Best Stylish & Professional Leather Briefcases for Men in 2023
by Albert Varkki updated 01-05-2023
Your new leather briefcase is going to become your daily go-to business bag, for every meeting, every commute, every time.
You need it to be smart and practical, helping you achieve what you want in the workplace.
In this post, we go over the best leather briefcases for 2023.
Best Leather Briefcases for Men in 2023
Here we go into the best leather briefcases for 2023 by type and style.
Best Luxury Executive Briefcase
Winner: No.1 Men's Leather Briefcase
This full grain leather briefcase has a classic style with modern elegance. It includes a 15-inch laptop compartment, and a detachable and adjustable shoulder strap. The locking feature ensures it's always secure, and ideal for sensitive work documents. It's available in several colors to match your work outfit, from formal to business-casual.
Pros:
- Full grain leather.
- Handmade in Florence, Italy.
- Soft cotton lining.
- Durable YKK solid brass zippers.
- Locking function.
- Structured edges.
- Top handle
- Detachable shoulder strap.
- Dedicated 15.6 inch laptop compartment.
- Multiple inner compartments.
- Can be personalized.
- Available in black, tan, or brown leather.
Most Affordable Briefcase under $400
Winner: Elegant Slim Briefcase
If you need a laptop briefcase that's lightweight and more affordable, then choose the Elegant. It's made from high quality full grain leather, handmade in Florence, Italy. The aesthetic detailing on the handles adds a touch of class to its appearance. You will notice the quality just by touching it, ideal for a young professional.
Pros:
- Full grain leather.
- Handmade in Florence, Italy.
- Soft cotton lining.
- Durable YKK brass zippers.
- Minimalist design and profile.
- 14 inch laptop compartment.
- Top handles & detachable shoulder strap.
- Can be personalized.
- Available in black, brown, tan, and red leather.
Best Large 17-inch Laptop Briefcase
Winner: City Large Leather Laptop Bag
Keep your larger laptop with you at all times, with the CITY large. This laptop briefcase has room for a 17-inch laptop, while still keeping your other work essentials organized. There's plenty of room for pens, notebooks, documents, chargers, and other electronics. There are various color options, including brown and black leather.
Pros:
- 17 inch laptop compartment (also available in a 15-inch).
- Full grain leather.
- Handmade in Florence, Italy.
- Soft cotton lining.
- Durable YKK brass zippers.
- Spacious design, without being bulky.
- Can be personalized.
- Available in black, brown, or tan leather.
Best Convertible Briefcase Backpack
If you want a larger capacity briefcase that can also be used as a backpack, then choose the 10X. It's convertible, meaning it can be used as a briefcase with a detachable shoulder strap, or a backpack with built-in straps. The internal compartments are ideal for organizing your work or travel essentials.
Winner: 10X Leather Laptop Backpack
Pros:
- Full grain leather
- Dedicated compartments, perfect for travel.
- Can convert from backpack to shoulder bag for ease of access.
- Top and side handles for when moving through airports.
- Fits up to 15.6 inch laptop or tablet.
- Handmade in Italy
- Can be personalized
- Available in brown, tan, black, or red leather.
- Unisex.
Best Rolling Travel Briefcase
Winner: Voyager Leather Rolling Travel Bag
If you're traveling for work, then the Voyager is the ideal briefcase with wheels. It's made from full grain leather, ensuring it always looks smart for a work occasion, even after years of use. It also has an easy to access laptop sleeve, so you can quickly grap your tech while sitting down on the plane.
Pros:
- Full grain leather.
- Handmade in Florence, Italy.
- Soft cotton lining.
- Durable YKK brass zippers.
- 16 inch laptop sleeve.
- Hand luggage compliant.
- Leather luggage tag included.
- Multiple compartments.
- Can be personalized.
- Available in black, brown, tan and red leather.
Best Messenger Briefcase
Winner: Elegant Slim Briefcase
Pros:
- Full grain leather.
- Handmade in Florence, Italy.
- Soft cotton lining.
- Durable YKK brass zippers.
- Minimalist design and profile.
- 14 inch laptop compartment.
- Top handles & detachable shoulder strap.
- Can be personalized.
It's available in black, brown, tan, and red leather.
