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Sciwomen - what is your conference bag?

elpgal

Veteran

I need something that is large enough to carry a bottle of water, small laptop, conference proceedings and the usual paraphernalia. Can't be too blingy or too large so I can socialize at cocktail hour without hitting people with it. Should work with a suit. Crossbody bags look strange with a suit to my eye.

General

22 replies

Latest reply was from Runcarla

Diana

Veteran

I use either my Longchamps (if it's not a very formal event) or a boring basic black leather tote (photo attached) for things like interviews and other formal things. Both are large enough for my laptop. I really only carry the laptop if I'm giving a talk that day though. Otherwise I just use my ipad which fits in almost all of my bags. The Longchamps was the one that was stolen in Athens though so I'll need to replace it.

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lyn*

(website)

Veteran

I use my Fossil satchel.

I carry a folder (notepad), iPad, charging cable for my phone, a bottle of water, some snacks, and that's about it :3

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Diana

Veteran

This one gets good reviews. I think functionally it is similar to my black bag but looks nicer. I don't love that it does not have a zip top closure though (but neither does mine).

http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/mi.....ory&c

elpgal

Veteran

Diana and Lyn, these look perfectly appropriate. Can they be carried on the shoulder? Need to have my hands free for cocktail hour.

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

I carry mine on the shoulder on my commute to and from the subway (about 6 city blocks) every day. I just use that overlapping strap trick and I've never had my straps slide down.

Bonus - there is a cool place on the side to clip your cellphone or pager.

Diana

Veteran

Yes, I won't buy a bag that I have to carry in my hand. I have terrible wrists and elbows, and the weight of a laptop will just destroy them.

This is the Longchamp I had - it is more casual but super light and great for traveling as well as lugging around all day:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/lo.....rsonalized

The all black one looks more formal:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/lo.....sonalizeds

And this leather one is gorgeous!
http://www.neimanmarcus.com/Lo.....amp/prod15

Deborah

Veteran

Mine is not leather and is was a very inexpensive bag but I find it very useful for work and work related events. I like that it is structured and I can fit everything into it. It is large but I can pop it on my shoulder if I need to.
I do think the softer bags that Lyn* and Diana have shown here are probably much nicer, tho.

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elpgal

Veteran

There is a Fossil store in our mall, so I"ll check them out one of these days.

Diana, thank you for the links. The all black one looks very sleek. Which one are you considering as your replacement. After reading about your Athens experience, I uploaded copied of our passport and driving licenses to Dropbox.

Deborah, I like the feel of soft bags but the structure is useful when you want to set a bag down on the floor during talks. It is especially nice if the bag has those metal feet on the bottom.

Gaylene

Veteran

I used a Longchamp Le Pilage for years to tote my stuff around at conferences, but recently I've switched to a Matt and Nat vegan bag. My laptop fits inside perfectly without unzipping the sides and the bag lies very close to my body so it is easy to carry on my shoulder. If stuff starts to accumulate, I can unzip the side gussets and the bag turns into a shopping tote. I was a bit dubious about it not being real leather, but Matt and Nat bags are super tough and put up with a lot of abuse. It also looks like leather--it fooled me when I first saw it and I'm usually a real leather snob when it comes to bags.
http://www.mattandnat.ca/product/epea-taupe-3871/

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lyn*

(website)

Veteran

My Fossil bag has metal feet :3

You may be out of luck to get one though; they are part of the discontinued "Vintage Revival Weekender" series - I think they stopped making them a year or two ago; so you might be able to score one on eBay. The one I have now I paid about $75 for, used, off eBay, but I've had to lurk for that thing for forever!!

