I’m talking about briefcases, not satchels, bags, backpacks etc. I was downtown the other day and saw businesspeoples of various types carrying their paperwork and whatnot in soft things, tubular things, round things and back things, but I don’t recall seeing a single hardshell briefcase the whole time I was there.
Have they gone the way of the typewriter and the dictaphone?
The attache case is still readily available, but people are really let down when you open it and it’s not neatly packed with money or explosives.
Important People these days are likely to have a laptop with them. With that comes the power cord, and most likely a mouse and ‘real’ keyboard. In addition to whatever literature they might have with them. That all fits nicer into a soft bag.
The last professionals I saw who carried actual briefcases were lawyers on their way to/from court. My theory is that briefcases had actual locks, as opposed to backpacks, etc., and the lawyers didn’t want to risk having legal documents get loose. But I haven’t worked in the courthouse district in years, so I don’t know if that still holds.
Thread from October 2017, same subject.
You don’t see them in use much now, and I think they’ve been outmoded for some time. They’re just not ergonomic, and they’re not practical for carrying most of the things that people carry around these days. I do occasionally see aluminum briefcases in use, probably by people who feel they represent a little extra security for whatever it is they’re carrying in them. (They don’t, really, but some people like their symbolic gestures.) And I suppose there are people who don’t want shoulder straps and pocket contents messing with the lines of their clothing who might still use standard briefcases.
Otherwise, pretty much everyone has gone to backpacks, messenger bags, and the like. They’re more comfortable, better suited to carrying most things, and they leave your hands free.
I have a briefcase that I keep many of my important documents for my business in. It has a lock, and it is easier to take home or to my lawyer or my CPA than a filing cabinet.
But, it was old when I bought it used 25 years ago to put my Magic:The Gathering cards in.
I would prefer it to a satchel or backpack because it protects your papers better. I could make sure that any papers are put properly into folders or binders and protected from damage, but I do like being able to just put the relevant papers that I will be referencing at a meeting on top, loose and unsecured, not something that would work out as well with a soft shell.
My company’s owner has a briefcase and seems to use it. At least he has it with him daily and I hear him opening and closing it in his office.
With any luck. Hopefully neckties are next. Then the suits altogether.
There are three reasons the briefcase has gone out of style:
[ul]
[li]Coffee: Getting morning coffee to go has become common; have one hand tied up carrying a briefcase and a second hand holding a coffee cup means you have zero hands left for doing thinks like opening a door. They days when you carried your briefcase straight into the office and hand “the girl” get you a cup of coffee while lighting up your sixth Winston of the morning are thankfully gone.[/li][li]Laptop computer: many people carry a computer from and to work, or to job sites rather than they paper files, bag lunch, porno mag, and two packs of cigarettes. Not only do briefcases not have provisions for carrying a laptop, they also aren’t comfortable to carry with that much weight compared to a messenger-style bag or backpack.[/li][li]Desk space: a briefcase requires a couple of square feet of open desk space or, preferably, a spare table to sit on. Given the decrease in available desk space both because of progressively smaller office and cubical space and real estate being consumed by monitors, computers, et cetera, there often just isn’t much space available, and my office mate was not amused when I told him to hold my briefcase. And when you open a briefcase while standing, comical things tend to happen.[/ul][/li]The last time I used a briefcase was when I was in high school debate, and even then the “cool” kids were starting to use those annoying wheeled attaché cases that people roll onto aircraft and fight with to extract the handle and fit into the overhead bins. These days it is far easier to use a backpack, especially when I have to carry two laptops and power adapters, lab notebook, tools and PPE, a binder of work instructions and drawings, and a water bottle and lunch, plus I can pull out my ID or a phone without entertaining everyone around with the wacky hijinks of watching the entire contents crash amusingly on the floor.
I did want one of those Halliburton cases where you push a button and the case falls away from the handle to reveal a submachine gun that you’ve then use to blast your attackers before a red Ferrari 308 GTS driven by a stunning blond screeches around the corner and you dive into to make your escape set to a Larry Carlton guitar riff but I’ve contacted Mike Post numerous times to compose the theme and he has utterly refused to even consider it, so without that there is no point.
Stranger
Llama Logophile, I hopefully assume that in your office dress revolution some form of pants will be retained.
You still see them, both the rigid-sided attaché cases and the older-school soft-sided top-opening briefcases with a strap lock. But with the latter it’s almost asking to have a shoulder strap added into messenger bag configuration. And then there are the rollaboard type laptop bag/briefcase which are favored if you are going to be lugging a laptop AND a lot of thick heavy documents.
They’re next.
Seriously though, I think the dress revolution is already in progress. I know west coast tech guys who say if someone shows up to a meeting with them wearing a suit, the meeting is over before it begins. I can only imagine what they think about briefcases.
That one’s o.k., I guess…but I want this one.
Briefcases don’t fit in here in Silicon Valley. Maybe they do on Wall Street but not here. I don’t know anyone who uses one.
I had been using a small backpack for years, but recently I splurged and bought myself a nice soft-sided bag with a shoulder strap. If this was 30-40 years ago the purchase might have been a briefcase. But not now.
I don’t recall seeing even one briefcase in 24 years of working in Silicon Valley. And suits were out even when I started. When I started working for Sun we got a little article about how Scott McNealy had to be convinced to wear a suit when meeting the leader of China, and how he thought ties were useless. Even salesmen had stopped wearing them.
I’m not sure anyone would walk out of a meeting with someone wearing a suit, and when we interview kids from college they get a pass for not knowing better if they wore one, but an experienced candidate wearing a suit would be looked on as quite odd.
I had a traditional leather-covered briefcase when I started working in marketing, in 1989, and it was pretty much the standard for people in my field.
By the mid-to-late 90s, the briefcase (as well as business attire) had pretty much disappeared from the field, for all of the reasons that have already been given. If you still see one (and I couldn’t tell you the last time I saw one of my colleagues or clients using a traditional briefcase), it’s in the hands of an industry vet who’s probably been using one since the 1980s or before. Everyone uses a messenger-style bag, or a backpack.
Never carried a hardshell, but have carried an expandable every day since 86. Previously a Schlesinger, now a coach. Last few have had shoulder straps. Too often, all it carries is my lunch! 
Schlesinger and Coach — very nice.
I went with Glaser Designs, a local San Francisco company. Excellent quality.
I have a softcase TIMBUK2 I love – I can fit my laptop, Kindle, cordage, wallet, papers, etc and still have room. I love all the pockets.
I did regret having to retire the LL Bean leather briefcase I carried for 20+ years . It’s also a softcase and has lots of cool “stable tack” hardware on it , but it wasn’t made for schlepping electronics and their accessories around.
TIMBUK2 makes great gear. I’ve bought a large messenger bag for when I’m on the motorcycle — I got that long ago, around the late 1980s I think, and it’s holding up very well.
More recently, Mark Zuckerberg wore a hoodie when meeting with potential investors during the Facebook IPO roadshow. He’s since acquired a suit or two.
Ten or so years ago, my father tried to give me one of his briefcases as a gift, but I had to politely tell him that they’re useless today. He also tried to give me a bolt of very nice woolen fabric that could be used to tailor a suit, but again such a thing is useless today. I have two suits in the closet, both are off-the-rack and are worn less than once a year. A bespoke or custom suit sounds nice but is a useless luxury.