I love the idea of a huge bag—think Serena Van der Woodsen carrying a massive Mulberry or Chloé moment with only a Sidekick and lip gloss in it—but I have to say that day-to-day I love a chic shoulder bag that fits my things but doesn’t overdo it. If I have to carry my computer I like to carry a larger bag, why not, but if I don’t need to, then I’m team medium to small shoulder bag. Phone, keys, headphones, hand fan, lip gloss—you’re done and looks great with every outfit.
Laia Garcia-Furtado, senior fashion news editor
I’m not a ludicrously capacious bag kinda gal, but every bag that I carry day-to-day needs to comfortably fit a notebook and ideally a small umbrella (when I was younger my rule was that it needed to fit a standard-ish 8.5″ x 11″ magazine). For evenings though, when all I need are the essentials (ID, credit card, lipstick, inhaler, cellphone) then teeny works just fine.
Margaux Anbouba, senior beauty & wellness editor
Team big! I want to carry all! All the time! My favorite big bag is a vintage Chloe Edith gifted to me by the fashion director at Elle when I worked there. It’s surprisingly deceptive. It can be tiny if you want just the necessities (for me, that’s the whole phone, keys, wallet, but also four or five lip glosses, my laptop, a snack, a book). And then, for the real days where I am gone morning until late night, it fits even more: Perfume! Bandaids! Pens! Notebook! Hair accessories!
Emma Specter, culture writer
Okay, how about a mini bag (tiny Telfar, vintage beaded clutch, what have you) stuffed inside a filthy tote bag advertising some gay cause? Because that’s how I live.
Marley Marius, features editor
For a little while now, I’ve been doing the strange thing of carrying a very large bag with not so many things inside it: a roomy (arguably too roomy) nylon tote from Hervé Chapelier that is also, I’ve discovered, very useful as a carry-on for work trips. I could certainly size down—and I have really, really mulled this—considering that on a day-to-day basis, all I need on hand are my keys, earbuds, my laptop, its charger, and a book. But, to deliberately misquote My Fair Lady, I’ve grown accustomed to its space….especially when, at the end of a long day, the spirit moves me to stop at Morton Williams for almond milk or paper towels or seltzer or grapes (or all of the above). Never, ever having to carry a second bag is really a treat—even if the one that I tend to have on me is, yes, ludicrously capacious.