Check out the review below or visit her Funky, Chic and Cool Laptop Bag lens for this and many other reviews of all the cool laptop bags currently on the market.

Kates review:

The Allie Laptop Tote Bag by Rainbrooke

Get in touch with your inner Elle Woods

I won’t lie to you — I’ve always had a bit of a crush on Elle Woods, pink-loving heroine of the classic cinematic adventure Legally Blonde. What’s not to love? She’s a Harvard law grad, she’s fabulous and feisty and her fashion sense is second to none. If you’re looking for a laptop bag to help channel your own inner Elle Woods, then look no further than the pink and perky Allie Laptop Tote Bag by Rainebrooke – Steve sent me over a review copy to try out.

The vertical Allie Tote is Elle personified. It’s got classic lines, a classic colour combo of pink and black, and just the right balance of fun and sophistication.

The front of the Allie Tote has a large pocket with a place for pens and business cards. The pocket has a snap closure. And, yes, you guessed it – when I need to fetch a pen, I put my tote on the floor, and I bend — and snap! (Get it? Get it? Okay, I can see by your face that you get it.)

Two smaller pockets, layered on the outside of the snap-pocket, provide access in a pinch. The Allie tote also features a deep, zippered pocket on the outer back panel. Perfect for stashing a little cash for a French manicure, or your passport for that trip to Aruba.

The bag zips closed at the top with a nice, sturdy zipper. Inside, there is a padded section for your laptop with an elasticized Velcro strap to keep it secured in place. There is also a large compartment with plenty of room for documents, a book, and power cords.

The interior also features a pocket with a Velcro closure and a zippered pocket, to store your keys, wallet, and Berry Pink lipstick I like that this tote doesn’t have too many pockets. There are enough to keep me organized, but not too many that I am forever forgetting where I put something.

The construction of the bag is excellent. Form meets function here, with the designer’s careful attention to ensure that bag is pretty *and* sturdy, while still being very lightweight. In particular, the handles feel very secure, easily handling the weight of a laptop and whatever else I’m carrying around. Oh, and the Allie also boasts one of my favourite features – little feet on the bottom of the bag, to give it a little added protection when you set it down at the spa.

The Allie’s faux leather tote handles are very comfortable – I feel like I could carry this bag around at a conference or a workshop, and my manicure won’t be ruined at the end of the day. I like, too, that along with being able to hold the tote like one would a briefcase, that the tote handles are large enough to slip my arm through. Versatile!

The bag also comes with an adjustable and removable shoulder strap. The strap is attached via hooks that have a swivel feature, so you don’t have to fuss about making sure that the strap isn’t twisted. The shoulder strap isn’t padded, but with the vertical orientation of the bag, I found the weight was distributed so well that I didn’t miss padding.

The bag is ideal for laptops with screens measuring 11″ to 15.4″ (both my MacBook Pro and Rose’s giant Dell Inspiron 1520 fit with ease). It’s made from nylon, and the handles trim are faux leather. (No Chihuahuas were harmed in the manufacturing of this product.) The price is right for $59. You can get the Allie Laptop Tote Bag at Rainebrooke.

A short while back I asked Kate if she would like to design a bag. I’m glad she wanted to because after a few revisions and samples the final product is beautiful! And it has the perfect name… the Funchico (from Funky, Chic and Cool). The Funchico is based on a vintage train case but with features to accommodate the modern laptop-carrying woman. Its exterior fabric is a perfect fit for a vintage look, but it’s woven with pink threads to give it a modern edge. The pink threads make the fabric look different depending on how the light hits it. Really nice fabric, but as Kate mentions, hard to photograph.

Kate just posted her own review and write up of the bag on her lens. As always, she perfectly describes the bag, its features, fabric and more. You can find the entire write up on her lens and I’ve included it below.

Kate’s write up on the Funchico:

The Funchico – a Vintage-Style Pink Laptop Tote

Classic Holly Golightly style, updated for the 21st Century

Well, I finally did it! After spending over four years reviewing everyone elses’ laptop bags, I’ve finally designed one myself.

Meet … The Funchico!

