Gift Guides

24 Perfect Bags to Carry to Your First Job, Just in Time for Graduation Gift Season

It’s time for another wave of college and grad school students to begin making their way out into the full-time working world, and tradition dictates they do so with gifts from family and friends to help them embark on the next stage of their lives. Surely someone else in the family is already taking care of the Bed Bath & Beyond gift cards, so if there’s a new graduate in your life and you need to shower her with a gift, might we suggest a luxe-but-discreet new work bag?

Figuring out what sends exactly the right message for a young woman in a new workplace can be tough, and the changing American job landscape and the nature of work itself don’t make it any easier. The bag that would look right on a graphic designer at a creative agency would also look totally out of place on a newly minted litigator, and both would probably be too extreme for, say, a customer service rep at an insurance company. For all of those situations, though, a neutral leather bag without obvious branding would be an asset, and we’ve assembled those bags at a wide range of prices and for a wide range of styles, below. (Plus a couple of colorful pieces, for those of us who get to have some fun at work.)

3.1 Phillip Lim Nova Tote
$695 via Barneys

31-Phillip-Lim-Nova-Tote

ALC Luke Bucket Bag
$595 via Barneys

ALC-Luke-Bucket-Bag

APC Sac Minimal Leather Bag
$580 via Net-a-Porter

APC-Sac-Minimal-Leather-Bag

Building Block Cylinder Duffel Bag
$780 via SSENSE

Building-Block-Cylinder-Duffel-Bag

Coach Rogue Bag
$795 via Coach

Coach-Rogue-Bag

Cuero & Mor Cross Body Bag
$395 via Shopbop

Cuero-and-Mor-Cross-Body-Bag

Cynthia Rowley Miranda Tote
$295 via Anthropologie

Cynthia-Rowley-Miranda-Tote

DKNY Saffiano Tote
$328 via Bloomingdale’s

DKNY-Saffiano-Tote

Eddie Borgo Pepper Saddle Bag
$1,450 via Net-a-Porter

Eddie-Borgo-Pepper-Saddle-Bag

Gucci Swing Tote
$1,350 via Gucci

Gucci-Swing-Tote

Kara Tie Tote
$475 via Shopbop

Kara-Tie-Tote

Kate Spade Milton Lane Shawn Tote
$348 via Nordstrom

Kate-Spade-Milton-Lane-Shawn-Tote

Lodis Stephanie Collection Scarlet Tote
$358 via Nordstrom

Lodis-Stephanie-Collection-Scarlet-Tote

Loeffler Randall Rider Bag
$475 via Shopbop

Loeffler-Randall-Rider-Bag

Longchamp Penelope Tote
$935 via Nordstrom

Longchamp-Penelope-Tote

Madewell Transport Satchel
$188 via Madewell

Madewell-Transport-Satchel

Mansur Gavriel Lady Bag
$1,195 via SSENSE

Mansur-Gavriel-Lady-Bag

Marc Jacobs Madison North-South Tote
$595 via Bloomingdale’s

Marc-Jacobs-Madison-North-South-Tote

MCM Claudia Shopper Tote
$920 via Bloomingdale’s

MCM-Claudia-Shopper-Tote

Michael Kors Eleanor Tote
$990 via Nordstrom

Michael-Kors-Eleanor-Tote

Salvatore Ferragamo Fill Up Tote
$1,390 via Nordstrom

Salvatore-Ferragamo-Fill-Up-Tote

Skagen Anja Copenhagen Tote
$295 via Nordstrom

Skagen-Anja-Copenhagen-Tote

Tory Burch Cass Large Tote
$575 via Tory Burch

Tory-Burch-Cass-Large-Tote

WANT Les Essentiels de la Vie Mirabel Shopper Tote
$925 via Barneys

WANT-Les-Essentiels-de-la-Vie-Mirabel-Shopper-Tote

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