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 such as metal feet, a long interior keychain, at least one pocket accessible from the outside, and a trolley sleeve to slide over your rolling bag

I’ve rounded up a ton of options: splurges, super affordable bags, laptop bags, smaller/indie brands focused on bags for work, and vegan brands.

If you’ve seen our roundup in the past, a lot of it has stayed the same, including the heavy hitters are all more or less the same such as Cuyana, Tumi, Lo & Sons, and more. I do feel like monogram patterns are less popular than they once were, and any hesitancy for “ludicrously capacious bags” has gone away. Some other favorites from previous years that have left the building: the Madewell Transport tote seems to be winding down (I can only find it a few places right now!), and bags from MZ Wallace and Knomo are harder to find in work-appropriate sizes.

If you’re in a situation where your work is hybrid, or even a hot desk situation where you don’t have your own “space,” you may find yourself carrying more stuff — I’ll try to address that as well, although we’ve talked about it in the past in terms of how many bags you bring to work, how to make a hybrid work situation more efficient, as well as how to deal with hot desking in general.

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 2026

The Best Everyday Totes for Work

Our Latest Favorite Affordable Work Bags for Women

Our Latest Favorite Laptop Totes

Our Latest Favorite Work Backpacks

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 2025, 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, Lo & Sons, BEIS,
• Under $150: This Amazon brand is popular — also check your local Nordstrom Rack, T.J.Maxx, Uniqlo, and Quince. Portland Leather is another affordable reader favorite!
• Splurges for work bags: (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: Everlane, Tumi, Lo & Sons (convertible!)
• 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, Belroy, and Baggalini
• Former reader-favorite brands to keep an eye on: KNOMO London, MZ Wallace
• Smaller/independent brands focusing on bags for work: Cuyana, Lo & Sons, Dagne Dover, Gigi New York, Alesya, Shinola, Jemma Bags, July, Daame
• Vegan: Dagne Dover, Freja, Gunas New York, Senreve
• ORGANIZING INSERTS for totes: OMYstyle (12,000+ good reviews at Amazon)

The Best Work Bags for Women in 2026

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 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. Everlane’s great ReNew bags are also often under $100. The very trendy BÉIS bags are usually under $150 as well, as are Belroy bags and Quince bags.

The Best Lightweight, Professional Tote: Belroy

Although our prior picks are still around (Tory Burch, Longchamp), they both can feel a bit dated — so I’m picking the Belroy tote for 2026. Bonuses: it’s water resistant, and it has a trolley sleeve. Score!

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 great option here: Pond Los Angeles’s Transform 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: KAAI

Looking for a splurge tote? There are so many great bags here. The one I’m going to recommend is KAAI’s pyramid tote — it looks functional but cool and isn’t too dear in price (less than $1000). It also comes in a number of colors!

In addition to KAAI, I’d also consider Mulberry, DeMellier, and Strathberry. 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.

Like this feature? Check out other recent installments!