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Updated: Jan 10, 2022 105 Comments · by

Coffee Break: Samsonite Mobile Solutions

Coffee Break

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I was intrigued to see this line of sleek-looking backpacks (with trolley sleeves, HUZZAH) over at Macy's — it turns out a few other random places have them, including Amazon, Bloomingdale's, Office Depot, and Bed Bath & Beyond. The look reminds me strongly of the old reader favorite brand KNOMO bags, which are getting harder and harder to find these days.

The bags are rated well at the stores where they have ratings — they seem to come in black, navy, brown, and there are a few green options floating around out there. The pictured bag has a laptop sleeve and is $81.

This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

Update: Hunting for the best work backpacks? Some of our favorites in 2024 are below — see the full post for all the details!

black backpack for work with gold hardware

The Overall Best Work Backpack

Tumi Celina Backpack

$475 at Nordstrom
black convertible backpack for work

The Best Convertible Laptop Backpack

Lo & Sons Rowledge

$485 at Lo & Sons
black backpack with laptop compartment; there are gold zippers

The Best Affordable Backpack for Work

Samsonite Mobile Solutions Classic Backpack

$79 at Amazon

Sales of note for 9.30.24

Sales of note for 9.30.24

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

About Kat

Kat Griffin is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Corporette. You can read more about her here.

Comments

  1. Anon

    Favorite bath products? I take one nearly daily and I’m looking for some new my products. I’m open to all manner of bath products – salts, bubbles, oils, etc. Thanks!

    • AIMS

      Lush bath bombs. Dr. Teal’s foaming bath with Epsom salts (the lavender or the eucalyptus).

    • Anon

      B&BW Eucalyptus Spearmint bubbles and salts (separate products). My go-to for rage stress fits. It’s like breathing in zen.

      Caveat: I am very sensitive to strong fragrance, so stuff like Lush is a no-go for me. This is light yet potent, if that makes sense.

    • Sloan Sabbith

      Fellow bath officianado:
      L’Occitane bubble bath. I really like the lavender but verbena is also good. You don’t have to use very much so it lasts forever. I am also excited to try their almond “milky bath” but I currently have quite a few bath products I need to use up. I also like their almond shower oil.
      Aveda bath oil
      Dr. Teal’s foaming bubble bath- I like the himalayan sea salt or the melatonin lavender. I also like their epsom salts. Target sells gigantic “value sized” bags that are like 6 pounds. I like this because it’s cheap so I can try them all.
      Lush bath products, just whatever catches my eye

      I kind of want to try one of the available CBD bath soaks but haven’t yet.

      Oooooh and I just learned that Blue Lagoon sells bath salts….for $104. (If you’re looking for face masks to supplement the bath expeerience, the Blue Lagoon silica face mask is my favorite.)

        • Sloan Sabbith

          Northgate Target has the value sized bags in the “seasonal” section. I was there this last weekend and considered it but I have a small bathroom and a large amount of bath products.

          • Curious

            Oh fun! This week is a hospital week and next week will be low blood count quarantine but maybe the week after…

    • Anonymous

      Glow sticks, especially with a milky bath — turn off all the other lights in the room.

    • BF

      Blackberry Farm’s bathroom line is so lush! I am the poster who lives nearby and is obsessed with their products/properties.

      I also like Tata Harper! The revitalizing body oil is amazing.

  2. Curious

    Just want to say thanks to everyone who shared what they are looking forward to yesterday! It brought me so much joy. I loved all the sensory details and all the choices everyone is making to deliberately bring enjoyment to their lives, through as seemingly small of a thing as a sunny walk to the bus stop or valentine’s day candy.

    • Anon

      You are amazing. I sometimes have a hard time finding joy in other people’s joy when I’m not getting the same things, and to be so genuinely happy for others when you’re going through chemo makes me think you must be the biggest ray of sunshine in the world. All the good vibes to you and please keep us updated on how things are going.

      • Anon

        Agree with all of this! You seem like such a kind person, Curious! Sending you good vibes…

      • Curious

        You all honor me. I’m good some days and crap others (and let’s not forget I actively work for The Man in the form of Amazon). But this community truly brings me joy. Thank you all.

      • Notagirl

        Agree with this whileleartedly. Sending you best wishes and warm thoughts Curious!

    • KS IT Chick

      I’m glad that they brought joy to you!

