Leather Tote Bag for Work and Travel

The Ultimate Guide to Finding the Perfect Tote Bag for Work and Travel

Otis Tote in Black/Gunmetal and Grey Natural/Brushed Gold

What is the purpose of a tote handbag?

Functionality and durability are two of the most important characteristics for any handbag. However, these characteristics are even important when it comes to the perfect travel and work tote bag. 

It’s hard to feel like you’re ready to conquer your day when all your bits and bobs are jingling around your handbag, overflowing, with nothing easy to access. If you have a canvas tote bag, you know the feeling. A canvas tote, while convenient and trendy, fails to be able to sustain continued usage: it frays, tears and stains. It's impossible to maintain in the long-run for everyday use, and leads you to have to repurchase constantly. That’s why we recommend investing in a high-quality tote bag for travel and work.

The Importance of Durability 

Whether you're looking for a handbag for work or the airport, you need durability. Everyday usage of a handbag, or the processes a handbag goes through at the airport (thrown away into stow-away, TSA, being left and dragged on the floors of the plane) will lead to damage if you don’t invest in high-quality materials. A low quality tote bag will force you to purchase a new one every few months, if not sooner. In the long-term, this will leave a dent in your wallet, more than a one-time investment could!

You know yourself best, so the investment you make should reflect your own usage. If you’re someone who doesn’t tend to look after your handbags and wants a low-maintenance, high-quality tote, consider one made of italian leather. For more information on italian leather handbags and the upkeep process, read our comprehensive guide here! If you’re more meticulous, and trust yourself to be cognizant of the upkeep and cleaning process of your tote bag (or if you appreciate the worn in look of leather handbags), you should consider purchasing a nubuck leather or suede handbag. Our comprehensive guide to nubuck leather will give you more information about everything you need to know about the material, linked here!

All of these – Italian leather, nubuck and suede – are high-quality leather options for the perfect everyday/travel tote bag. They are incredibly durable and allow the user to be able to make a long-term investment into their comfort! 

Different Sizes for Different Purposes!

The size of the ideal tote bag will vary depending on what you like to bring with you to work or for travel! Hammitt has a wide range of tote bags for everyone – whether you’re a light packer or whether you bring everything and more with you to work and the airport, we’ve got you covered!

A smaller tote bag is perfect for all those who pack light. For a tote bag to bring all your basic necessities – phone, wallet, and keys – and some other essentials like a water bottle, book, and maybe even a small notebook, computer or tablet, we recommend the Otis Tote or Oliver Med, available in a range of colors! 

For a larger tote bag that will fit almost everything above and some bigger laptops, we are obsessed with the Addie Lrg and the Benjamin! And for the perfect airport tote that will carry everything you want to bring with you and more, the LAX Intl is unmatched!

Function, Function, Function!

The best thing about investing in a Hammitt tote is that there are a variety of storage compartments throughout our handbags, allowing for easy access to all of your little bits and bobs. You will never have to worry about losing your keys or wallet in the depths of a Mary Poppins-esq canvas tote bag; With a Hammitt tote bag, everything will be easy to find in any number of zippers, drop pockets, and credit card slots (literally everything!). 

Not only that, but our multi-compartment tote handbags are perfect for any person, any occasion. For all our moms, we love the Addie Lrg, which has two wrap around side pockets, perfect for baby bottles or water bottles for your children, without having to worry about interior spillage! If you have a newborn, you know the pain of hearing your baby cry for milk. With our exterior side pockets, you don’t have to scavenger around the interior of your handbag to help ease your baby’s cries. It’s just a quick grab and give moment: seamless!  

The Addie Lrg with many different compartments, labeled for what their purpose is.

Many of our famous totes, including the Addie Lrg, Otis Tote and the Benjamin also have an exterior cell phone pocket, perfect for when you’re having a fun, relaxing time with your family, while expecting a business call! It gives you easy access for a quick, seamless pick up! 


Don’t have a wallet? Don’t worry because our totes have that covered! Our totes feature a wonderfully convenient interior credit card slot as well, perfect for all of our customers who don’t have a wallet, or don’t like carrying one in general. Just slip in a couple of your most used cards and your ID and you’re ready to conquer the day. If you haven’t caught on to the theme yet: quick and seamless! Whatever you’re looking for in a tote, we promise you that a Hammitt handbag has got you covered. 

So make that purchase today!

It is paramount to have a high-quality tote bag to ensure it will always continue to serve its purpose. From our own experience, a canvas or low-quality fabric tote bag can be incredibly cute and relaxed, however it lacks the universality that a structured tote bag allots you – a more resistant body and considerably more storage space. Moreover, a structured tote bag crafted from high-quality materials – leather, raffia, and more – is a great accessory, contributing to a more put together look. Whether you're off to work or the airport, your handbag shouldn’t burden you, so don’t let it! Investing in a good, high quality tote bag will be a game-changer. Take it from us, we've all been there.

 

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