Stylish Laptop Bags by knomo

In the past year, I’ve lugged my MacBook Air halfway across the world. It’s followed me to Paris, Chicago, New York, Maine, Brighton and London (many, many times). Everyday we ride the bus to my city centre studio, and together we’ve navigated delayed trains, packed platforms and 6 hour flights. My Air is very well-travelled, and all that to-ing and frow-ing requires a laptop bag that’s practical yet pretty, because let’s face it – no one likes nylon.

Lille Laptop Satchel, c/o knomo

I bought this knomo bag at the beginning of the year and have used it almost every day since. I love it, so I was delighted when knomo got in touch to ask if I’d like to try a new bag from their AW12 collection. Of course I said ‘HELL YES’ and a few days later, my beautiful Lille was sitting proudly on my desk.

First, let me state the obvious – this bag is beautiful. The Lille is structured and sturdy, functional but oh-so fabulous. The leather is textured and the zips and buckles give it a military feel. Peek inside and there’s that gorgeous hot pink, quilted lining, with three compartments and a plethora of pockets for all that stuff you simply cannot leave the house without – five lipsticks (all pink), last week’s Stylist (read three times) and two umbrellas (both broken).

The middle section is padded and zippered to keep your technology safe – my 11in Air fits easily as it can hold up to 13in of computing goodness. If I’m travelling far I put my power cable in one of the other sections, and use the third for my purse, diary, Kindle, etc.

There’s a detachable strap if you’d rather carry the Lille over your shoulder than in the crook of your arm – I like to alternate – and it’s strong enough to reassure me there won’t be any ‘bag-strap-broken-tampons-all-over-floor’ situations. There’s also a special knomo ID tag sewn inside, so if you leave it (or any knomo bag) in a taxi/on the train/under a park bench and some kind soul finds it, they can trace you for a happy reunion.

I use my Lille most days and this is what I carry – my Air, makeup bag (Bloomingdale’s), sunglasses (Topshop case), lipstick, Oyster and studio cards (Kate Spade holder), Filofax, Kindle and my purse (Hermés via car boot sale – best thrift find EVER!). Even with all this lot there’s plenty of space to spare and it doesn’t feel too heavy because the weight is distributed so cleverly across the three sections.

The Lille is £325 – expensive. But I’ve never seen a better example of ‘you get what you pay for’ – the quality is undeniable, the design is modern and sleek and the whole range is just generally awesome. If the price has you raising your eyebrows, there are ways to save – knomo have a great sale on at the moment and if you follow them on Twitter, you’ll hear about their sample sales where there are more bargains to be had. And next time you’re in TK Maxx, keep an eye out for last season knomos at fab prices.

The Autumn/Winter 12 Collection from knomo is online now, and these are some shots from the look book. I was absolutely blown away by the styling of this collection and now have my eye pretty much everything – surely you can’t expect me to go through life without an iPad cover, a Kindle sleeve and an iPhone pouch? And a girl can never have too many handbags…

Have you heard of knomo before? What do you think of the range?