During a recent overnight trip, I realized that I may need a short suitcase. Until now I have always used my normal sized rollaboard suitcase, regardless of length of trip or how much I am taking. But for that particular trip, my suitcase wasn’t even half full! So while I was traveling I looked around to see what other people had. I saw several short suitcase, but it looked like people were using them as wheeled briefcases, not carrying their clothes.

So my question to you is, do you have a short suitcase? Do you use it as a briefcase or for clothing? Do you recommend that I get one? My main reason for not getting one is that I am running out of room for storing travel-related items, so it has to be worthy of the closet space and therefore super useful for me to bite the bullet.

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Recently, my friend L wrote me an email about the search for a great travel tote.

I was wondering if you had any suggestions for a large tote to use when traveling. I’m looking for something that can do double duty: hold a laptop, small purse, make-up, book for when I travel for work, but also serve as a quasi overnight bag for when I fly for fun (holding a small purse, book, make-up, toiletries, maybe a few pieces of clothing).

The most recommended option I’ve found is the Vera Bradley Miller Bag. While I love VB items, I’m not sure there’s a “professional” pattern I can use when traveling for work—should this even be an issue? One friend swears by her Longchamp tote, but the lack of structure (it pretty much crumples up if there’s nothing in it, not idea for a laptop) and the price tag makes me wary.

So let’s see if I can figure this out. You need a professional-looking, structured bag that will work for business travel as your personal item, but also work as a fun trip overnight bag. And it needs to be affordable. We can do this!!

I turned to my trusty favorite, eBags, in search of the perfect bag. I may have gone just a teensy bit overboard, but I swear it’s not my fault. Great bags that fit the criteria just kept leaping out at me! Before I knew it I had a list of more than ten bags that I had to trim. Oh bags, how I love thee.

I had some criteria, in addition to what’s listed above.

Size. Obviously, this is important. A big bag is great, but it can’t be so big that it overwhelms you. And what’s the point of a personal item if it won’t fit under the seat in front of you while flying?

Material. I like purses a lot. I like luggage okay. I do not want my purses to look like luggage. Therefor, finding a great purse for travel that works like a piece of luggage but doesn’t look like one is key. It also doesn’t feel super professional to walk into the office carrying your Samsonite!

Pockets. Pockets are very important! Inside and out, and internal compartments are great too.

Balance. The best purse is one you can sit on top of your rollaboard to simplify walking through the airport. Unfortunately, that’s something that you can’t really judge by seeing a bag; you have to use it to know how well it balances.

Straps. Two straps are better, and if there is an extra long one, even better.

If you’ve been around Road Warriorette for any length of time, you may have noticed that I like color. If I have an option, I will always go for the colors over black or brown. But I get that people like neutrals too, so I have tried to show a variety.

The very practical yet classically lovely Bellino Stefan Satchel is a more traditional duffel bag. It’s size ensures it will hold whatever you need it to, and it’s shape will allow it to fit under the seat in front of you. It is also well priced, and will be perfect for when you need a conservative bag.

Bric’s Metro Shopper is a more modern take. While there aren’t any obvious external pockets, the inside has several compartments. It is also very roomy, has a zip top, and will also work when a conservative look is needed.

Although we are looking more for  structured bags, I felt I had to mention this Tumi Just In Case Shopper. It folds up into a tiny pouch, but will open up to hold an amazing amount of stuff. Specifically designed to sit on top of a rollaboard, it has a strap across the back to hold it in place. Plus it comes in some fun colors.

These two bags from Piel are lovely large purses. They both has plenty of exterior pockets, roomy interiors, and a come in a variety of colors. The Laptop Tote is a little smaller, but has a specific compartment for your computer. The Large Business Tote will hold more items but lacks a laptop compartment.

The JJ Cole Technique Bag is my favorite. I love the retro shape, the lining, and the fun colors. It has double straps, plenty of room, and multiple exterior pockets. Definitely the bag for you if you’re looking to make a statement!

Okay, okay. Just for fun, here is a completely unsuitable but completely fabulous bag from Latico. Swoon!

Readers, do you have a favorite travel bag? What characteristics do you look for?

