Top 10 Best Women's Tote Bags to Buy Online 2020

When Ana was growing up, she was told that girls can either be stylish or have a career—one or the other, take your pick. But after she grew up and got out on her own, she realized there's really no reason she can't have both. She's a chemical engineer, project management professional, and an MBA, working towards her dream of running her own company.

And yet, she manages to be incredibly stylish and classy. And that's what her channel is about—how to have the best life and career, to be organized, to take control of your finances, but do all of that in style. She's super fun, yet straight-forward. Visit her below!

[For work], I think a solid color is a good place to start. Traditionally black, but I find that a rich burgundy or a forest green are both neutral enough that you could wear them with any sort of suit.

There aren’t that many structured totes out there that are comfortable to carry. If you’re taking the train, if you’re going to run around office to office, if you have a lot of meetings, you want to have something that’s comfortable to carry on your shoulder. So I wouldn’t worry too much about the structure; I would worry more about color and texture.

If you get a nice leather, it will last you a really long time. And it becomes a part of your signature look. When I first started out working, I had this beautiful Whipping Post Tote Bag. And I kind of grew out of it; it started to look older and it fell apart. Then I invested in my first luxury handbag. It’s been six years since I got it; I still have it, and it still looks amazing.

If you’re petite, a really large bag is awkward. It becomes heavy because if you have more room, you’re going to put in more things. Pick a size that’s convenient for your body. Usually, I go for anything that’s medium, like the Louis Vuitton Neverfull MM.

Anything that can fit a 13-inch laptop is probably the largest you should go with. If it’s big enough to fit a 15- or 17-inch, you’ve gone too big. In that case, you should carry a backpack.

I’m very OCD about caring for my things. Here, the weather gets cold and there’s snow. When there’s precipitation and I’m going out, I just make sure I have some protector on my shoes and bags as a general rule.

It’s really inexpensive—so you don’t even have to buy expensive leather cleaners or leather protectors. I just buy a $7 product from my local shoe store that I spray on and then wipe down. I do it once a month at the most, and it’s never been a problem for me. I do not have a single piece of leather that’s deteriorated because I didn’t care well enough for it.

I’ve seen a lot of women carrying black or brown or grey Longchamp nylon bags to work. They’re sturdy, lightweight, and water-resistant, so they’re a good alternative to leather bags on a rainy day. Or if one day you’re going shopping and you have one of those folded in your bag, you can pull it out and fill it up, and it still looks really elegant.

The reason they look so nice is because the handles, being leather, add some structure to the bag. And they come with a zipper as well. Naturally, they look just like a tote and then because of the color, because of the little detail of the leather additions and the zipper, they look elegant and not like a grocery bag.

In the summer, when I’m wearing lighter clothes—if I wear white and I have some beige sandals—then I love carrying fabric bags because they have this summery feel. If I’m going to my parents’ house or if I’m going to the movies and I need to bring some extra jackets, that’s when I use this [fabric] bag a lot. I just find it so versatile.

And then the other [fabric bag] that I have is my weekend travel bag. It’s canvas, and it’s got a really long handle. It's great if I’m going for an overnight trip somewhere on the weekend. It’s so light that I can wear it cross-body and take it on the plane. Those are where I use fabric bags the most. I don’t typically bring fabric bags to work unless I have a lot of books to carry.

On the exterior, it's nice if there's a pocket that you can slide a transit pass in for easy access. I also like bags that you can cinch on the sides so you can make them smaller or larger.

And then on the inside, I always appreciate a zipper pocket, especially because tote bags typically don’t have a zipper. But even if it’s open, if it has a nice large zipper pocket on the inside, you can keep your wallet safe when you’re walking around with it.