Let’s Pack Up

What's the most important thing to carry on business trips? Your laptop? Office documents? Change of clothes? Your trusty iPod? Well, all of them are must-carry, but perhaps the most important accessory is the bag in which you will stuff these into. The travel bag for business trips — whether very short or slightly long — has to be chosen with great care. It has to be big enough for all your gear, but it also has to be small enough to easily pass off as cabin baggage in the aircraft you will travel in. The biggest benefit: you can steer clear of any nerves related to missing baggage! So, here's a look at some cool bags that fit the bill.

You can't talk of bags and miss Tod's; that would be sacrilege. The UK luxury brand's recently unveiled travel collection is a real head turner. Made of Tod's natural vachetta leather with saddlery stitching, the collection has a trolley bag, a carry-on and an overnight bag. Both the carry-on and the overnight bags have spacious inner compartments. The trolley bag comes with an outer zipped pocket, spacious interiors and a retractable handle. Available in tan, dark brown, chocolate brown, brandy, ochre, grey and burgundy. Price: Rs 2,75,000, Rs 2,28,000 and Rs 1,97,000 for the trolley bag, overnight bag and the carry-on, in that order.

The Classic 48 Hour bag from Valextra is perfect for those with class. The Italian giant, also the Beckhams' favourite bag brand, is renowned for its sleek and simple designs. The clean lines and subtle details of the piping and zippers are unique to Valextra and also to the Classic 48 Hour. The bag can easily accommodate in a laptop, documents and a change of clothes. It comes with a large zip closure and two pouch type compartments on the reverse side. The beautiful chocolate brown colour gives it a smart look. Dimensions: 18 x 7.5 x 14 inches. Price: on request.

Space, look, style, that's what Louis Vuitton is all about. The companys' Sac Voyage in toile Shako réglisse is a tribute to the classic steamer bag. Made of shako canvas, the bag has an inner lining of cotton canvas. Its single zipped pocket doesn't give you the liberty of separate pockets, but it does give you a lot of space. For tit bits there is the flat pocket. Dimensions: 9.4 x 12.6 x 20.9 inches. Price: on request

Though Bottega Veneta has a range of truly trendy bags, we chose the dark navy Marcopolo carry-on because of its practical look and utility. Made of durable rubberised canvas, the bag is sturdy and is good for people for whom looks don't matter much. The brunito finish hardware gives it a clean look. Make sure you use the lock and key to keep it secure from the jealous kinds! Price: $1,350

If you want something less expensive yet stylish, check out Hidesign's bags. Alamo and Vegas, in particular, are great options for cabin baggage. Alamo comes with spacious and interiors with multiple slip and zip pockets. There is a front zip pocket too for last-minute misses. Vegas, a dome duffle in smooth ranch leather, is great for weekend travel. There is a main compartment for clothes and other stuff and two outside zip pockets for small essentials. Prices: Rs 10,795 (Alamo); Rs 5,195 (Vegas)