How To Pick A Bag That'll Make Your Life Easier

Let's be real — our handbags are responsible for carrying our entire lives. Think about it: Who hasn't had a mini meltdown after accidentally leaving their purse in a cab or finding out that their luggage was the lucky one to go missing at baggage claim? Our clutches, backpacks, totes, and every shoulder bag in between transport every essential item we require on the regular, from house keys and credit cards to our emergency makeup stash. And when every occasion calls for different things (a sleek crossbody strap for a girls' night out or a reliable zipper closure for bumpy subway commutes, for example) our bag collection needs to be just as multidimensional as we are.

This rings especially true for Mona Chalabi, a NYC-based data editor at The Guardian, whose simple, informative, and aesthetically pleasing illustrations are educating people left and right on all things social media. As someone who travels every few weeks (she was heading to London immediately after this shoot, in fact), works on both personal and professional projects, and still manages to find time to maintain a social life, having a bag that can keep up with her busy schedule is a nonnegotiable. That being said, we partnered up with TUMI to pick Chalabi's brain on pretty much everything — how she started her career, what she looks for in the perfect bag, and why she doesn't care if her outfit clashes. Read on to see how Chalabi, simply put, gets shit done.