No one I know carries paperfiles, and "briefcases" per se are very rare, at least from what I see.

I use a tote like the TB Ella ( have a winter one and a summer one) or whatever strikes my fancy. I'm not sure if a regular commuter to an office would need/want to take their laptop?

I do because I am addicted to Macbook and even thought I have a PC with multiples screens in my office, I often still use my Macbook at the office. I also use it on my commute.

Just came back for a multiday onsite client meeting in Toronto. Every women there that brought a laptop(and most did which was expected given the nature of the meeting)had it in a large purse/tote. No one had any paper files. Paper can be stolen or insecurely disposed of. Of course laptops can be stolen too but mine has about 1000 multifactor authentication hoops I jump through myriad times a day.

I don't have to carry a laptop except when I travel .. but when I did work in the office, I used a leather tote. I havent carried a briefcase since.. the early 2000's.

I do still take old school handwritten notes so I usually had a moleskine or 2.

I carry this, because it is light and a little bit different. As an attorney I often carry paper files-- documents for people to sign, etc. I found leather totes heavy for my needs.

The stylish musicians I see do carry paper as well as tablet, and have tote. What it looks like depends on their personalities.

I live in NYC. Stylish women in business jobs carry designer totes or toss the laptop in a large handbag. I haven't seen anybody carry paper files for about two decades. Younger women in creative or non-profit jobs wear the backpack du jour.

With all due respect, Kendrah, what does it mean that you have you not "seen " anyone carry paper files in 2 decades? How are you aware what's in people's bags? There are lots of people roaming around NYC, including thousands of attorneys. What do you think they are carrying into court?

True, there are still some documents that must be executed on paper in some jurisdictions? So I would imagine attorneys still carry papers, though maybe less?

Outside of that, most people I know don't carry paper anymore. We don't even have much of it in our offices.

Agreed. My comment was directed more at tone and breadth of the generalization.

To me, this is a classic workhouse. It is roomy, it is very light (nylon), and it looks nice. My DDs have carried these in diffrrent colors/styles over the years, and so do I.

One of DS's colleagues carries a Tumi - I noticed it as she was leaving the courthouse and I think it was the Tumi Valetta - large. I'm not sure how comfortable the shoulder strap might be if carrying a heavy load.

https://www.tumi.com/p/valetta-large-tote-01465702693

My DD uses a Dagne Dover tote. I know this because she asked for it from Santa last year, and he came through.

https://www.dagnedover.com/collections/classic-tote#Graphite-Classic

DDIL uses a Dagne Dover backpack.

If this is a special gift, you may want to look at Goyard totes.

Tumi's are in style here too. And I own that girls black ankle boots. :0)