Wanted: a Stylish Satchel Than Can Carry Everything

By Chritina Binkley

The satchel is having a moment.

With handles sturdy enough for heavy loads, plenty of pockets and sufficient structure that you don't have to dig around inside, it's a carryall, but more organized. This sizable bag is increasingly valuable as we tote the accoutrements of busy lives: mobile phones, iPads, sunblock, stuffed animals for the kids, water bottles.

The satchel has been around since the 17th century—doctors traditionally carried them, and so did the Pony Express, not to mention legions of schoolchildren. Their current incarnation came about just as tablet computers became a part of daily life.

Now that pockets are no longer adequate for the job of toting techno-gadgets, the obsessive search for the perfect bag is shared by men. The average man now carries seven items, from a cellphone to a pad of paper, according to research by the bag maker Coach. "All these protruding objects affect how my suit fits and looks," says Randy Maniloff, a Philadelphia attorney who recently went searching for the perfect bag.
At the same time, a more casual ethos has altered our taste in bags. In many places these days, a backpack is too collegiate, but a formal, hard-sided briefcase can look as awkward as dress socks with shorts.

The success of Proenza Schouler's luxe PS1 three years ago may have been a turning point, both for the brand and for satchels themselves, which gained "It bag" status.

Now, designers are creating bags for both men and women that have exteriors that are stylish and interiors designed for modern busyness. Hermès has seen an uptick in interest in nontraditional shapes for men, such as messenger bags and soft totes such as its Double Sens. Hermès has even been selling a slim tote that can accommodate an iPad, business cards and a notebook. "It's a man's clutch, in a way," says spokesman Peter Malachi. For spring, the company is developing a larger bag that could hold even more of the items that people haul around each day.

Bags are highly personal. You might be a messenger type—wanting that front flap to shield the unsightly mess within—or a hobo type seeking unimpeded access. Magnetic clasps offer ease, but a turnkey is more secure in a pickpocket zone. Zippers offer security, at the cost of added effort to open and close them (not to mention the risk of snagged scarves).

Tastes in bags vary around the country, says Bill Adler, founder and designer of WILL Leather Goods in Eugene, Ore. He says East Coast men tend toward more formal, full-leather, hand-carried bags, while the West Coast prefers lighter canvas-leather mixes with shoulder straps.
WILL recently launched a new satchel, the Everett, to answer the needs of people who travel with a small office on their shoulder. In designing its exterior, Mr. Adler gave a nod to the past—with a brass clasp imitating one from the 1920s, when new modes of transportation made travel a part of daily life. But the interior, he says, must hold the functions of today. The Everett has space for folders, technology and even a pair of gym shoes.

For men, the messenger bag, a bag with a long, cross-body strap, can make a style statement. Yet the space between that and a "murse"—a men's purse—can be slim. Generally, if a man's bag is too small to carry a legal-size document, it starts to look like a murse (though there is some leeway for squared-off iPad carriers).

When Mr. Maniloff went shopping in Philadelphia, he sought a satchel that would transition to his evening hobby—open-mike night at the comedy club—without drawing derision from his colleagues at the office: "It can't look like I'm wearing a pocketbook. Noooooo," he says. He settled on the casual, unobtrusive Tumi Alpha messenger-style bag with a cross-body strap. On the first day out, he loaded it with his wallet, keys, BlackBerry, digital recorder, notepad, pen, bifocals, work ID card, newspaper and a tin of mini Altoids. "I felt so liberated," he says, "not to have any of that in my pockets."

For me, like many people, a bag must have compartments, including a safe place for my iPad and easy access to my cellphone. It must easily accommodate manila file folders. It must have feet or some protection from scuffs when it sits on the floor (where it will inevitably spend much of its life). It must not look cheaply made, which means close attention to the heft and smoothness of hardware, as well as the finishing of seams and the interior. It has to transition into evenings without looking as though I took my briefcase to dinner (even though I did).