We’ve had discussions in the past about the best way to deal with purses during travel. Carry a giant purse that doubles as a briefcase? Bring a purse and a briefcase? Or bring a clutch that you just drop in your briefcase? For those of you in the last camp, I have found a great little bag to use. I got it a month or so ago at Target, and it is a great travel clutch. It’s  small, but with multiple pockets, slots for credit cards and ID should you not want to carry your wallet, and enough room for keys, a phone, and a lipstick. It has a long enough strap that you can wear it cross-body, which is great when you need to have your hands available. And at $15, you can get one in every color. Mine is red, of course, although I do love the turquoise as well. Although it’s currently sold out online, when I checked my zip code it was available at every Target in my area. I highly recommend it!

A few weeks ago, I took a trip to California. This was the trip that inspired the post “Traveling When You Don’t Feel Your Best,” because, well, I didn’t feel well. Following my own advice, I took plenty of things to keep me comfortable during the flight, from an extra sweater to my Bucky pillow to Emergen-C. All of these extra things helped immensely, but necessitated a larger purse than my normal travel bag.  Although my current purse is fabulous, it’s quite a bit smaller than my older, larger but more boring purse. So I pulled the old gal out of the back of the closet and proceeded to fill her up. She took all of my belongings without protest. In fact, my only complaint was because I haven’t used it in so long I forgot where I used to put all of my little things, and there were so many pockets I would have to search for a bit for my keys, phone, etc.

What does this all mean, you ask? Well, during my trip last week I used my old purse again. I plan on taking it to Virginia today. And it makes me feel a little bit like a fraud. I love my red purse! I do! It’s just starting to get worn from excessive use, and it doesn’t fit all of my stuff as well as this old one. It’s kind of like wearing super hot red patent heels; they look fabulous, but maybe are not as practical for a long day as your cute, but less interesting, black wedges.

I am going to go on the hunt for a new purse. I’ve had the red one for almost two years, and I think it’s about time for a new bag. This time I will try really hard to go for function as well as form. I will look for inside pockets, a divided interior, and comfortable straps. And a great exterior and cute lining! Surely it can be found. Surely…..

One thing you don’t hear a lot about is travel wallets. People typically choose their wallet based on criteria for their normal life, not their travel life. Is it cute? Does it hold all of my credit cards? What is it made of? Is it well constructed? Etc. These are all good questions when wallet shopping, and one that’s good for travel just has a few extra criteria to meet. Can it hold my receipts/tickets/passport/whatever you need it to hold comfortably? Will you need it to stand on its own as a purse? (See “What to do with the purse?” for reasons why.) I need my wallet to hold money, credit cards, frequent flier/rewards cards, receipts, and my boarding pass.

A quick Google search of travel wallets shows that while there are many variations available, most wallets listed for travel are checkbook-size. This makes sense when you think about how tickets and receipts are longer than your average short wallet. That’s basically where the similarities end though. They are available in all price points, all materials, and with a variety of interiors.

The Eagle Creek Navigator has a place for your passport, credit cards and I.D., and hangs around your neck. Super stylish, maybe not, but very functional.

The Tumi Capra is lovely, and a good size, and has plenty of credit card slots, but must be made of gold to justify its hefty price tag.

My favorite that I found is the Hobo International Nancy, which has a lot of space for cards and a divided interior, great for holding receipts and boarding passes.

If you need one to work as a clutch, the Clava Wellie Foldover Clutch is a lovely option, with a few credit card slots, a wristlet, and a larger compartment for keys or lipstick.

Business Travel 101 is a weekly series about making that first business trip as easy and successful as possible. Packing, security, comfort, and etiquette are all factors that, with a little planning, can contribute to a smooth and efficient trip. If you think of a topic I should include, email me at RoadWarriorette@gmail.com.

One of the most important items to have for that first business trip is the carry-on. I don’t mean your rollerboard, but your personal item. It holds everything you need for your flight, and acts as a purse, briefcase, laptop bag, and entertainment center all in one.

What exactly do I mean by personal item? The guidelines for American Airlines state that the personal bag is anything that can fit under the seat in front of you. It can be a purse, laptop bag, backpack, tote,  or a smaller suitcase.  I have traveled with everything from a backpack to a tiny purse to an Eagle Creek packing cube holding my giant tablecloth that I use for events. As long as it fits under that seat, it counts, but technically it should not exceed 36 inches when you add length, width, and height.

I would also like to add that I love purses, in case you haven’t noticed. In addition to acting as a necessary travel too, your purse should make you happy when you look at it. Just because we are professional women who travel for business does not mean we need a boring purse or briefcase with no style. There are so many fabulous possibilities out there! You can, and should, love your bag.

