The Ultimate Briefcase for the Man on the Go

Stuart & Lau: Stylish bags for road warriors

August 8, 2016 9:00 am

As a survivor of long summer car trips in his youth and seemingly longer subway commutes in his adulthood, your correspondent protests the idea that “getting there is half the fun.”

I like arriving. As quickly and painlessly as possible.

Helping you do that: Stuart & Lau, crafters of handsome, streamlined bags built for speed and convenience.

And today, they’re debuting a new bag that truly looks good on the go.

A New York/Hong Kong collab by Matthew Stuart and Jimmy Lau (hence the brand name), S&L craft briefcases and weekenders designed for “motion and movement.”

To that end, their bags are a nice, ergonomic contrast of lightweight, waterproof twill nylon and Horween leather trim with hand-polished hardware. It’s not the luggage you pass down generations; it’s the handsome but useful baggage that gets you where you want to go right now.

Cary briefcase

“​We wanted to address the real pain points of an urban commuter,” says Stuart. “Someone navigating different forms of transportation during his day and requiring authentic functionality from his bag.”

To that end, the bags are designed to be extremely light, resistant to the elements and easily accessible. “We’ve been utilizing an ultra-lightweight technical nylon that’s both waterproof and refined in appearance,” Stuart continues. “Both Jimmy and myself had spent years carrying heavier, cumbersome forms of bags, like ballistic nylon, canvas or leather. The design here is very much a reaction to that.”

Brand new today: the topically monikered Campaign Bag. Considered an overnight duffle, the Campaign features multiple exterior pockets, a slide-over handle and a side pouch for one of the company’s signature bamboo umbrellas.

Also debuting this week: a handsome tobacco version of S&L’s popular Monaco Weekender, a spacious bag with tan leather trim and a red waterproof lining, internal zipper pockets and a luggage tag pen/stylus attachment for filling out forms on the go (the same colorway will also be intro’d on their Cary Briefcase).

Either way, they’ll get you where you need to go. In style.

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