Briefcase recommendation?
 

My daughter's new job will involve her in trips to Europe, one or two nights away at a time. She has a good carry-on bag but is hunting for a practical, reasonably capacious laptop/briefcase to take along with it. Yes, it's for work, but she would like something other than same-old black ballistic nylon candidates to choose from. It needs to hold a 13" laptop safely, phone, papers, etc as well as in-flight clutter like ipod and headphones, toiletries and the rest. Light but tough, preferably with a bit of style but not a fashion label item, and okay to take into meetings. It must slip over the handle of her rolling case. Any recommendations? She's based in London. Thanks.

]She could do a lot worse than Knomo;

http://www.knomobags.com/uk/women/

I have a "Warwick" http://www.knomobags.com/uk/warwick-...ptop-bag.html/ which I absolutely love (and yes, it slips over the trolley handle)

I find it just right for carrying all the gubbins you mention, and the pocket layout works really well. Eg, the bit you slip over the handle is actually a double-pocket, so you can put your newspaper in there and it won't fall out the bottom.

They list it under the men's section, but I think it is quite unisex.

Oh, and I don't have shares in the company, I just really, really like the bag.

That Warwick Knomo looks nice. I was about to recommend that Longchamps do some nice, workable-yet-feminine briefcases in some years, but I think that Knomo is nicer. There are always the old not particularly feminine standbys like one or two of the Briggs & Riley models, too.

One thing I would say is that depending on what her job is - is she in a corporate hierarchy? does she visit client sites e.g. as a consultant? If she is not an independent professional or an academic etc., i.e. if she is in a corporate structure or part of a large firm delivering services to clients, this is also a "corporate political" question.

If she is one among many or if there is a very defined (however covert) corporate hierarchy, she might want to take a look at what people at her level and a level or two above are using. Whatever that level is, she might not want to exceed that level too much or be too different. At lower and mid levels, fitting in might be more important than carrying something of much higher quality. Just a note of caution if she is in that type of structure.

three to choose from
 

Tumi's Georgetown collection is nice and feminine but not crazy expensive or gaudy........

https://www.google.com/search?q=site...ient=firefox-a

EDIT: Please ignore the title. I didn't mean to add it for this thread........

If you do decide to give the knomo a go, you can get it for £235 from amazon, PLUS a further 20% off if it's your first "Amazon Clothing" order, plus free delivery.

(and free returns if you or your daughter decide you don't like it!)

Good question. Try Piquadro, a Spanish brand. Very good stuff. And Mandarina Duck, the Italian brand. Both are very stylish and very good design and workmanship. Both are also really rarely seen. Moreover, they aren't crazy expensive - well, about like Tumi but much more slick and European.

I own products from both and can recommend them.

Till

Many thanks everyone. Knomo was already on the radar as a possible, as I have a Warwick bag myself and rate it very highly for looks and functionality. I think it's quite heavy though when packed with laptop, cables and stuff, and choice of colours is down to manly black or brown. I've just been having a look at the Piquadro site and there's lots of interesting stuff there, with a good range of colours as well, so that will certainly be something to point her at. Tumi's Georgetown likewise. Mandarina Duck will follow.

Re the corporate culture at her work, it seems pretty relaxed without being positively Californian. Not informal but individual, so fitting in doesn't involve greyest common denominator. The colour issues are more about the bag matching with various capsule outfits.

I put the question here because from my early research there seem to be lots of lovely stylish bags for women which lack the practical touches needed for air travel these days. And lots of severely practical business travel bags targeted at men. And not much in the middle. I had hoped that Knomo, for example, would do something much like the Warwick but less hefty and in some of their other colours and materials, but their range for women appears to put fashion over function. It's that stylish, fashion AND function middle ground I'm looking for.

Crikey! Have you been looking through my wardrobe? I have a bunch of Piquadro stuff; one briefcase and a bunch of smaller items (wallets, etc). By the way, they're Italian, not Spanish. Really nicely made, and the briefcase that I have has a crazy "saddle bag" attachment - you have the leather briefcase, then another (nylon) bag which drapes over the top to increase capacity (poor description, I know, but I can't find a picture). If you want to try Piquadro there aren't that many shops carrying a wide range, but I can highly recommend a particular EBay seller who sells older models at a very hefty discount, send me a message for details.

Mandarina Duck (I only have one piece, a "Work" bag in nylon which has served me well) are a bit more widely available, and they certainly make some interesting, functional and attractive pieces.

If we're going European, I'll add another one into the mix, Nava Design, and in particular the "Moving Two". I saw one of these in Rome (in the "Chamber of Deputies" gift shop of all places) which, five years later, I'm still kicking myself for not buying. I do see the occasional Nava product in shops but have never managed to find one of these and am not sure if it's now been replaced in their line-up.

I would suggest to your daughter that she takes a trip to Selfridges. It's not the greatest luggage department in the world, but from memory they have Mandarina Duck, Knomo, and a decent smattering of other brands.

Great minds! We're off there this afternoon. :)

While you're "up west", I notice that Armani have a sale on at the moment. These two look possible candidates, but it doesnt look like they will slip over the trolley handles;

http://www.armani.com/gb/giorgioarma...5173700ti.html

http://www.armani.com/gb/giorgioarma...5173757ar.html

NeverFirst, Nava Design Milano is a brand I had never ever seen or heard of. Dang! :p Seriously, I've been living in the US too long. :D

BTW, if she wants to go upscale I'd also look at S.T. Dupont, Valextra and Dunhill. All should be available in London. Plus Goldpfeil from Germany.

Also from Germany there is Bree. Excellent brand in all regards. They are the German Tumi, so to say, with more edge to it than Tumi. Pricewise a bit below Tumi.

Till

Bree are good, and I think are available in Selfridges.

I would love a Valextra (I think Harrods stock them) but they are *expensive* (if you're going in that direction, maybe give Goyard a try, they have a shop on Mount Street).

Dunhill might be a bit too masculine (I have a very nice light-tan briefcase from them, but it's not big enough for all the in-flight accoutrements).

I would worry that these expensive bags might be beautiful for the city but too fragile for travel (I would get upset with every scratch and scuff). There are a number of other brands to consider but I think they would fall foul of the weight-issue. (Tanner Krolle, Pickett, Swaine Adeney Brigg, Volker Lang all make beautiful leather bags, but they all fall into the "expensive/heavy" camp).

Indeed, Dunhill might be a tad to conservative or masculine but the quality cannot be faulted.

I have to look up Krolle and Volker Lang. Very interesting. Thanks for the tips.

As far as leather luggage scratching goes, I just bought a wallet from Dupont made of their Diamond leather. I wanted to try it out before I possibly buy a bigger item like a briefcase. This stuff is great. It shows no creases from folding and you basically cannot scratch it unless you use a knife or other sharp implement and really go at it. Very shiny with a structure of Russian Leather. Clearly for the luggage enthusiast. And price-wise still under LV prices.

My mother's Mandarina Duck leather attache is also incredibly scratch proof and sturdy. It is simple black. I would call it unisex but my mother is a very womanly lady and she found that quite alright for court appearances as a lawyer.

Till

More thanks. Useful recce in Selfridges today. There's a sale on btw. And they now stock Knomo. Very nice selection of bags from Mulberry but no loop or sleeve to slip over the handle of a rolling case. Mandarina Duck looked nice quality but not all the range was there to try. Some good-looking, practical and affordable leather stuff also from Jost, but messenger bag style only, no handle. Tumi present in quantity but not the Georgetown, sadly. Still, this all provided some very useful hands-on testing time.