West End Slim Leather Laptop Bag

A work bag that does not look like a work bag.

Slim is the operative word. Two and a quarter inches deep, so it carries a laptop, a legal pad and a charger and then politely refuses to become a suitcase. The leather is soft enough to slouch a little when you set it down, which is the difference between a bag you own and a bag your company issued you.

Two handles for walking it into a meeting, a removable leather shoulder strap for everything else. Inside, a lined main compartment with a dedicated laptop pocket, a phone pocket, a pen pocket and a zip pocket for the things that otherwise live loose in the bottom. Two more zip pockets on the outside for the boarding pass and the sunglasses.

Black or mahogany. The mahogany is a deep oxblood that photographs darker than it looks in person.

Details

• Premium genuine leather with nickel finish hardware
• 16 inches wide by 11 high by 2.25 deep, 2 pounds 3 ounces
• Cotton lined interior with leather laptop pocket, phone pocket, pen pocket and zip pocket
• Two zippered exterior pockets
• Removable leather shoulder strap, top carry handles
• Black or Mahogany

If you want more room

The Katahdin briefcase is the same bag with four inches of depth instead of two and a quarter, and an all leather unlined interior. Same maker, same hardware, $50 more.

Who makes it

Rogue Industries, in Standish, Maine. Michael Lyons started the company in 2007 and the workshop runs on solar.

Straight answer on this one. The wallets, the coasters and the Eastport clutch I carry are stitched in that Maine shop. This bag is not. Rogue designs it, puts its own name on it, and has it made overseas to their spec. I would rather tell you that up front than let you assume Maine and find out later.

Ships free.