My tumblr friend Courtney asked if I could find her a nice laptop bag for under $200. This seemed like an easy request and I’ve been meaning to get a new laptop bag as well so I figured I might as well see what’s out there.
Guess what? Nothing is out there! Ok, I’m being dramatic. Almost nothing is out there. When I search for laptop bags my results are quite large, until I narrow down by ‘womens bags’. More than once, my fairly large selection of men and women’s laptop bags narrowed itself down to two. TWO! Here’s what I noticed: there are an insane amount of laptop sleeves, presumably for any woman to cover her laptop and then drop into her Mary Poppins’s bag of choice, which there are also a lot of, but there aren’t a lot of real laptop bags for women. Especially not attractive ones under $200.
This seems incredibly strange to me. We have laptop sleeves, a few laptop bags which are really just slim cases with handles, a whole lot of totes with a side pocket big enough to hold a laptop, and very few actual bags meant for laptops plus everything else a girl needs. You know, maybe I got it wrong, maybe Courtney just wanted a bag big enough for her laptop but I really wanted to give her a variety of options – including a ‘do-it-all’ laptop bag.
There is one, and I’ve had my eye on it every since I read about the brand on A Piece of Toast:
Lo & Sons The Brookline Tote – I am a HUGE dork. Many of their bags have a video showing everything you can put in your bag and I’ve watched them multiple times. Practically drooling over the amount of space and the efficiency of their bags. First, there are compartments for everything, including a laptop. There’s a key ring to hold your keys in a pouch so you never lose them. And a back sleeve so you can slip your bag over your luggage handle. This is the least expensive of their bags that hold laptops and I’m in love with it. Organizer heaven.
Here are other options:
Francine WIB London Leather Tote with Sleeve – I assumed that you can get a nice, leather laptop bag for under $200, but in reality most of the nice leather laptop bags are more like $400. It was tough to find a classy leather bag for women that was also a laptop bag. I know I’m harping on this but it’s true. This WIB tote comes with a removable laptop sleeve, zippered pockets, and room for essentials.
Herschel Supply Co ‘Market’ Tote – This one is cute and has polka dots. It’s one of the totes I mentioned that happens to have a sleeve that can hold most 13-inch laptops. Like many totes, it doesn’t zip at the top but it has a lot of pockets which is important. This brand has awesome backpacks and if you don’t like polka dots this tote comes in different colors, here are other options by Herschel Supply Co.
Hex 15″ Macbook Pro Tote – Another tote option, but this one zips! It comes in five different colors and I like them all, but this one is slightly nautical so it’s my favorite. I’m honestly really glad this one zips and has a side compartment for your laptop while giving you space for other things. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have smaller pockets for the little things, including your phone. So we get a zipper but give up pockets on this one. Check out Hex’s other bags as well.
Aldo Montefortino – Here’s an example of a laptop sleeve that’s also a bag. You can really only store your laptop in here but it does have a two front pockets for essentials. It has two ways to hold it, the top handle and a longer strap. Plus, I really like the neutral colorblocking on this bag. It’s simple, but classy. I would take this bag over my ugly gray laptop bag in a second.
MARC by Marc Jacobs Dreamy Logo Neoprene Commuter 15″ Laptop Bag – Unlike the choice above, this is a straight up laptop bag. No extra pockets, no other storage. This is your laptop’s bed. And I say bed because it has a plush interior to keep your laptop safe. I’m usually not a fan of logos but this is graphic and in my favorite color :) . It also comes in neon pink if that’s your thing.
