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The Best Briefcases for Men Will Show You Mean Business
Carry your work stuff in style
There was a time, not too long ago, when it looked like the traditional briefcase might be just about ready to ascend to the great boardroom in the sky.
Briefcases were a little fuddy-duddy, a little bowler hatted and starch-collared. And apart from anything else, sticking your laptop into a briefcase for the arduous commute to the kitchen table in this post-WFH era feels a little unnecessary. But the new school of briefcases take the laptop-friendly dimensions and multi-pocketed expandability of backpacks while hanging onto the more refined looks and pleasing tactility of your classic briefcase. They won’t rumple up your suit jacket and make the shoulders go all weird either.
In fact, let’s be blunt. You know who uses a briefcase? Sean Connery’s Bond. You know who uses a backpack? Jesse Eisenberg’s Mark Zuckerberg. So roll the combination locks to 007, it’s time to get back into briefcases. Here are some of our favourites.
Globe-Trotter
Globe-Trotter, the British luxury luggage brand first established in 1897, is synonymous with the Golden Age of Travel, that gilded period of the mid-century when flight attendants in a la mode uniforms served up lobster thermidor at 30,000 feet. Those days are long gone, but you can channel some of that glamour during your daily commute with one of the heritage label’s slimline, hardwearing Attaché briefcases. We’re big fans of this oxblood ‘Centenary’ model.
£1,396; globe-trotter.com
Aspinal of London
Mmm. The metal-on-metal slide and satisfyingly clack of a proper old-timey briefcase clasp closing is a sensory experience it's hard to beat, especially when you've got handcrafted Italian leather on the outside and a 15-inch compartment on the inside to keep your laptop secure.
£595; selfridges.com
Mulberry Belgrave Single Document Holder
Nothing says luxury like investing in a high-quality briefcase to transport but a single document. And, you know, you could stop at one document in your lovely Mulberry briefcase. But why not two? Hey – call me crazy, but could we get a third in there guys? I am of course joking. It's a lovely, lovely slip of a thing.
£960; mulberry.com
Cambridge Satchel
Cambridge Satchel's bare-bones version of a leather briefcase looks like the future, especially in this red tint it's calling oxblood.
£210; cambridgesatchel.com
Bleu De Chauffe
Slouchy like those messenger bags the youngsters are wearing, but just a little more grown up and a lot posher.
£365; mrporter.com
John Lewis
For just 45 quid you're getting a nylon and leather trim black laptop briefcase from your friendly neighbourhood department store, John Lewis. Nice.
£45; johnlewis.com
Tom Ford
The luxe choice. Slim and sleek, and with a full grain leather finish, this is the kind of briefcase which says that you've not only made it, but that you've made it so thoroughly that you don't even need a briefcase which shouts that you've made it. And it comes with a protective dust jacket.
£3,190; farfetch.com
Longchamp
Easygoing, simply constructed and made from recycled nylon, this will stand up to the daily commute. But it's more than a workhorse: the design takes its cues from origami, and you can fold it down into a very sweet miniature version of itself for packing away when you're not using it.
£95; farfetch.com
Troubadour
One for the 'reassuringly uncheap, but not stressfully expensive' pile here. It's called the Pathfinder, which should add a little spice to the dash for the bus, and the all-black-everything vibe of the nylon exterior adds a couple of hundred quid to the overall look. There's a laptop pocket on the front too.
£225; troubadorgoods.com
Acne Studios
These sleek leather jobs are all very well when you're padding from Addison Lee to air-conditioned ante-room and back again, but when you know things are going to get messy – some escootering wise guy nudges you into the the wall of the underpass, say, or you sway into the path of an oncoming lamppost – you want something lower maintenance. This sturdy, padded ripstop nylon job is just the thing, and it has all Acne's usual handsome chunkiness.
£240; mrporter.com
Bottega Veneta
We’ve all got an idol – the person that you, unbeknownst to them, look to for inspo. If that awe-inspiring legend was a briefcase, they'd be this one: Bottega Veneta’s very handsome slim intrecciato briefcase in a classic black.
£2,870; bottegaveneta.com
Sandro
Parisian label Sandro is responsible for this absolutely smashing brown textured leather briefcase. The Outnet is responsible for flogging it for almost half its original price.
£POA; sandro-paris.com
Mismo
Mismo says it creates design solutions for "purposeful and well-considered organisation". And this bag certainly fits the brief. It’s one of the more casual bags on this list, made from waterproof Ballistic nylon and leather. A bag that says: “I have my life together.”
£580, mrporter.com
Filson
Hey, Filson isn’t only about top-quality lumberjack shirts and hardwearing work jackets. It does briefcases too. And this ‘rugged’ attaché, made from twill and leather, has the look and feel of a bag that’ll never let you down.
£524.95, outdoorandcountry.co.uk
Eastpak
Eastpak’s Action briefcase definitely gives off a more casual vibe than most of the entries on this list, but it’s functional, comfortable and will never mess up your OOTD.
£54.90; wardow.com
Carl Friedrik
Made in Italy out of supple Vachetta leather – a type of full-grain derived from cow hides – this one is all about top quality construction and useful compartments.
£575; carlfriedrik.com
Tumi
Technically a travel bag, this nylon rip tape carry case from New York brand Tumi can handle laptops, tablets and Important Business Documents at an affordable price. It’s also designed to keep your clothes crease-free.
£75; uk.tumi.com
Gucci
We're not saying that slamming this down on the meeting room table will guarantee you an immediate promotion and bumper pay-rise, but we're also not not saying that.
£1,490; farfetch.com
Dunhill
Very nice, very simple, very Dunhill. This slim briefcase, made in Italy from hard-wearing full-grain leather, also comes with a padded compartment with those all-so-necessary laptops and tablets.
£1,350; dunhill.com
Bennett Winch
The full grain leather and canvas which come together here to make an extremely luxe briefcase which belies its proper durability: everything Bennett Winch makes goes through six months of road testing before it's put into full production, so though it's a bit of an investment, it's one that'll pay you back over the years to come. At the same time, it's not overly structured, so it'll be good come the weekend too.
£750; bennettwinch.com
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