Best Leather Satchel Briefcase
Winner: No3 Leather Satchel Briefcase
Pros:
- Full grain leather.
- Handmade in Florence, Italy.
- Soft cotton lining.
- Durable YKK brass zippers.
- Locking function.
- 13 inch laptop compartment.
- Detacheable shoulders strap.
- Can be personalized.
- Available in black, brown, or tan leather.
Best Locking Briefcase
Winner: No.1 Men's Leather Briefcase
Pros:
- Full grain leather.
- Handmade in Florence, Italy.
- Soft cotton lining.
- Durable YKK solid brass zippers.
- Locking function.
- Structured edges.
- Top handle
- Detachable shoulder strap.
- Dedicated 15.6 inch laptop compartment.
- Multiple inner compartments.
- Can be personalized.
- Available in black, tan, or brown leather.
Briefcase for the Office Professional
Winner: CITY Leather Laptop Messenger Bag
Pros:
- Full grain leather
- Detachable shoulder strap
- Fits up to a 15.6 inch laptop (also a 17 inch version here)
- Handmade in Italy
- Dedicated laptop compartment
- Additional zipper pockets
Briefcase for Lawyers, Attorneys, and Notaries
Winner: No3 Leather Satchel Briefcase
If you're a lawyer, then you need a briefcase that demonstrates dependability and strength. Your clients are looking to you as a leader in their litigation, and so your style and accessories need to demonstrate this.
The No.3 has a traditional appearance, making it perfect for showing depandability and longevity, as well as a locking feature to show security, and multiple compartments to make it practical for storing your documents.
Pros:
- Full grain leather.
- Handmade in Florence, Italy.
- Soft cotton lining.
- Durable YKK brass zippers.
- Locking function.
- 13 inch laptop compartment.
- Detacheable shoulders strap.
- Can be personalized.
Available in black, brown, or tan leather.
Briefcase for Teachers
Winner: Essential Modern Briefcase
To connect with your students, you want a briefcase that's not too formal, but still shows professionalism, and is practical too.
The unstructured style of the essential modern is ideal for this, with a dedicated laptop compartment, and optional shoulder strap.
Pros:
- Full grain leather.
- Handmade in Florence, Italy.
- Soft cotton lining.
- Durable YKK brass zippers.
- 15.6 inch laptop compartment.
- Slim profile, not bulky.
- Can be personalized.
Briefcase for Doctors
Winner: No3 Leather Satchel Briefcase
As a doctor, your patients rely on you completely, and so you need your briefcase to reinstate that trust, and no create friction or doubt in their minds.
The No.3 briefcase uses a traditional design, which helps to convey longevity and dependability, and the large practical design can hold both a laptop and your documents with ease.
Pros:
- Full grain leather.
- Handmade in Florence, Italy.
- Soft cotton lining.
- Durable YKK brass zippers.
- Locking function.
- 13 inch laptop compartment.
- Detacheable shoulders strap.
- Can be personalized.
Available in black, brown, or tan leather.
Briefcase for Real Estate Professionals
Winner: City Large Leather Laptop Bag
As a realtor, you need all of the information your clients need on a house at the touch of a button, so it's integral that your briefcase can also hold a laptop.
When conducting open houses, the questions you receive may not always be on the top of your mind, so having a document open or access to the internet can be the difference between making and not making a sale.
Pros:
- 17 inch laptop compartment.
- Full grain leather.
- Handmade in Florence, Italy.
- Soft cotton lining.
- Durable YKK brass zippers.
- Spacious design, without being bulky.
- Can be personalized.
Briefcase for Accountants
Winner: City Large Leather Laptop Bag
As an accountant, when you're conducting client meetings, you need to be showing professionalism and trust in everything that you do.
You may also need to bring your tech along with you, and have the answers to complicated number problems at the drop of a hat. This makes the CITY ideal for you.
Pros:
- 17 inch laptop compartment.
- Full grain leather.
- Handmade in Florence, Italy.
- Soft cotton lining.
- Durable YKK brass zippers.
- Spacious design, without being bulky.
- Can be personalized.
Briefcase for a Young Professional
Winner: Elegant Slim Briefcase
As a young professional, you want to be taken seriously when conducting your work business, but you also likely won't have a large budget to invest in a leather briefcase, making price a sensitive issue.