      I’m looking forward to my birthday trip in March. We are doing a 6-day bourbon and horses trip to Kentucky. We will get a vacation rental and get up late and do tours of distilleries and horse farms.

      • Curious

        Yesssss this sounds awesome. Please report back the best bourbon so I can buy it for my husband if they do online sales or distribute to Seattle.

      • Anon

        I don’t drink bourbon but would be interested in hearing reports about food + horses! I live in Indiana and have a preschooler so Kentucky horse trip is on our list to do soon.

        • Walnut

          I wasn’t a bourbon drinker until I toured my first distillery. I now know what heaven smells like. :)

  3. Anonymous

    It’s just me, reporting back that after 22 months of staying home for 2 weeks to stop the spread, I spend most of my waking hours actively jealous of my cat.

    • Anon

      For sure – I’m jealous when mine naps in the afternoon and I have to be on zoom.

    • Anon

      I would like to follow the sun as it travels from window to window and have a warm spot for naps. So tired that I can now sleep in full sun.

    • Anon

      I adore my tuxedo shorthair, but do you really want to have to use your tongue instead of a nice clean washcloth?

  4. Anon

    It’s cold and my only cords are skinnies. What shoes / boots would you wear them with? Or just sneakers b/c it’s 2022? Casual office.

  5. Gail the Goldfish

    I have another Samsonite backpack almost identical to this for work after I got tired of lugging a shoulder-strap laptop bag around and can attest it’s held up well and looks perfectly fine and professional enough as far as work backpacks go.

  6. Anon

    I live in a small old apartment where there is basement laundry and mice and roaches. HCOL area (to be close to work). I just saw what looks like a mansion in some part of SC/GA that is worth less than this place. Le sigh. I feel like if I will be remote for some time, why not? I could at least not get COVID in my own hallways.

    • Anon

      If it’s in SC/GA, it also comes with roaches, except we call them palmetto bugs and they fly. The grass ain’t always greener.

      • Anon

        But it is grass! I am liking the idea of 4 non-shared walls and outdoor space. Like why am I in a city? Nothing that was great about it is great about it now. When is my lease over? IG is just sending me pictures of houses now since it is picking up on my lamenting. So many cute craftsman bungalows (my kryptonite) sprinkled around the country.

        • Anon

          The kinds of places that are worth moving for are just as or nearly as expensive. The ones that look like a great deal are car-dependent and out in Sprawlsville.

          • Anon

            Actual older bungalows are often in walkable downtowns of smaller towns where things are so slow that they aren’t being torn down for 4000+ sq ft houses. Or in South Pasadena, which is amazing but out of budget by a decimal point.

            Sleepy small towns are hard to move to IMO absent ties.

      • Curious

        Palmetto bugs. *Shiver*. Lived in Dallas 6 months. Don’t ever need to do those again.

        • Anon

          I’m in Florida… I leave my garage door cracked at the bottom so my friendly black racer can come and go as s/he pleases. Garage Snake has a hell of an appetite and keeps the Palmetto bugs in check.

    • Anonymous

      This is the reason we in SC/GA who work locally are now getting squeezed out of the housing market. We are getting paid a lot less only to have to compete with people working remotely from here but getting paid NY/LA/SF/dollars. Law firms even pay massive bumps to people in TX and CHI where housing isn’t terribly expensive. I always wanted to just move to Chicago and practice here. It would be even more appealing now with all the remote appearances.

      • Anon

        I hear you!

        My family were economic migrants from a Carolina due to lack of any good jobs (and failing schools) and now I wonder if it is time to go back. I miss my larger family and I am already working remotely (and I doubt they really care, even if we reopen). I spent a fair amount of time there during lockdown (but worry that is I move there single, I will die there single and never having had a date again).

    • Anon

      I understand. The people in my apartment building don’t tend to wear masks, and the hallways and stairs aren’t big enough to social distance. It’s so frustrating to be living in an apartment right now.

    • Anonymous

      Can you book a hotel or vacation rental and try out some different locations?

  7. Theory Suit Sizing?

    How does Theory suit sizing compare to Banana Republic? The only suit I have is a hot-pink BR suit that fits fine, but I want a navy suit instead of a dress for a wedding coming up this spring. Anyone have the Theory Etienette jacket and/Treece pants? I’m pretty rectangular so jackets with some shaping and straighter (in the hip) pants tend to work best.

