A bag has to pass a ton of tests to make our list of the best work bags for women. Between everyone on our team, we’ve probably tested over 70 work totes — and we’ve scrutinized each one with scientific rigor by filling them to the brim and schlepping back and forth on NYC subways.
After years of testing, Dagne Dover’s Allyn Leather Tote has reigned supreme as our favorite. Among its other standout features, it has the best internal organization we’ve ever seen. But all those pockets and compartments are contained in a bag with a sleek silhouette. As the old saying goes, there’s a place for everything and everything has its place.
It comes in three colors (onyx, bone, and graphite) and three sizes (one for a 13″ laptop and one for a 16″ laptop). Here’s why we love it so much.
Some quick facts
Standout features: Dagne Dover’s Allyn Tote is a sophisticated and spacious work bag with a padded laptop sleeve, water bottle holder, key leash, quick-access pocket for storing your phone, and many other small compartments.
Things it’s good at: It keeps all of your essentials in order and easy to get to, and its gorgeous pebbled leather design is perfectly suited to the office.
Concerns: It’s expensive. The Allyn Tote costs between $340 and $360, depending on the size.
Why we love the Allyn Tote
In 2017, Dagne Dover’s founder and CEO Melissa Mash told Business Insider that, as far as work bags go, “It’s no longer good enough to just be ‘arm candy.’ Nowadays we expect the services and products we use to multitask, to be data-driven, and to work harder.”
The Allyn Tote, heeding Mash’s formula, is polished for the office, convenient for carrying everything you need on the commute there and back home, and easy to keep organized.
Dagne Dover
Dagne Dover really considered every detail when they designed the Allyn Tote, from the detachable key leash that makes house keys easier to find and grab in a pinch to padded laptop compartment with a zipper closure that ensures valuable tech always remains protected.
The bag also has a discreet pocket on the back where you can stow your keys or phone so that they’re readily accessible: “My favorite compartment is the phone-sized slip pocket on the outside, which I use all the time. It’s the perfect pocket for easily accessing your phone on a crowded subway,” says Samantha Crozier, style editor, Insider Reviews.
The bag also has a magnetic tab closure and an interior adjustable snap fastener that give you more space when you need it or the ability to close it quickly, a shoe duster you can use to stow comfortable flats so that they don’t make contact with your other essentials, and dedicated pockets for your phone, pens, lip balm, Metro Card, and whatever else.
Dagne Dover
Not to mention, if you’re a teacher or member of the military, you’re eligible for a 20% discount on any Dagne Dover purchases you make. Just 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.
The bottom line
My personal opinion is that work bags don’t get any better than this one.
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Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@businessinsider.com.
