The Best Tote Bags and Purses for Work and Weekends

Everyone needs a good bag. Backpacks are great—and we have lots of favorites—but tote bags and purses are just as capable if you’re commuting to work or toting textbooks around campus. Whatever your needs or style, we have an option you should like. These totes aren’t the thin, pocketless bags we all seem to accumulate. We tried bags that make organization easy, and that can stand up to the elements and the normal amount of wear and tear that life brings.

If you prefer a backpack or a messenger bag, we have guides for those too, as well as a roundup of all our favorite types of bags made from recycled materials.

Updated January 2024: We’ve added three bags from Lo & Sons: the Patchwork Tote, O.G.2, and Catalina Supreme.

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