The Elegant Slim briefcase helps to address this, offering a contemporary style of briefcase that can hold a laptop, but all for under $400.
Pros:
- Full grain leather.
- Handmade in Florence, Italy.
- Soft cotton lining.
- Durable YKK brass zippers.
- Minimalist design and profile.
- 14 inch laptop compartment.
- Top handles & detachable shoulder strap.
- Can be personalized.
It's available in black, brown, tan, and red leather.
Pros of a Leather for a Briefcase
You may be wondering if paying extra for a leather briefcase is worth it.
Here are some reasons to consider:
- Durability - leather is a durable material, that's resistant to tears and stretching, making it a good option as a day-to-day briefcase.
- Ages well - full grain leather ages nicely with "leather patina", which makes the bag unique and gives it a special rugged quality that people love. Compare this with a nylon bag which loses its colour and starts to look tatty over time.
- Professionalism - leather is associated with a professional setting, which will give you extra confidence in work situations. This is particularly important if you're a young professional.
Briefcases are sophisticated accessories that offer a lightweight and comfortable way to carry your essentials to work and keep everything organized in zippered pockets.
Leather handles are comfortable to carry, helping you hold the weight of your leather bag. Brass hardware adds a stylish finishing touch, and goes well with brass on a belt or dress shoes.
Hold all of your essential accessories like a wallet, umbrella, headphones, charger, laptop, business cards, notebooks, smartphone, tablet/iPad, and more.
Related:
- Best Laptop Bags
- Types of Men's Bags
- How to Organize your Briefcase
- History of the Briefcase
- Best Modern Briefcases
- Best Business Briefcases for Men
- Best Leather Messenger Bags for Men
- Best Briefcase For Lawyers
- Best Laptop Briefcase
- Best Travel Briefcase
- Best Designer Briefcase
Briefcases vs Other Business Bags
If you want to look the part of a professional, a briefcase is key.
When one conjures up an image of a professional businessman or businesswoman the image is one of a sharply dressed person in a business suit for ladies, and a suit and tie for men.
They do not have a backpack slung across their shoulders or a messenger bag laying low on their hip. No, they have a briefcase in their hand. For this reason, a briefcase makes a great gift for a graduate of a law school or business-related program.
A briefcase is not always the most practical way to carry your work-related items though. Because a briefcase is designed to be carried with a handle it can be more difficult to manage if you have a lot of stuff or if you need to carry your briefcase for an extended period of time. This means choosing one with a detachable shoulder strap is important.
If you are not concerned about looking formal or professional, sometimes a backpack or a messenger bag will make it much easier to get all of your necessary items to the office and home again.
Although briefcases are meant to be carried by the small handle on the top of the bag most briefcases now come equipped with a shoulder strap.
The shoulder strap is great for very short term use but people have found that overusing this feature can lead to damage to their attire. The strap rubs against the shoulder of your coat or shirt and causes wrinkling and sometimes even rips and tears.
If you like the look of a briefcase and plan to use one, remember that these bags are designed for short trips to and from your home and the office.
Trying to use this type of bag to hold all of your gym clothes, library books and water bottle will not work out too well.
If this is the situation for you consider a backpack or a duffel bag.
Color
There is no one color that's best for a briefcase, and in most cases it will depend on your personal choice or style.
Brown is by far the most popular briefcase colour, either solid brown or tan, so consider that when choosing your briefcase.
You may also want to match it with the color of your watch strap, shoes, and belt.
Learn why we DON'T think you should wear a backpack with a suit here.
Alternatives
If you don't want to carry a traditional briefcase to work, then some good alternatives are:
While these may not be as professional as a briefcase, they will offer a functionally similar bag.
Related:
- Travel Briefcases
- Custom Leather Briefcases
- Briefcase Backpacks
- Women's Leather Briefcases
- Best Work Backpacks
- Women's Leather Work Bags
- Men's Leather Work Bags
- How to Organise Your Work Bag
- Best Work Gym Bag
- Satchel Briefcases
- Slim Leather Briefcases
- Designer Briefcases
- Italian Leather Briefcases
- Locking Briefcases
- Best Modern Briefcases
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed our article on the best leather briefcases.
If you have any questions, leave them in the comments, or email Von Baer at info@vonbaer.com.
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