I don’t travel a lot—just a few times a year, but when I do I’m one of those people who take everything, and want it to hand, so everything has to fit into a carry-on handbag, backpack, or tote. By Aine Dowling

Totes are a pain. It’s just one big bag of mess, and you can guarantee that the item you need right now is buried at the bottom. How many times have you unpacked your tote just to get at the lip gloss? And don’t even think of popping your passport in there—you’ll be holding up the queue at customs for a good 10 minutes while you scrabble around.

A small good quality backpack is great. Lots of pockets for this, that, and the other; hands free, and everything stays where you put it … but let’s be honest, unless you’re backpacking, a backpack isn’t exactly chic, especially if you travel business (or first class)—not that I ever do, but one can live in hope. My High Sierra backpack has served me exceptionally well over the years, but I was getting a bit tired of the ‘I see you’ve got your backpack again’ from my co-travellers who all had neat little handbags; seemingly from the Mary Poppins wardrobe sale as I really don’t know how they fit everything in! Obviously they travel minimally—highly suspicious in my opinion.

I’m a bit of an electronics addict. I have my phone (as does everyone), Kindle (got to have the reading list), and tablet (for movies and shows), plus the iRiver music master. Combine that with the little bag of gadget chargers, travel wallet, glasses, sunglasses, wallet, notebook, business cards, crossword puzzle book, pens and pencils, magazine, keys, and little zip-lock bag of things less than 100ml that you can take through customs, and even Mary Poppins couldn’t fit it in.

So, on my last trip I retired the backpack. I had, some months previously, pre-ordered/purchased the Perry baby bag from Sash & Belle. Now you may think that odd since I don’t have a baby, but when I saw the Perry I realised that here was something stylish that might just be the thing to hold all my stuff. Other plusses were the water-proof lining, inner zip pocket big enough to take the tablet, and plenty of other little pockets for odds and ends. It also comes with a separate shoulder strap so you can also go hands-free—to carry your duty frees; what else.

The upshot was that the Perry not only took everything I had, but everything was visible and easy to get in and out, and, unlike the backpack, it went ‘under the seat in front’ instead of in the overhead bin. But most of all it was chic, functional, and received quite a few envious looks from my co-travellers. So even if you don’t have a baby, the Perry makes a perfect travel bag and/or professional hold-all.

The Perry is available in a gorgeous muted charcoal and lined with a waterproof brown/cream stripe. Unfortunately the bag is currently sold out, but more are on the way, so don’t miss out—pre-order your travelling/professional/baby Perry bag now!