Leather Satchels And Briefcases

Finely made briefcases are the hallmark of top notch professionals and businesspeople. A mainstay in the business world for generations, few accessories can help round out your professional image as briefcases can.

And of course, briefcases also have a practical purpose; after all, they were designed to be functional far before they firmly entered into the sphere of personal fashion.

Different kinds of briefcases

Traditionally, briefcases came in one design. The traditional briefcase is made of leather or vinyl stretched over a metal frame with a handle and a lid attached with hinges. This traditional design is called an attaché, and dates back to the early 19th century in Paris, France. This classic design is still the most popular design for briefcases. It is easy to carry, and is perfectly arranged for carrying all of your important papers, etc. An expansion from the traditional attaché is a folio case. This is basically just an attaché briefcase, but with a wider compartment. If you have large amounts of documents to move around, look for a folio case with a retractable handle and wheels.

 As stated above, briefcases were traditionally made from genuine leather. These days, however, briefcases are made from a host of materials. Aside from genuine leather, popular materials used in the construction of a briefcase include synthetic leather, vinyl and nylon.

Latest trends in briefcases

 While the traditional box briefcase will always be fashionable, in recent years the trend has moved away from the hard lines of the traditional attaché briefcase into a more bag like briefcase. Instead of having a hinged compartment, these newer briefcases generally have a flap enclosure that attaches to the side of the briefcase. These contemporary briefcases will also generally have a shoulder strap in addition to the normal handle. For this reason, soft-sided briefcases are sometimes called shoulder bags, courier bags, or even briefbags.

The biggest change in briefcases in the last few years has been the move to accommodate the latest in electronic gadgetry, namely cell phones, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). In an attempt to allow easy access to cell phones and PDAs, briefcases commonly now sport outside pockets designed especially to carry these items, whether on the outside of the main compartment itself, tucked away inside the main compartment, or even on the strap.

Even more drastic than the movement towards accommodating electronic gadgetry, is the growing importance of laptops for professionals. When laptops first started to become commonplace through the business world, there was a clear differentiation between briefcases and laptop bags; briefcases were the elegant leather cases that we all know and love, while laptop cases were horribly ugly nylon sacks. While you can still find many ugly laptop cases where a premium is put on functionality, today’s finest briefcases understand that for many professionals, transporting their laptop is just as important, if not more important, than moving papers. For that reason, most briefcases today have been made to accommodate laptops, either through extra padding, or internal structures designed to limit the laptop’s movement.

Functionality was the briefcase’s original purpose, and remains the primary reason for carrying a briefcase today. However, now that the briefcase is elemental in the business world, choose from a wide variety of briefcase looks and styles to help create the professional image that you present to the world.