The Best Interview Tote Bags: Stylish, Light, and Big Enough for a Folder - Golf Bag,Sports Bag,Outdoor Bag Manufacturer

collage of 6 totes, including 1) Street Level 2) Cuyana 3) Madewell Transport 4) Tory Burch Ella 5) Lo & Sons Seville and 6) Tory Burch leather tote

Above, some of the best work totes for women: one* / two* / three / four* / five / six* (not pictured but also Tumi and Dagne Dover!)
* try this highly-rated organizing insert with some of the less structured bags…

Sure, we all know what basics professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you’re buying one for the first time or replacing one you’ve worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have.

It’s been a while since we did a roundup on interview tote bags, so I thought we’d do one now (see our 2012, 2011, and 2010 roundups here). I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: in my mind the perfect interview tote has structure (that it keeps if you set it down), is a muted color like black, and doesn’t have a ton of logos or other bling on it.

In terms of size, I think it should be big enough to fit a file folder as well as whatever else you would normally carry in your purse, but not so big that you could fit a beach blanket or groceries in there. In the past I’ve always preferred nylon to leather (much lighter weight) but I think readers have finally convinced me that the weight doesn’t matter that much. (What do you think, guys?)

We’ve included some of the classics in previous roundups (such as the Kate Spade Maryanne line, most MZ Wallace bags, nylon Tory Burch totes, and Lo & Sons totes) so I’ll only include the newer ones in today’s roundup.

Readers, what are the top qualities you look for in an interview tote? Have you made any great purchases recently?

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