The good news is that there are many such bags out there, from pricey lines such as Reed Krakoff to mass brands. Women have many more options than men, but women's bags tend to be more expensive. Fortunately, some brands—Coach and Hermès, for instance—have styles in their men's collections that a woman can love.
Shopping online is risky. Few brands include enough information, such as the number of pockets and compartments, measurements, and detailed interior photos, for shoppers to judge them. Also, it's a good idea to hang a bag on your shoulder to assess whether the strap is wide enough, the handles long enough and the opening placed conveniently.

I returned J. Crew's Edie Attaché when I discovered it was too shallow to meet my prerequisites. Likewise, a Ted Baker Skolday bag was too narrow to be really handy. A Coach Classic Field Bag seemed ideal in photos, but the leather felt thin, and the hardware wasn't the sturdy stuff of the brand's classics. (Coach has been using lighter materials to reduce the weight of its bags, a spokesman says.)

Some bags were too gadget-specific for general use. Fendi's iPad case is gorgeous, but it turned out to be heavy and too big to slip into another bag easily—yet too small to carry wallets, keys and other items.
While mobile-phone pockets are common—many bags come with two—it was difficult to find a bag with space designed for an iPad. Fortunately, several bags, such as the Fendi 2jours, have a large pocket that can hold a tablet vertically.

After inspecting more than 15 bags, I found seven that met my standards. Three—the Tods D-Style Bauletto, Fendi 2jours, and Gucci leather hobo—are intended for women and can transition smoothly from the office to dinner. Four more—the Ted Baker Halfbee flight bag, the Gucci messenger bag, the Coach Bleecker utility tote and the WILL Everett—could work well for men or women—though several women I queried felt the Everett was too heavy.

Of course, there is no one right bag for everyone. The late Nora Ephron, who chronicled her search for a bag in the 2006 essay "I Hate My Purse," found her bag at the New York Transit Museum: a blue and yellow plastic bag emblazoned with the image of the city's Metro Card for $26. Waterproof, indestructible, and seen by some as a fashion statement, it was, she wrote, "definitely the best bag I have ever owned."

Wanted: a Stylish Satchel Than Can Carry Everything

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444772404577589802927843604.html?mod=lifestyle_newsreel

 



Article: You Can Take It With You: No Fun in Traveling Light

Q: I envy those businesswomen who manage to make do with one carry-on bag, but I'm just not one of them. It's impossible to travel light when you're going to have a lot of special events that involve different shoes, and I don't want to wear black all of the time. Do you have better suggestions?
—T.B., New Orleans

A: I'm all for practicality and have used all the packing tricks—sample-size toiletries, sleeping in T-shirts and getting three days of outfits out of a single black skirt or pants.
But there comes a time when you just want to travel with more of your favorite clothes, several pairs of shoes and gym gear. Alas, no matter how efficiently you pack, all those things just won't fit into a single carry-on bag.

So stop breaking your back! Go ahead and pay to check a roomy bag so you can enjoy your wardrobe, as well as all your shampoos and liquids that won't get past security in a carry-on.

 

Bee

What's the point of having all those gorgeous frocks if you can't sashay around in them on vacation?
Be disciplined and pack judiciously, of course.

Invest in a four-wheeled "spinner" bag, which rolls right along like a shopping cart. Put your carry-on tote right on top of it and push it through those long airport corridors.

As you're researching luggage brands on the Internet and in stores, get a feel for the design of the bags' interiors.

I like a lot of compartments partitioned off, such as a zippered, waterproof section for liquids. I double-wrap them in plastic bags to guard against any spillage. Other travellers prefer an unadorned, square interior in which they can stack more garments.

Resist checking your bag if you're confronting tight connections (especially if you're travelling internationally) or if you're on a quick and critical business trip, where there is no margin for error.
But vacations are for shifting out of the rat race. Lock your bags, put your name and travel info on the inside and outside of the bags—and then relax. The odds are overwhelmingly in your favor that you and your checked luggage will arrive together.

