A ratty backpack can instantly defeat all the purpose you put in to your law school look.

I was among the older students when I started law school, having gone to graduate school for journalism and having worked as a reporter for a few years after. I felt like I shouldn’t be there, so I was very careful about how I dressed. And when it came to accessories, I kept things simple and practical.

I commuted every day for school, just over an hour each way, if I didn’t catch traffic. I would leave my house between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. each morning to beat other commuters, and I would do the bulk of my studying before classes started in the morning. So, I needed an easy way to transport all of the books I would need for that day and my computer. I chose a rolling bag.

You probably just made a face. Hear me out. I saw many of my female classmates lugging cute bags that were gorgeous at the beginning of the semester but that looked like they had been trampled by alpacas by finals, having been stuffed to the brim with heavy books. These once-cute bags were also extremely heavy, and most of the time too small to carry everything, so my classmates would have to carry multiple bags. Even beyond the strain on their backs, it wasn’t a very sleek look.

My rolling bag, on the other hand, allowed me to take everything I needed with me without straining my back. Yes, I received comments about being a flight attendant on her way to the airport, and everyone could hear me coming. But by the end of school, my back was healthy, and I never ruined a cute bag.

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For your first year, you’re not likely to need an actual briefcase, but you will need a nice purse or bag for networking events.

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For those much-needed nights out with friends, I never carried a bulky purse. I made sure everything I needed would fit into a wristlet that I wouldn’t have to put down anywhere.

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Those three types of bags will get you through your first year. Whatever bags you choose, make sure they’re simple and sleek so they don’t take away from your powerful style.