Michael Kors Knows What We Need: A Front-and-Center Phone Compartment

I’m a little embarrassed to say that my iPhone has seen much, much better days because I don’t have a bag like the MICHAEL Michael Kors Phone Compartment Crossbody. Not only do I have a year-and-a-half old 4S (not even a 5!), but its screen is significantly cracked in one corner because of a post-brunch texting incident a couple of months ago in which it met an untimely end against a Third Avenue sidewalk. If those two things weren’t enough, I’ve noticed recently that my screen protector (which I’ve kept in place to keep the glass shards away from my delicate finger meat) has several gouges in it. After some thoughtful deduction, I’ve realized that those gouges are probably because the bag I’m carrying right now doesn’t have any interior pockets and my keys are attacking my phone willy-nilly.

As much as I love bag trends heading toward minimalism, it does present a few problems. My bag came with a separate pouch for all the things you don’t want crashing around in your purse, but I use my phone too much to zip it away completely in a pouch that I would need to fish in and out all the time. Even if a bag has a compartment that’s nominally intended to house a phone, it’s usually tucked away in the unreachable depths of the interior, which is also a dealbreaker for me.

This little MICHAEL Michael Kors bag gets it exactly right – your phone is easily reachable, but it’s also completely protected from everything going on around it. With out-of-pocket iPhones costing in the vicinity of $700, they’re often the most costly thing we carry on a daily basis, other than our bags themselves. It’s always nice when the bag pitches in to keep them safe, especially when the bag is as cute and well-priced as this little leopard number. Buy through Bloomingdale’s for $148.