Latest Acquisition: Zara Office City Bag

Being a pseudo-graduate student, you are in need to carry loads and loads of papers, technology, and other essentials around with you all the time plus any personal bits you need. You MUST be prepared for anything and everything that may be thrown your way! Not exactly, but certainly does help if you are!

True to form, I took to Google to search for cute bags that would be suitable for such an endeavor. I didn't have to look very far or for very long before I found the Zara Office City Bag plastered all over the internet, being especially popular among fellow YouTubers and Bloggers! At $89 it was also quite a bargain considering the quality of bag you were getting in return.

Allow me to elaborate on this bag. For starters, the bag is huge! It has three zipper compartments and two open pockets that close by a magnetic clasp. It is about as tall as a magazine, as long as two magazine covers put side by side, and as wide as the length of my hand, I wear small size gloves. It only comes in black, and has gold tone hardware.

The key features that sucked me in were the zipped and padded tablet pocket and the middle zipped pocket which is also padded and meant for laptops! I thought this was genius and so, so perfect! I have different laptops that I use and carry around with me in addition to my iPad. Sometimes I use the 11" MacBook Air (pictured above), others the HP Pavilion 15", and others a little Samsung netbook. All three laptops fit perfectly inside, and give me tremendous peace of mind knowing they are very well protected! The description says the bag will fit up to 17" computers.

Another feature of the bag that I thought was very clever is the open pocket that has a cell phone compartment, a small zipper compartment, and several credit card sized slots. I am fortunate enough to live in a very safe city where I don't have to worry about being pick pocketed, and for this reason I do use the cell phone pocket, and in the zippered pocket keep my keys for easy reach. The card slots I find would be useful if you have a metro card, or parking garage ticket that you need to keep handy, a hotel room key, or identification that you need to have readily available. I don't think I would actually keep any credit cards in those slots because the pocket is so exposed. The remainder of the pocket would be good to keep other things such as an umbrella, a light cardigan, snacks, water, map, or any other things you need to have easy access to.

Two of the zip compartments are basic and open so you can keep anything of value in there such as a wallet! The last open pocket is also basic and very open. I imagine you can keep papers, folders, pens, or anything else in there.

The bag truly is very versatile and so beautiful! The exterior is textured, the bottom has little feet, and the strap is adjustable with a nice addition of a small slidable pad for comfort. You can wear this bag as a cross body, on your shoulder, or the crook of your arm! It is so beautiful, and looks expensive. I really do love this bag, and imagine will be my favorite for time to come! Also, I have received many compliments from fellow labmates, professors, and a few of my students! Thank you, Zara!!

Zara have a very similar bag with all the same features called the City Bag with Zips. The only difference between the two is that the latter is slightly gathered at the sides, while the Office City Bag is very boxy.