There's some on Zappos too

stainedglass

I've got a MZ Wallace Belle Nylon tote. The center compartment is big enough for a small laptop, conference proceedings, and a bottle of water, and the outside pockets let you keep stuff you want to access easily at hand (or ditch the ever fashionable name tag lanyard once you leave the conference building). It has leather feet to keep the bottom of the bag clean. The nylon is stain resistant and waterproof. It also zips shut; I've lost stuff when I tried an open bag. It is a little floppy when empty, but a conference proceedings (8.5"x11"x2") in the center section is more than enough for it to keep its shape. It fits comfortably on the shoulder and I usually avoid shoulder bags.
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/m-.....te/3318640

Makrame

Veteran

I just use a laptop bag. I keep thinking I should buy a nice tote for this purpose but since I am paranoid about damaging my laptop, I am not sure that I won't revert to using the laptop bag anyway, even if I had a tote. Mine looks like this http://www.ebags.com/product/c.....sourceid=A - not particularly feminine or elegant, as you can see.

I have also been thinking about getting a tote for traveling on the plane to conferences (to fit a laptop, small purse etc.) but I have the same concern that I will not be using it but will instead revert to using a checkpoint-friendly laptop. I am considering buying this tote http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/mi.....ge/3315457 or a smaller sized one http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/mi.....um/3315459

kkards

Veteran

not a sciwomen, but i have a recommendation. mz wallace makes great bags that work for what you are looking for...the best thing is that they are light weight. comes in a some fashion colors, if you don't want black. lots of pockets, designed by women who understand.
http://mzwallace.com/mzwshop/p.....ts_id=3114

Diana

Veteran

Oh, I have been eyeing the belle bag too. I have another, smaller MZ Wallace and I adore it (it's too small for my laptop).

Re: the longchamps. I haven't decided which one to get yet. The Planetes (the all black one) also comes in plum, which I am very tempted by. My old one was a red Le Pliage.

I keep my Macbook pro in a neoprene sleeve like this, that I then slide into the tote.

http://www.amazon.com/Caselogi.....s=electron
The sleeve is airport checkpoint friendly. If you don't put anything else in it (like papers or adapters) you can put the whole thing (sleeve+laptop) into the X-ray bin at security without removing the sleeve (at least in the USA, in Greece they made me take it out and open the laptop even).

Emily

Veteran

I popped in to creep the recommendations people were giving and followed the links to this:

http://mzwallace.com/mzwshop/p.....ts_id=2819

*wipes drool from chin*

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Von

Veteran

I have a red Le Pliage, and it really fits everything, including a 15 inch Macbook in a sleeve. A bonus is that it folds up if you need to stuff everything back into your luggage, and if you aren't carrying the laptop, it's got plenty of space to pack with materials you pick up here and there.

bj1111

Veteran

Longchamp planetes in any color. Black is good and safe. I like navy and taupe too depending on what you were most.

sarah

Veteran

I'm afraid I go for the Timbuk2 messenger bag - I bike with it every day and in basic black I feel ok using it around conferences, too. I can fit a modest cross body purse INSIDE of it, as well as my laptop, for the plane trip and use the purse in the evenings for going to dinner when I don't need to carry my laptop around.

http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/pro.....ag/2238637

MuseumGal

Veteran

If you live anywhere near an outlet mall, check out Wilson's leather men's bags.

http://www.wilsonsleather.com/.....16.2019559

I have a vaquera (http://www.wilsonsleather.com/.....038;parent) which is probably a bit bigger than you want, but gets tons of compliments.

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Greyscale

Veteran

I rarely carry my laptop at conferences now that I have an ipad, but when I do, I just use my bicycle-style backpack. Trendy in SF, but no good over nice clothes. I like the men's bag idea above - I'd love a vintage Coach briefcase that's similar to my daily purse (vintage Coach Willis station bag).

MuseumGal

Veteran

Greyscale, what attracted me to that Wison's bag is that it hangs from a bar just my Coach Willis. Try looking at *men's* Coach bags also - they are fabulous, more leather for less money than the women's versions.

Runcarla

Veteran

I can vouch for the Longchamps Le Pliage. Carried a binder with all the trip paperwork for a one month vacation and my iPad very easily. Sometimes even managed to squash my rolled up trench inside. Other times carried stuff for DH. The bag itself weighs nothing, but proved very sturdy. When I got home, I just wiped it down and folded it up!

When I carried tons of files around (in the dark ages before laptops) I had a leather bag from LLBean kind of like the one below.

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