    • Anon

      I had that hot pink BR suit and the cleaners shrank it. Sniff! RIP dear suit. You are missed!

    • aBr

      You will need to size up, at least a size, potentially two. Theory sizing tends to be inconsistent within the brand so would highly advise trying it on.

    • Cornellian

      I had Treeca pants and some Theory suiting (not Etienette). I’m a 0 in BR, 2 in Theory. I find theory to be about the same as BR in terms of shoulder width (which is to say, Theory’s shoulders are broader, which is nice for me but not everyone).

      It’s less inflated more European-style sizing, I would say.

    • Cat

      much narrower especially in the hips – awful for my hourglass-pear shape so perhaps ideal for you! Would recommend ordering several sizes to try and being prepared to go up at least one, maybe two.

    • Theory Suit Sizing?

      Thanks, all! I ordered my BR sizes based on the Theory size charts, which apparently are full of lies. Lots of time to get the sizing right so at least I don’t have to worry about finding something fast.

      Interestingly, I have some BR trousers from 2009 in the same size as the pink BR suit pants from 2017 and they fit the same, so not much vanity sizing change in those years, apparently. And some Gap Boy Fit trousers from who knows when two sizes smaller that weirdly also fit the same.

      • Anon

        You can check the inner label for the year and collection for any Gap piece.

        • Theory Suit Sizing?

          Am aware! The tag on this pair is gone, though. But some googling found that they’re from 2010.

  8. Anonymous

    Any favorite audiobooks? I’m trying to take a break from newsy podcasts. (Oh, especially history non fiction books. On the waiting list for the Scotland history book with the guy from Outlander.)

    • Senior Attorney

      I really enjoyed The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson on audio.

    • Cb

      Not Scotland or history but Piranesi. It’s weird and wonderful, and beautifully voice acted. I wonder about the Hilary Mantel books for historical and interesting time period.

      • Anon

        Just listened to this one thanks to a recommendation here! I thought it was great.

    • Sloan Sabbith

      Erik Larsson’s nonfiction history books are usually great. I am in the minority but my favorites were Dead Wake and In the Garden of Beasts. I did NOT like Devil in the White City and I slogged through Splendid and the Vile. But again, I think I’m in the minority here.

      I liked Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow on audio. I used whispersync so I could read some, listen some. Helped me get through it quicker.

      Say Nothing, about the Northern Ireland Troubles, was really good on audio.

      The Gene is also good on audio, although it’s kind of dense- the stories make it interesting, though.

      Prairie Fires, about Laura Ingalls Wilder, was surprisingly interesting. I recommend it to anyone who liked the Little House books.

      Modern Mrs Darcy has a few lists of nonfiction history books, including focusing on narrative nonfiction!!

      • Anon

        I can’t speak to the audio part, but I also liked Dead Wake, Say Nothing, and Prairie Fires. The new book from the author who wrote Say Nothing is also really great, about the opioid epidemic and the Sackler family.

        • Sloan Sabbith

          Oooh, I’ve been seeing this one but hadn’t really looked at it much. That also reminds me- Dopesick was good on audio.

  9. Anon

    My husband got covid last Tuesday but only had symptoms for 2 days. He isolated through yesterday morning. I can’t decide if it is a good idea for me to share the master bedroom with him now. I am fully vaccinated and we have 2 young kids who are not vaccinated. Would y’all feel comfortable? I know the CDC guidance is 5 days.

    • Anonymous

      The guidance is 5 days PLUS wearing a mask around other people. Since I presume he is not sleeping in a mask, no, I would not risk it. If you do go down, regardless of your own health outcome, that’s making a second potential vector for your unvaxxed kids.

    • Anom

      Can’t wait till my family of 4 gets covid in our NY 2-bedroom apt…. Not even 1300 sq ft.

    • Ellen

      I would stay away from him. You could become a superspreader because once you are sharing airspace, you can catch it and give to your unvaccinated kids. It’s not worth it, even if he’s not showing symtoms, and even if you are itchy for some loving from him. I would not even want him doing stuff to me downstairs, where you would not share airspace. Not worth it to infect the kids, and you should not kiss him afterward if you do wind up doing stuff with him.

    • Anon

      There’s no way to realistically isolate in my house. If my spouse gets it, I’m just giving up the ghost and accepting whatever comes.