What To Look For in a Great Travel Purse

There are several things I look for in my travel purse. Not all of my purses have all of them, but my general guidelines are:

• Size. Has to fit my laptop, and hold all of my carry-on travel items.
• Multiple interior pockets. I think the best purse interior is divided into two sections, one for a laptop and one for the rest of your stuff. It also needs to have a pocket inside for keys, cell phone, and lipstick.
• Exterior pockets. An exterior pocket on the side of your purse is so helpful for things you don’t want in your hands, but need easy access to, such as your boarding pass.
• Easy to carry. You have to be able to carry your purse on your shoulder or strapped to your suitcase. It would be very difficult to travel with a purse that you had to carry in your hands. I like two straps that are at least an inch wide, which will minimize cutting into your shoulder.
• Sturdy construction. There shouldn’t be any obvious weak spots, or stitching coming loose. Leather is great for travel bags because it is so durable, but fabric bags can work as long as they are strong enough.

Some great purses I have found are this fab yellow one from Latico, this great traditional bag in many colors from McKlein, and this amazing satchel from B. Makowsky.

Options

There are several schools of thought about the travel purse. Some find their travel bag too bulky to bring along out to dinner, or they would rather have something small with the necessities that they can grab. Here are a couple of options.

• Get a big purse that fits your laptop. I am a big advocate of getting a purse for travel that is big enough for your laptop. It’s the simplest way to make sure all your stuff fits. For some people, this means you have a really large purse for travel! But there are definitely large, attractive purses (or laptop bags that look like purses) that will fit a LOT of stuff. (Like this bag from Latico. Check out the so-cute lining!!) This works well for me because my laptop is pretty small, and I have found a regular purse that will hold it and my other stuff.
• Put everything in your laptop bag and pack your purse. I think this one is a little more complicated, but it seems to work for some people.  They simply take all of their purse stuff (wallet, phone, lipstick, etc) and put it in their laptop bag, and then they pack their purse in their big suitcase. This way when they get to their destination they pull out their purse and put all the stuff back in. They still only have two carry-ons, and they have a smaller purse for when they arrive. Best of both worlds!
• Drop a clutch or wristlet in their laptop bag. The other way to have the best of both worlds. Take your normal laptop bag, and have a wristlet with your wallet, phone, keys, and lipstick that you just drop inside. Especially convenient if you can put this small purse in a pocket or hook it to the inside top of your laptop bag.

What’s In My Purse?

What exactly do I keep in my purse when traveling? I like to keep it simple, and only keep the necessities in my purse. I clean my purse out before every trip so I’m not carrying around receipts, old boarding passes, or other unnecessary junk. This way I can find everything I need when I need it.

• Normal purse stuff.  Of course I have my wallet, with my ID, credit cards, and money, as well as my lipstick, keys, and sunglasses.
• iPhone. I used to have a cell phone, a GPS unit, and an MP3 player. Then the geniuses at Apple came out the something that would do all of those functions! Brilliant. And it sure did make my packing easier.
• Boarding pass. Print this out ahead of time so you can just fly through security. So much faster!
• Make-up. I keep my make-up with me so that I can touch up when I arrive, if necessary.
• Kindle. It used to be a book (or two or three), but now that I have the Kindle my purse is much lighter. And easier to put stuff into. For those of you who haven’t been converted into fans of ebooks, a book or a magazine will work just fine.
• Laptop. For work, it’s a necessity. If I’m not staying overnight, and therefore traveling without my suitcase, I will also keep my charger in here.
• Pashmina. I often use it as a blanket or pillow on the plane, and a scarf once I arrive. It has also served as a swimsuit cover up and a substitute towel.
• Knitting. Just because I love to knit! I don’t always feel like working or reading, and knitting is a great way to pass the time.
• Notepad. I love writing lists, and my little notebook holds them all. I have to keep it around in case I have a stroke of brilliance!
• Ziploc of teabags, Splenda, and Emergen-C. In case I need a pick-me-up, or the hotel doesn’t have Splenda or a good teabag. Little comforts can make being away from home much easier.
• Plastic bag of toiletries. I will keep this in my purse until I get through security, and then throw it in my suitcase.

Business Travel 101 is a weekly series about making that first business trip as easy and successful as possible. Packing, security, comfort, and etiquette are all factors that, with a little planning, can contribute to a smooth and efficient trip. If you think of a topic I should include, email me at RoadWarriorette@gmail.com.

One of the easiest way to facilitate smooth travel? Not checking your suitcase. Not only will you avoid checked-baggage fees, but you will save time at the front and back ends of your trip. It will also force you to streamline your packing list.

