it’s keys and a wallet, with a minimum of makeup, a small bag will do. No sense to carry something larger than you need, unless you’re after the more assertive professional image associated with a briefcase, even an empty one.
If you work in a traditionally conservative or formal business office, stick with a classic leather handbag or briefcase, one devoid of decoration or designer initials. Plain and simple is the rule. If you work in a creative or casual business office, your options expand to include the variety of leather fabric totes and even canvas or polished-looking leather backpacks.
PROFESSIONAL LOOKING PURSES:
If a smaller handbag meets your needs, choose from the professional looking clutch, envelope or satchel styles available, often with a detachable shoulder strap. Conservative business bags should be made of fine leather or excellent imitation leather. Suede is less durable than leather. Fabric or straw bags are appropriate for after hours and for those in creative or casual business positions.
Choose from the variety of classic colors-black, brown, burgundy, gray, navy, luggage, cinnamon or chestnut brown. Light or bright colors are acceptable for creative or casual business bags, although lighter colors show the soil and scratch marks more readily than darker colors. Handbag colors should coordinate well with mainstay clothes and shoes in your business wardrobe.
PRACTICAL TOTE BAGS:
Women in creative or casual business positions find tote bags a practical alternative to a briefcase. Not as formal, tote bags offer more flexibility for bulky items along with a variety of fashion options. Available in a wide range of sizes, leathers and fabrics, you might want to consider leather for rainy season and straw, canvas or linen for summer.
Tote bags are softly constructed. Papers are easily crushed and wrinkled under the weight of books and personal items. A thin notebook or portfolio that slips easily inside the tote will protect papers. Open at the top totes invite pickpockets. Make sure yours is closed at the top.
Briefcase or tote, select a size in proportion with your size. A huge case or bag easily overpowers a petite figure. Too large a tote and you look more like a packhorse.
BRIEFCASE:
Women in conservative business positions consider a briefcase in dispensable with big-time needs in terms of space or a power look. Briefcases come in two types, hard and soft-sided.
Hard-sided or structural styles have a crisp, clean-cut appearance. The framework provides firm protection and keeps the case from expanding. If overloaded, they won’t close.
Soft-sided styles have a softer, less clunky appearance. They will expand to some degree, but look sloppy if overloaded. Choose the type that best reflects your personal and professional style.
For the best investment value, choose a leather briefcase. Briefcase leather should be somewhat thicker than the leather used in a firmly constructed handbag. Thin, delicate leathers and the glamour-leathers such as lizard, eel skin, ostrich skin does not hold up under daily use.
Belting leather, with its visible and desirable imperfections, is the thickest and most durable. It is also the most expensive and subject to spotting or stains. Body oils and hand lotions readily darken the handle and closure area. This is not always appropriate for more formal business situations.
Select a briefcase with a wood case instead of cardboard. Cardboard can crack, bend or curl, particularly if wet. Cases come in two, three and four inch thicknesses. Choose according to how much you have to carry. Consider cases that include small inner compartments for pens or personal items and large ones for papers. If you walk a lot, look for a slightly lightweight case with a shoulder strap.
Preferred colors include burgundy, brown, cinnamon, rust, black and tan, in that order. Black is the most formal looking briefcase. Light colored cases weaken a power image.
Examine all construction in details. Look for double-edges, with extra leather stitched on for added strength. Double stitching increases durability. The corners of hard-sided should be rounded or reinforced with brass. Open and shut the case several times. Zippers should slide smoothly. Sturdy clasps should fasten easily and securely.
Handles reinforced with stitching are recommended. Check to see that rivets on the handle and hinges at the back of the case are secure. If glued only, the case will not last. A removable shoulder strap aids handling when traveling or shopping.
Quality leather-looking vinyl briefcases are generally to last for four to five years. They should feature authentic stitching instead of embossing, reinforced corners and an unbreakable real leather handle.
Many business or corporate women can’t get along without two hand carried items. A handbag used in combination with a portfolio allows you a place for personal items along with sleek protection for paperwork. Legal-sized portfolios come in leather, leather-like vinyl and canvas with leather binding.
The larger tote bag with portfolio inside offers flexibility as the assortment comes out to be carried on its own when needed for a less cumbersome look. A small clutch bag works well stored inside a briefcase or tote bag during business hours, coming out for evening. For that matter, both a small purse and portfolio can slip neatly inside, our of sight until needed.
A smaller shoulder bag and briefcase carried on opposite sides of the body for a balanced appearance is also acceptable. This solution offers maximum space and leaves your hand free to shake. Select your bag to match or coordinate well with your briefcase.
What you carry in your purse or briefcase is strictly up to you. Just don’t stuff them to the brim or you will look clumsy and out of control. The strain will also shorten the wear life of the bag or case.