The best women’s laptop bags you can buy

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The best women's laptop bags you can buy

  • Laptop bags pull a lot of wardrobe weight; they need to look stylish, go with most anything, and travel well since you’ll likely be carrying them a lot.
  • Our top pick, the Ryan Laptop Bag from Dagne Dover, has many of the features of the brand’s best-selling Signature Tote wrapped in a durable, water-resistant exterior.

Work bags are one of the trickiest items to get right. You likely want something that goes with everything in your professional wardrobe (and maybe some of your nonprofessional wardrobe), but it also needs to be durable enough to withstand irritating commuter conditions. 

I think the original laptop bag deserves more love. Yes, they’re often eschewed for less practical, more stylish totes and satchels. But there’s a certain appeal to a classic laptop bag. They’re infinitely useful, for one thing.

The new generation of laptop carriers runs the gamut from techy styles with tons of extras to tote bags that just happen to be large enough to fit a handheld computer or tablet. I have a soft spot for both, and have included a mix on this list to suit a variety of worker’s needs.

Here are the best laptop bags for women:

The best laptop bag overall

Dagne Dover

The Ryan Laptop Bag from Dagne Dover is super functional, complete with the brand’s signature interior compartment system, and very cute.

Laptop bags that look like laptop bags can be cute. The everyday-bag masters over at Dagne Dover have proved it with the design of the Ryan Laptop Bag, which is both stylish and very practical. 

It’s very similar to the brand’s best-selling Signature Tote, with a more durable, tech-friendly exterior made of water-resistant neoprene. The interior contains Dagne Dover’s signature compartment system. There’s a laptop sleeve, a key ring, several card slots, and mesh pockets to organize your workday essentials. A zippered exterior pocket allows you to stash items you reach for on the go, like your subway card, passport, and cell phone. 

The Ryan is available in both Medium ($135, carries most 13-inch laptops) and Large ($155, carries most 15-inch laptops) sizes and can be worn as a crossbody or shoulder bag.

"I wish the Dagne Dover Ryan Laptop Bag had existed while I was in college, because it would’ve actually held up to all the heavy study materials and the laptop I carried around campus," Insider Picks reporter Connie Chen wrote in a previous review. 

If you are a teacher or member of the military, you are eligible for a 20% discount on any Dagne Dover purchases you make. Simply fill out this form using your official education or military email address and the company will give you an exclusive code to use at checkout.

Pros: Tons of compartments, detachable key fob, convertible straps, water resistant

Cons: Expensive

The best bag for a small laptop

Everlane

The Everlane Form Bag looks nothing like a standard laptop bag, but it is big enough to hold a small computer or tablet (with room to spare).

If you want to carry your laptop undetected, try the Everlane Form Bag ($235). It’s more of a sleek work satchel than a standard laptop bag. The shape is unique enough to make this bag a bit of a stylish conversation piece, elevating an outfit instead of dragging it down.

Made of 100% Italian leather, the Form Bag contains an interior pocket and fits a 13-inch laptop while still allowing the magnetic closure to secure shut. The straps are adjustable to allow for a crossbody or shoulder bag fit.

"I like that I can wear the Form Bag across my body for better weight distribution," writes Insider Picks’ director of content strategy Ellen Hoffman.

"In an effort to reduce back strain while riding the ever-more-crowded New York City subways, I’ve stopped hauling big purses to work that are packed with a lot of extra junk I don’t need. (I mean, really, how often do I need access to five slightly differently colored lipsticks?). Helping me in this effort over the last year has been Everlane’s Form Bag, which is the perfect medium size for all the essentials, including my 13-inch MacBook Pro."

After using it for a year, Hoffman says the Form Bag is still in great condition; the leather has softened a bit with age, and at least in her experience, it is largely resistant to scratches. Other reviewers complain the leather scratches easily.

The Form Bag currently comes in six colors, including black, cognac, dark green, and navy, and it has a nearly perfect rating after more than 565 Everlane customer reviews. 

Pros: Stylish, convertible straps, structured, multiple unique colors

Cons: Expensive, not suitable for laptops larger than 13 inches, some reviewers complain the leather scratches easily

The best affordable laptop bag

Amazon

With nearly 1,000 5-star customer reviews on Amazon, the Ytonet 17-Inch Laptop Bag is a relative bargain that will not let you down.

You truly do not need to spend a ton of money in order to find a good quality laptop bag you’ll actually want to carry every day. Sure, the Ytonet 17-Inch Laptop Bag is not the most stylish option on the market. But it’s not hideous, and it is practical and affordable.

This sleek, structured rectangular bag contains a multitude of compartments to hold everything you could possibly need for one workday (or a full week of them). Seriously, there’s an individual pocket for a cell phone, laptop, tablet, passport, pen, umbrella, water bottle, and even clothing! 

You can pack for a short business trip using just this one bag. There’s even an expandable zipper to give you more room, effectively turning your laptop bag into a duffle. The bag has a 4.6-star rating based on nearly 1,300 Amazon customer reviews and has been praised by Travel + Leisure.

Pros: Affordable, has a lot of compartments, expandable, water resistant

Cons: Not the most stylish

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Source: Business Insider – mgokey@businessinsider.com (Erin Mayer)

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