First, let’s discuss the suitcase itself. Key features to look for:

• A bag that will fit US (and ideally European) guidelines for carrying on.
• Light, yet sturdy.
• Good pockets.
• Quality construction.
• Easy to navigate in crowded airports.

A few brands that I like are Ogio, Briggs & Riley, and Tumi. I know these brands are not inexpensive, but trust me when I say that if you are traveling all of the time, a good bag is worth the investment. I have used the same Ogio bag for four years, week in and week out, and it is still in excellent shape. A great review of top rated brands can be found here. Your suitcase doesn’t have to be pretty (although I have to say I love this one from Tumi, and think it is very pretty) but an identifying feature is helpful so that it stands out in the sea of black.

What to pack for a four day trip (choose your travel clothes from this list):

• Two bottoms, one comfortable for travel (i.e. slacks and a skirt)
• Coordinating suit jackets if needed
• Four tops that coordinate with both of your bottoms
• At least one light jacket or sweater (unless you need a heavier jacket)
• No more than three pairs of shoes, including a pair of flip flops
• Enough undergarments, including socks/hose
• PJs
• Something to work out in
• Toiletries (see my toiletry list here)
• Chargers (phone, laptop, etc)

Packing tips:

• I bring my own shampoo/conditioner, because I travel so much if I use whatever random products the hotel puts out my hair gets mad; a couple of great sources are 3floz.com and Sephora.
• Eagle Creek packing cubes are helpful for the small items (underwear, socks, hose, etc); they will help you save a ton of space.
• I have three small bags for my toiletries–one for liquids (that gets taken out at security), one for non-liquids (toothbrush, deodorant, etc), and one for make-up. This allows me to fit them in my suitcase wherever they will go instead of taking up a lot of room.
• Use spare contact lens cases for small amounts of liquids, such as face soap, moisturizer, eye makeup remover, etc.
• Also check out the Packing and Packing Tips sections.

Happy 90210 day! Cheesy, yes, but funny too, especially for those of us who watched the show growing up and fondly remember conversations with classmates about how “real” it was. Ah, junior high.

It is officially September, and fall is just a few short weeks away. I keep hoping the 100+ degree heat we are having here in Texas will be abating soon….. And in the spirit of that hope I have found a beautiful purse that would be great for travel and fabulous for fall. The leather, the detailing, the lining, everything is just fantastic. It will likely only hold small laptops, so make sure to measure against the dimensions. It’s a little pricey, but I am seriously drooling right now. If I had tried to design the perfect fall purse it would be this. But of course I can’t design things this cute.

By the nature of “one of a kind”, there is only one of these lovely bags in stock, and we can’t all have one. But keep an eye on this Etsy shop! The last purse that she had that I loved was this one, so clearly she’s got some design skills.

Come on cool weather! I am so ready to wear my boots.

I recently got an interesting question from a reader:

I’m going on my first business trip next month. I know I am going to carry-on, and my the first bag is a rollerboard. My question is, what exactly counts as that second, “personal” bag? A laptop bag? A shoulder bag? Or does it have to be purse-sized? Thanks for your help!

Great question, and fun for me because I can talk about bags all day!  The American Airlines baggage information page defines the personal item as:

Personal item – includes: small backpack purse, briefcase, laptop bag OR a similar item such as book bag or tote that does not exceed 36 inches( length+width+height) and must fit under the seat.

So the answer to your question is: the personal bag is anything that can fit under the seat in front of you. It can be a purse, laptop bag, backpack, tote,  or a smaller suitcase.  I have traveled with everything from a backpack to a tiny purse to an Eagle Creek packing cube holding my giant tablecloth that I use for events. As long as it fits under that seat, it counts.

My advice at this point is to figure out which type of bag will serve you best during your trip, make sure it fits the above dimensions, and get it!

As I was slogging through emails generated during my absence last week, I came across a fun one from my step-mom (yes, the step-mom that sends me all of the crazy articles and products).  This article wasn’t crazy (for once!) but instead a list of some new cute suitcases from The Frisky. The best one by far was this adorable small-sized suitcase adorned with a bow. It’s not by a typical suitcase brand, and it’s not large enough for a long trip, but is the perfect size for an overnight or two day trip. The color, the bow, and the patent details add up to the cutest suitcase I’ve seen in a long time. I’m in the market for a smaller suitcase, and this “Bow Trolley” from Topshop is perfect. I will definitely watch for it to go on sale and then snatch it up!