The Best Work Bags for Women in 2024

Sure, we all know what wardrobe essentials for work professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you’re buying one for the first time or replacing one you’ve worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have.

It has been WAY too long since we've done a roundup of the best work bags for women — which are your favorites right now, readers? Do you prefer backpacks for work, or another style?

For my $.02, a great work bag for women:

• has a closed top like a zipper
• has organizing features like pockets, water bottle sleeves, sometimes even a zippered outside compartment for your commuting shoes/gym shoes
• isn't too heavy — my preferred material has always been nylon; faux leather is also going to be pretty lightweight; leathers and coated canvas are the most durable but add weight
• is large enough to fit a folder with your resume in it (if you're interviewing)
• IDEALLY has additional thoughtful details like metal feet, a long interior keychain, and one pocket accessible from the outside

I've rounded up a ton of options: splurges, super affordable bags, laptop bags, bags with trolley sleeves (to fit over your rolling suitcase for business travel), smaller/indie brands focused on bags for work, and vegan brands.

Readers, have you bought a work bag recently that you love? Which are your all-time favorite work bags for women, and why?

In the past, we've pondered whether totes or backpacks for work are the best, talked about how to organize your bags, shared silly thoughts about what your tote bag says about you, and asked the readers how many bags they bring to work.

In addition to this roundup, we've also rounded up the best bags for interviews, the best briefcases for women, the best work backpacks, AND the best stylish work bags for petites. (We've also rounded up the best bags for law students!)

Regarding designer bags, we've rounded up the best luxury work bags, answered questions from readers wondering if businesswomen MUST have a designer bag, as well as questions from the intern with the $9,000 bag (our first viral post, aw!), and a young lawyer who wondered if she could buy a $2,700 bag even though she was just starting out.

Our Latest Favorite Work Bags for Women in 2024

Our Latest Favorite Affordable Work Bags for Women

Our Latest Favorite Laptop Totes

Our Latest Favorite Work Backpacks

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

Our Latest Favorite Luxury Work Bags

Our Latest Favorite Professional Purses

I generally consider professional purses to be smaller than a work bag, but maybe that's me!

Hunting for a great professional purse? In 2024, readers are loving affordable crossbody bags like those from Cuyana, Lo & Sons, and Madewell.

In terms of a designer bag to suit your life as a professional, readers have been loving affordable(ish) luxury brands like Polène, Tory Burch, Strathberry, DeMellier, and Mansur Gavriel, as well as more designer bags like Chloé (particularly the Marcie line) and Mulberry. (If money is no object, Loewe and Bottega Venetta are always worth a look!)

Notes If You're Looking for a Very Specific Type of Women's Work Bag

• Usual Suspects (reliable brands or stores to check first): Cuyana, Tumi,  MZ Wallace, TJ Maxx, Lo & Sons
• Under $100: Amazon brand ($12) — also check your local Nordstrom Rack or T.J.Maxx!
• Splurges: (see all of our favorite luxury work bags here!): Bottega Veneta, Mulberry, Saint Laurent, Kaai, and Demellier… lesser splurges include Lo & Sons bags, as well as Tumi!
• Laptop bags for women: Lo & Sons, Tumi (also check for laptop sleeves from Society 6 and, of course, Amazon)
• Backpacks for work: Tumi, MZ Wallace, Lo & Sons (convertible!), Herschel (see our whole roundup of stylish backpacks for work!)
• Briefcases for women: (see our roundup of the best briefcases for women!): Dooney & Bourke, Carl Friedrik, Mulberry, Cluci, and Hermes
• Leather clutches / large leather folders: Leatherology, Etsy, Cuyana, Smythson
• Nylon/lightweight work bags for women: Tory Burch, Lo & Sons, Tumi,
• Trolley sleeves for business travel: Tumi, Lo & Sons, Vera Bradley, Herschel, and Baggalini
• Former reader-favorite brands that may be rebranding/closing (just speculation since they're really hard to find right now in the usual places): Lodis and KNOMO London
• Smaller/independent brands focusing on bags for work: Cuyana, Lo & Sons, Dagne Dover, Gigi New York, Alesya, Shinola, Jemma Bags, July, Daame
• Vegan: Matt & Nat, Gunas New York, Senreve
• ORGANIZING INSERTS for totes: Omystyle (12,000+ good reviews at Amazon), Olunsu (5,600+ good reviews at Amazon)

The Best Work Bags for Women – Office-Friendly and Great for Work Outfits

The Best Amazon Work Tote: Nodykka

Amazon is hard to beat in terms of affordability, but you do usually get what you pay for, so watch out for that. Still, this bestseller from Nodykka has 22,000+ glowing reviews and comes in over 100 colors (!!!), with reviewers loving how affordable, lightweight, and versatile the bag is.