    • Anon

      MM LaFleur, usually. Too expensive for me at anything approaching full price but quite reasonable on resale sites; consistent sizing; wears very well, so even a gently used item has a lot of life left in it. The website also tells you if it’s friendly for tall, petite, stomach, hips, bust, etc., which makes it easier to determine which pieces would fit me and which would be a mess.

    • Anon

      Hobbs, Brooks Brothers, and Antonio Melani (a Dillard’s store brand) – I know how all these brands fit me but hate paying full price.

    • Anon

      Agree with brands I buy IRL. I like leather Longchamp bags (not the le pliage) and I’ve gotten some good deals on the real real. I also look for perfume because it’s a bit of a hobby of mine.

    • Alanna of Trebond

      Designer brands only – they are pretty affordable on TheRealReal, Vestiaire collective. Valentino, Givenchy, Armani, esp., sometimes you can find Chanel but that is usually overpriced.

  11. anon

    Has anyone else noticed that they need to size waaaay up now that everything is made with a higher rise? When I try my usual size (12-14), it doesn’t work at all. Even sizing up, the waist remains uncomfortably tight. I am not an hourglassy shape. I’m straight through the torso, without much waist definition, but I still have hips and thighs. I don’t know how to dress myself anymore, and it’s suuuper frustrating. I have tried straight fits. I have tried curvy fits, sized up to accommodate for my waist. None of them really work, and shopping is making me feel really bad about my body. It just … really stinks. I prefer pants, much more than dresses, but I can see why so many women say “screw it, nothing but dresses for me.” Can anyone relate? Or at least recommend some brands that are more friendly to a 40-something body? Because I’m used to being a pear, but I am not used to being both a pear and an apple. My body is a G-D fruit salad, I guess.

    • Anon

      I was firmly a S in early 2020 on my lower-rise items that also tended to come in curvy cuts. Size 6? I did gain some pandemic weight and am still full of hip/thigh/tummy. Probably a M / size 10? Middle-aged spread is in full effect now that I am not going into a gym where no one wears a mask (our city is otherwise pretty masked). I ordered some pants recently in a L and the seat was just too snug. My most recently sized pants that are new are BR 8s in their curvy Logan cut and gap 10s in denim. I like pants when it is cold (vs tights / sheath dresses that no longer fit), but this is crazy.

      • Ellen

        I think we are all a bit heavier in our legs and tuchuses post COVID. It’s been 2 years of hunkering down and our tuchuses naturally are there for sitting, but not as much as we’ve been doing. Unfortunately, men still stare at us even with our new bodies b/c they haven’t gotten much from us in the last 2 years, but once this is over, they will go back to oogleing svelte women and our bodies will be shot by then.

    • Anonymous

      Yes. I wish I had known this before I ordered 18 pairs of pants in my low rise size to try on. I know it is silly, because my weight and shape have maintained through the last two years, but I worked hard to drop a size in 2019 and it mentally hurts a bit to be back in the old size.

      • Anon

        I feel like higher rises are for flat-stomached IG models. Once you are not a size 00, I’m not sure they work without a lot of stretch and yet rigid denim seems to be a thing.

        Also, while I’m ranting, can we not have longer-length joggers? I’m not tall but loathing the 1″-2″ of exposed skin b/w the bottom of the joggers and where my socks start.

        • Shelle

          Yes I was coming here to say I sized up when I bought new jeans this year because of the the rigid denim trend, and I wonder if I should have gone two sizes up.

          The worst part about the jogger length is how it rides up so I’m constantly tugging it down and feeling like I have monster calves! Do IG models not experience this?

        • Anon

          If you’re not wearing tall lengths already, just go up a length from normal. I usually buy petites, but buy joggers in petite length for summer and regular for winter. If you’re tall to begin with, that doesn’t work, but you could try mens sizes?

        • anon

          I am a size 00 and I cannot stand high rise pants. They are also incredibly uncomfortable for me! I hate this trend. Although it’s good for my bank account.

          • go for it

            +1 noped out on high rise everything. I have switched to mostly dresses for work (in office) and play and am sooo much happier getting dressed. Pants are such a hassle to get right for me.

