Botkier

Totes that carry their loads lightly like jobs -- come with all sorts of benefits, qualifications and compensations.

"As kids, we were always carrying around way too many schoolbooks in our backpacks to the point where we felt like we could easily fall backwards due to the weight," recalls Alle Fister, marketing director for Shopbop, an Internet retail site. "Now that we're all a little older, and hopefully wiser, we now have smarter, sleeker and more savvy ways to lug around our necessities for work rather than school."

And we have lots of choices -- from backpacks to mesh briefcases, slings, totes and laptop bags.

Even the most ordinary sack can be made more functional with an additional padded laptop case. And "because they're not seen 100 percent of the time ... consumers are venturing into these bolder prints and colors as a way to add a little splash of fun," Fister says.

Work bags have a daunting task: Fit a certain personality, look nice and hold an insane amount of stuff. Colleen Evans, Marriott International director of public relations, loves her trendy oversize Botkier purse.  Read more...