The search for the perfect work bag can be an endless and gruelling one to endure. With so many options out there and so many different needs. Searching for the bag that will come with you to your job and will stand the test of time can often feel stressful, tiring, and pointless, driving us to retreat to the humble canvas tote bag and spend all of our hard-earned money on cute handbags instead of practical everyday options. We understand. Forking out hundreds of dollars to schlep the contents of your life around stylishly can be a tough pill to swallow, but once you find the perfect one, you'll wonder why you didn't take the plunge sooner.

The perfect work bag, in our opinion, ticks multiple boxes: it needs to be a timeless bag that you feel good wearing. This will save you from moving on or returning to the free-tote-bag-with-purchase that continues to lurk in the peripheral. For example, do you feel good carrying it to meetings? What about after work drinks or events? If no, it's not the right one. Two, it needs to be durable. This is not the bag that you're keeping in its dust bag and only busting out for the right occasion, if it can't be treated like one of the Olsen twins giant Birkins, you shouldn't be assigning it to be your everyday companion (FYI, all bags should be able to be treated like the Olsen twins Birkins). Three, it should be functional in more ways than one, meaning, it should have smaller internal or external pockets for things that need to be easily accessed, and is able to fit a laptop or iPad. Bonus points for any type of zip or tie closures and multiple handle modes. There are bags below that tick some boxes if not all of them and it's up to you on how much of our criteria is important to you.

While a work bag can be a practical thing to invest in, we suggest you do just that. If your nominated bag is coming with you on daily commutes and even subbing in as a travel carry on, the cost per-wear will make itself up in no time, trust. You're going to want something you truly love and can go with almost anything. Below, are our top picks of the best work bags.

PRADA Large Leather Shoulder Bag

Hermès Vintage Kelly 32

LOEWE Backpack

THE ROW Domino Tote Bag

ACNE STUDIOS Leather Shoulder Bag

BOTTEGA VENETA Large Andiamo

Tory Burch Lee Radziwill Double Bag

Celine 16 Bag

MAISON MARGIELA Beige Medium 5AC Bag

Longchamp Le Pliage Original Tote Bag

Coach North Tote

ACNE STUDIOS Black Platt Shoulder Bag