The Women’s Netbook Briefcase is both practical and stylish

The latest in the unfortunately named For Her line from Mobile Edge, the $70 Woman’s Netbook Briefcase does a good job of looking stylish enough for a young professional woman without crossing over into giant-purse territory. This bag is undeniably a briefcase, but the faux-leather-on-microfiber exterior adds a touch of femininity to an otherwise androgynous accessory.

Thanks to a reinforced bottom and thick sides, along with a padded sleeve, the bag provides considerable protection to your laptop, yet the bag is surprisingly light. Your 13-inch Macbook Air or MacBook Pro is secured by a thick, Velcro fastener, and there are plenty of pockets and straps to hold pens, chargers, notepads, and—at Mobile Edge’s insistence—lipstick. The bag includes a matching cosmetics pouch, but you can use the pouch, about the size of a MacBook’s AC adapter, for storing accessories. The bag’s hardware, which secures leather handles and a removable, adjustable, padded shoulder strap, is sturdy.

The design of the bag makes it convenient for holding—and accessing—a lot of stuff. The zipper runs all the way to the bottom of the bag on both sides, so you can fan the bag open to search for, well, a tube of lipstick. (Flaps of the bag’s cloth lining keep your stuff from falling out with the back fully open.) If you can’t quite fit all of your work inside the bag’s 4-inch-across interior, there’s also an outer pocket for documents or a magazine. The briefcase also sports small, metal feet so the bottom never gets dirty, as well as a Velcro-attached strap for sliding your bag over the handle of a rolling suitcase.

The Woman’s Netbook Briefcase has everything a professional woman might need in a briefcase. It’s simple without being too utilitarian, and stylish without being too eye-catching. The only thing that I found unappealing is the shiny logo on the pocket-side of the case that screams “M E For Her.” (That’s right, guys—if you thought this bag was androgenous enough for you, think again. With a sarcastic femenist sigh, I channel Liz Lemon in thinking that nothing says “I’m a strong, powerful, organized lady professional” like a shiny, cursive-script “For Her” on your briefcase.