(Another great Amazon tote bag option: this tasseled tote from Dreubea, with 60,000+ great reviews.

If you're looking for a tote with more organization/pockets, do keep in mind that you can buy extra inserts for tote bags for around $15 on Amazon — Omystyle and Olunsu are both incredibly highly rated. You can also get a ton of plain laptop sleeves at Amazon or a HUGE variety of styles at Society 6.

Some of our favorite spots to check include Nordstrom Rack and T.J.Maxx — a specific styles include this Amazon tote under $15 and this affordable line from Samsonite (especially this backpack). Everlane's great ReNew bags are also under $100. The very trendy BÉIS bags are usually under $150 as well.

The Best Lightweight, Professional Tote: Tory Burch Ella

I've never been a huge fan of the big Tory Burch emblem (where does this fall on the “cheugy” continuum, if you care?), but it's hard to find highly-rated nylon bags that are lightweight and have stood the test of time. This one has been a bestseller for YEARS — if you're looking for an affordable classic and lightweight interview tote, it's a great investment. It's $198-$228 at Nordstrom, and it's wonderful to see that they now offer a version made from recycled nylon.

A more affordable but floppier option is this Tumi Voyageur bag, on sale for $69 — but that one has a trolley sleeve for your rolling bag. Also look to Lo & Sons for excellent nylon bags, many of which are 50% off right now.

The Best Convertible Work Bag for Women: Lo & Sons

There are a TON of Lo & Sons bags that have been loved by the readers (they're always on our lists of the best work bags!), many on sale right now — the Seville laptop bag, the OG. I'm featuring the Rowledge here because it's that unusual bag that is a business-appropriate backpack for work that converts to a north/south tote with a top handle. If you're looking for something like this, definitely consider Lo & Sons.

Another super popular north/south tote (but not a backpack) is Madewell's Transport tote.

The Best Leather Tote with a Zipper: Cuyana

If you're looking for a classic leather tote bag with a zippered top, I think most readers would agree that the Cuyana bag is the one. It's a smaller brand, people rave about the leather and durability, it comes in 10 colors, it can be monogrammed, it has inserts or tech sleeves you can add on — and it's only $195. The brand's website also notes that they are LWG Silver certified, “ensuring the leather is tanned responsibly against measures like traceability, resource consumption, and effluent treatment.”

The Best Splurge Work Bag: Bottega

Looking for a splurge tote? There are so many great bags here. I think the one I'm currently drooling over is the pictured Bottega Venetta East/West Tote — it just looks so cool. I'm always a fan of Bottega, though, because I feel like their leather and craftsmanship is impeccable, but the brand recognition is lower than some of the more logo'd brands.

The pictured bag is $2450 at Neiman Marcus; NET-A-PORTER also has some options.

In addition to Bottega's totes, if you're in the market for stylish work bags, I'd also consider Bottega Veneta, Mulberry, Saint Laurent, Kaai, and Demellier. Of course, note that a lot of our readers who are in big jobs note that they love their (more affordable) Lo & Sons bags, as well as their Tumi.

More Great Work Bags for Women – Recently Featured

Quince Revive Nylon Tote

If you're hunting for a really lightweight laptop bag, this nylon tote from Quince is getting great reviews, and it has a laptop sleeve. It doesn't have a top zipper, which isn't ideal especially for laptop totes — but otherwise I like the recycled leather trim, as well as the external slip pockets. It looks perfect!

The bag is selling for $89.90, and currently comes in five colors.

Quince

This large nylon tote from Quince looks like a great lightweight tote interview bag for women — and it's getting great reviews. I like the leather trims (all recycled leather), as well as the external slip pockets and internal laptop sleeve. Perfect!

The bag is selling for $89.90, and currently comes in five colors: oxford blue (pictured), black, latte, olive, and a really pretty mulberry.

Madewell

Madewell's North/South Transport tote has been a reader favorite for years (and years) — but it's nice to see that they've got a more traditional tote in the same collection. I love that it has a zippered top, and two interior pockets for smaller items like keys and phone.

It has a 4.75″ handle drop, and a adjustable crossbody strap that is 15-19.75.” The bag is 11.75″ tall, 11-16 inches wide, and 5.5″ deep. It's $198.

Liselle Kiss

If you like a bag with an open top (great for shoving more stuff inside, am I right?), this leather tote from Black-owned brand Liselle Kiss looks fabulous.

The bag, sized 18″ W x 6″ D x 12″H, is $425 at Bloomingdale's.

Readers, do tell — which do you think are the best work totes for women in 2024?

Social media picture credit: Shutterstock / Superlime.

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