Jules, I love Brave and Rudsak and your bags look terrific.
Irina, your thoughts on your (very beautiful!) bags are interesting. I especially love your winter bag and of course your Bao Bao!
My lifestyle is similar to both of yours in that I tend to take transit and/or walk most places...with the exception that in my new location, I also bike a lot. I have panniers on the bike and I can slip a bag inside...but I find that, well...it's complicated, and I haven't quite worked it all out, LOL.
I started carrying a backpack in 2018 when I got a Rebecca Minkoff leather one on sale. Then I got a couple of the nylon backpacks and found them very useful for the summer, in particular -- because like Jules, I like to carry a water bottle, especially in the summer months. So I like a bag that works for that. Also for an extra layer I can peel on or off. And a shopping bag that I stuff inside the handbag. Etc.
But the nylon backpacks are starting to feel too unstructured and relentlessly casual for me now and are also very much showing their age at this point after years of very hard wear. The pewter one is covered in scratches/ marks/ peeling finish and the hardware on the blue one is all rusted and the straps are terribly stained.
So I am in transition.
This winter, I've been alternating between my structured Furla (thanks, Angie!) which I wear crossbody, and my Rebecca Minkoff shoulder tote. The tote is big enough to fit just about anything, but also collapses nicely against the body if it is empty-ish. The satchel is not big enough for a water bottle but holds my other things nicely and I do like the structure.
I can't manage a bag in my hand, especially now, since my accident. It has to be crossbody or shoulder (and also has to be a wide strap in either case, because my nerve injury extends to that part of the body). Or it has to be a backpack.
For summer, I'm debating what to do. Besides function, I look for the right colours for summer clothing. I have transferred to a smaller card holder vs. my old portfolio style wallet, so I don't need as much space for the wallet. If I have the bike, it's not as big an issue because the water bottle can go on the bike itself. For Christmas, "Santa" is bringing me bags from Pom Pom London to try. They are too small for water or a sweater but will hold my other stuff. But I suspect I will also need to get another backpack for summer and hope I can find one that fills my needs.
#1/2 WINTER bags, #3/4 my nylon backpacks, #5/6 the Pom Pom London bags I'm going to try out.