    • Anon

      No advice, just commiseration. I was a size 10, pre-pandemic, and I’ve gained 5-10 pounds (used to work in a downtown office, now have zero commute to my bedroom, plus I turned 40 and my metabolism has slowed wayyyy down). I don’t know if it’s my changing shape, a growing lack of patience for irritating clothes issues, manufacturer changes, inconsistent sizes, or what. But whatever it is, I have no idea what size I am anymore, and nothing is remotely comfortable. I also hate the color palettes in stores right now (not a fan of the 70s and these brown-orange tinted shades make me look ill) so I am trying to make do with the clothes in my closet but it’s getting to a dire state two years in.

      • anon

        OP here. Are you me? Right down to the size and metabolism and turning 40. I started the pandemic as a 10. I will fully own that I’m on the upper end of a size 12 right now, but I tried on some size 14s and 16s the other day, and they were comically bad. Like didn’t fit in any way, shape, or form. Baggy in some areas, too tight in others. It was bizarre. And these are brands I’ve worn for years!

    • Anon

      I hate the high rise pants trend. I’m both short and short waisted, and pretty much have no waist as there’s almost no gap between the top of my hip bones and the bottom of my ribs. When I can find things in medium rise, I wear a S, but have to go up to M or L in high rise styles, and still feel like I’m being suffocated. I’m pretty much only wearing leggings and joggers these days, which still require sizing up, but at least are more comfortable.

      • Anonymous

        Same shape here. And while finding pants that fit while standing up is a challenge now, finding pants that fit while sitting down is darn near impossible. The waist band is folding over and there is a giant bubble around my belly. It just doesn’t work at all.

    • Anonymous

      For me it’s the opposite, I size down the higher the raise, but then I am an hourglassy shape with a high and small waist, so the super high rise pants are my unicorn pants and I love them.

      I can relate, though, because I have your experience with mid-rise and just slightly high rise, they hit me lower than my waist, and the fit will never really work and the waistband will pinch in horribly and create a muffin top from my mid hip even with a generous ease in the thighs and lower hip area.

      Before the super-high rises available now, I had a lot of luck with half elasticated pants. Not a jeans fix, but for other pants a back elastic and flat front fixed things for me. At the cheaper end, Uniqlo has some basic work pants you could try to see if this works for you.

      • AnonInfinity

        Same here!! I also love the look of high rise pants and do not think you need to be model thin to pull them off. I’m a size 12 in high rise/ 14 in lower rise, so definitely not headed to the runway anytime soon.

      • Notagirl

        Same for me! And I have a really prominent belly (I am an hourglass from the front and an apple from the side). I think it’s a lot more about how high your waist is than how small. Tummys can squish, hips can’t, if that makes any sense… I had trouble finding sufficiently high rises for years and now that the late 90s/early aughts are coming back into fashion, I dread we may swerve into ultra low rise territory…

    • Curious

      Does anyone know if Universal Standard works for this? Wardrobe Oxygen has a similar shape, albeit 5’4″ (not sure your height) and she seems to love them.(She also did a massive review of jeans about 2 months ago if that helps!)

    • Anonymous

      Commiseration, I have found it hard to find pants that I like and that fit, as well. I have to try on several pairs to find one that works.

    • Anonymous

      My body shape can best be described as “roly poly” at the moment, sigh – Kut from the Kloth, NYDJ, and Wit & Wisdom are my go-tos for pants. 16P, hips, thighs, butt, belly.

      • Anon

        I wish Wit & Wisdom made actual high rise jeans, though. The ones that say high rise are mid-rise at best, and I am only 5’2”.

      • Anonymoose

        Apple 16P here. I have had luck with Talbots Cambridge pants (the pull ons, not the zips) and the Talbots wide leg travel pants (with about five inches whacked off the bottom by my tailor). Same for just about all pants from Kasper Petite (at Macy’s).

        For more casual days, the Duluth Trading Noga skinnies in a medium with the 29 inch inseam are decent.

    • Anon

      I did not find issues with sizing between mid and high rise jeans. I usually buy Banana Republic or Gap (online). I do not have a “prominent” belly and am an hourglass shape. Once I started sewing, I realized how difficult it is to create pants that would miraculously fit all the possible body shapes. Ladies – it is hell. If you can, buy the size that fits you the best and then spend extra 10$ on tailoring offered in-store. If the jeans fit all over, but you need the waist taken in – it can be done. But it is impossible to mass-produce pants that would be a perfect fit for everyone.
      Please, sign me up for the club of “we want proper-length joggers, pants and jeans” as my ankles are freezing. The extra 3-5cm of fabric won’t kill companies’ profit margins.

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