My Little Green Bag

When I posted about my interview attire, a number of you complimented my green briefcase.¹  I actually bought it back in November and have been carrying every time I teach since then.  I just figured you get bored seeing it with my outfits all the time....

1. Dress - Rabbit Rabbit (Filene's Basement and remixed)

Card - Target (remixed)

Belt - Target (remixed)

Tights - Hue (remixed)

Mary Jane's - John Fluevog (remixed)

Bracelet - Target (clearance and remixed)

Locket - Etsy (remixed)

Briefcase - McKlein USA (remixed)

A few years ago I owned a gorgeous red leather Samsonite briefcase, but in a fit of insanity I decided not to bring it back with me from Madrid when I moved back to the US in the winter of 2008.  Let's just say it is extremely difficult to fit a year and a half of life and academic research into two suitcases, a carry-on, and a personal item, and I made a foolish choice about what my personal item would be.   The beautiful bag did end up in good hands at least: I gave it to a dear friend who is a professor in Spain.

I then went through two Target bags in relatively quick succession.  One disintegrated early last summer and I broke a second one in August.  How do you break a briefcase, you may well ask.  The answer is by cramming far too many library books into a bag that you purchased for $25 at Target.  During the months of September and October, I perused briefcases online and kept my eyes open for a suitable one whenever I went to Filene's Basement or TJMaxx.  I saw a few possiblities, but I ended up deciding against all of them for reasons of price or style.  I knew I would have to spend more than I had for my past two briefcases to get something of any quality, but, on my budget, a $500 or even a $300 briefcase was out of the question.

At the beginning of November, I realized I would have to get more serious about my search with the job market season coming up.  I started searching in earnest, and it came down to this bag.  It was available in a range of colors, and it turned out that the green was about $25 cheaper than the same version of the bag in black.  A black briefcase is a classic, but I wanted something that would add a little color to my life. 

I also have decided not to overload this briefcase the way I have been guilty of doing others.  It can easily carry two or three books along with my laptop and folder of papers.  However, on those days when I'm toting around, say, 7 or 10 books I now carry a canvas tote bag as well.  Fortunately, I wasn't carrying many books yesterday, as it was my first day back on the campus of the liberal arts college where I'm a visiting faculty member.

What do you carry into campus or your workplace?  Briefcase?  Bookbag?  Purse and canvas tote?