I’m thrilled that I finally had the opportunity, through a partnership with Rainebrooke Designs, to create my dream bag. The Funchico’s design is based on a vintage train case – the kind that fashionable women used to carry on trains and ships as they embarked on exciting journeys around the world. Except, that bag silhouette wouldn’t work too well for the modern laptop-carrying fashionista. But with a few tweaks, you get the Funchico.

The Funchico is a vertically oriented bag that will hold up to a 15.4″ laptop. The sleeve in the centre of the bag is removable – great for getting through airport security. The inside of the bag is also fashioned on the train case. There are three generous pockets in the main compartment of the bag – they are loosely gathered and zippered to resemble the pockets in vintage luggage. The nice thing about them is that they will accommodate different size accessories – so whether your power brick is for a Mac or a PC, it will fit. As the Funchico is a clamshell-style, there are also two zippered slim pockets in the interior of the top of the case.

On the front of the Funchico, there is a small pocket with a silver twist closure that is perfect for your mobile phone or iPod. On the back, there are two zippers – open the top one and you have a place to stow a few documents or a magazine; open the bottom one as well and you have a passthrough you can use to attach the Funchico over the top of your luggage.

You can carry the Funchico either by its generous faux-leather shoulder handles or via the small briefcase-style handle on the top. And, of course there are four silver feet to protect the bottom from dirt.

One of the things I am most excited about the Funchico is the fabric. It is unique tan and pink metallic tweed. This gives the bag an interesting texture, depending on the light (it also makes it a little tricky to photograph – I’ve found the bag is actually more pink in real life than it is in the photos). The broader tweed weave makes it a little more dirt-resistant than bags with a tight tweed weave.

Oh, I mentioned that the internal sleeve is removable. It’s secured by Velcro strips and we’ve made sure that the “soft” side of the Velcro is on the interior of the bag, so, if you wanted, you could actually remove the sleeve and use the Funchico simply as an overnight bag. Sweet!

When designing the bag and working through the manufacturing process with Rainebrooke, we both wanted to make sure that we didn’t sacrifice the environment for fashion. So all carbon produced during manufacturing and transport has been offset purchased through Carbonfund.org. And finally, we donate a portion of the proceeds to Dress for Success (Vancouver and Houston chapters) – an organization that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire.

You can purchase the Funchico at Rainebrooke’s site – it sells for $99 US.

Pick up the latest print edition or subscribe to MacTribe magazine and you can see the Funchico vintage pink laptop case review.

Update: Just received the print edition of MacTribe and was very excited to see that the Funchico laptop case and the Allie laptop bag are on the first page of the Techie Trendy section. Very cool! Thanks @MacTribe. Image of print edition below.

Picture by MacTribe magazine / AJ Soto Photography

More press reviews of Rainebrooke’s pink laptop bags & cases can be found here.

Hello Pink! I have started to visit some boutiques to introduce my accessories there, and I need to bring my computer with me because with more than 500 different items in the store catalog, it is kind of hard to carry a sample for everything, but since I do have pictures of all the products, all I need is some samples and my computer.
I needed something that would be practical, stylish….And cute ….Something that would go with my store theme. Finding a computer bag that is stylish is not that hard, but finding one that wouldn’t be too big and that would match my store was another story….Then I found this great computer bags store called Rainebrooke and I knew my problems were solved.
Rainebrooke offers the cutest PINK, yes that is right pink computer bags I have been able to find so far. All of their bags have two things in common, they are all really cute and all of them are pink, so if you are looking for a pink and super cute computer bag you need to take a look at the Rainebrooke store.
I received the Allie Laptop Tote Bag for this review which is a bubble gum pink color with black faux leather handles and trims, the bag is very comfortable and light weight, and the vertical design makes it easy to carry around as a handbag or used over the shoulders with the detachable shoulder strap.
The Allie bag features a padded laptop pocket which gives you easy access to through the top zippered opening. The interior has plenty of room for all your power cords and other tech accessories. With several pockets on both the inside and outside of the bag you’ll have space to keep your cell phone, PDA, iPod, keys and makeup within easy reach. There’s even an organizer section for your business cards, credit cards and pens. This is not just a computer bag; it is a girl’s computer bag…..I wonder if the designer was a woman……My laptop is a 15.4 and fits perfectly in the bag.
One more thing I really like about having a pink bag is that pink is the official Breast Cancer Awareness color and I am all about supporting the fight against cancer!