Source:The Wall Street Journal  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303918204577448782255531946.html?mod=lifestyle_newsreel

Article: The Bag Makes the Woman

Wall Street Journal

By SARAH ROSE

 

Ramsay de Give for The Wall Street Journal

 

'When I read a woman, I read her bag,' says Monica Botkier, in her SoHo showroom.

In the manuals of corporate dress codes, a woman's handbag rarely merits a mention. Yet the purse a woman carries to work is much more than a place to hold a hairbrush. A purse can send a signal about its owner's character, says Monica Botkier, a New York-based handbag designer. "The bag tells a lot," she says. "When I read a woman, I read her bag. It's a little Rorschach test."

Striking a balance between style and organization is crucial to projecting an image of chic competence, says Ms. Botkier, who developed her signature Trigger bag when she was a fashion photographer seeking a roomy but stylish bag for her gear.

For Ms. Botkier, a work purse has to be generous enough to move items between the home and office without becoming unwieldy. There is a fine line, she says, between spacious and burdensome. An office handbag should be large enough for a set of ballet flats—but not cavernous enough for a pair of heels; it might hold an iPad, but not a laptop.

Enlarge Image

Ramsay de Give for The Wall Street Journal

Ms. Botkier's Misha iPad holder.

A great work bag should be well-organized, Ms. Botkier says. She looks for purses with at least one outside pocket for her smartphone. A few internal pockets help keep small items like keys and pens off the bottom of the bag. As the mother of three small children who like to rummage through her purse, Ms. Botkier likes at least one internal pocket to have a zipper closure. "They'll get into everything anyway, but the zipper helps," she says.

While some precious purses might stay bundled in a dust bag, your office bag will see daily use and should be made of a durable skin like cowhide or lambskin. Cowhide is sturdy but can seem heavy; lambskin is supple and lighter but more fragile. Choose deeper colors to mask stains and weatherproof the bag according to the designer's directions, she cautions. "Stay away from suedes," she says. "The matte surface picks up dirt and can rub and get nubby."

It's hard to appear competent when fishing in the bottom of a purse, pulling out personal items in the middle of a conference table. So while unstructured hobo bags might be au courant, Ms. Botkier suggests carrying something with a slightly stiffer structure for the office.

 

Ramsay de Give for The Wall Street Journal 

Ms. Botkier's Brando satchel

A bag with a choice of straps or handles—to wear across the body, hoist on a shoulder or dangle from a wrist—gives commuters options.

While fashion might favor tassels, noisy hardware and large logos, Ms. Botkier suggests toning purses down for corporate culture—though creative offices might be more forgiving of trends.

She suggests switching purses with the seasons. In spring, she likes lighter colors—pink or mint this year—and less bulky bags. "I always think of cross-body straps for spring, so you can have your hands free."
In autumn, she prefers rich colors, such as deep plums or emeralds, and a larger handbag, which can balance out the bulk of a heavy coat and offer room for a hat, scarves and gloves.

To ease the seasonal swap, or to switch bags for the weekend, Ms. Botkier keeps her makeup in pouches. A leather makeup bag helps prevent lipstick stains in a purse and could double as a clutch for party wear.

When carrying gym clothes, paper files and other items too large for a purse, Ms. Botkier carries a separate bag that doesn't conform to somber office dress codes and can be stashed under a desk. "It can be anything from a luxe leather tote to a cute fabric in bright colors or leopard prints," she says. "And that's your fun tote. It's something a little extra."

Monica Botkier
• Launched the Botkier handbag line in 2003
• Developed her signature Trigger handbag in 2003
• Botkier is available at Nordstrom, Shopbop and Botkier.com
• Monica Botkier, her first luxury collection, will be out in the fall

Read: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303592404577364181251657816.html

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