Girl Boss Tips with Dagne Dover

I write this post as I am recuperating from one. crazy. work. week. Keeping up with a blog on top of working 40 hours a week is extremely difficult, but as fashion and photography are a few of my favorite hobbies I always make time for my creative outlet! By day I work as an Executive Administrative Assistant at a Medicaid program, and by night I am generally in a pajama shirt, sans pants, on my computer blogging my little heart out. This past month I have been preparing binders (13 to be exact) full of documents from the past 2 years of business. The organization I work for is getting audited by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and in all honesty it would be a fun ‘jelly-bean guessing game’ to figure out how many trees I have taken out with all the printing I have been doing. Thankfully everything has been completed as of last Friday, but you know auditors – they will always ask for 13473984 more things while they are there. While organizational skills at work are relative to the influx of paperwork on your desk, I have found a very easy way to keep my personal affairs in order. It’s a simple two words: Dagne Dover.

I bring my Dagne Dover 15″ Onyx Stingray tote bag to work everyday. That is not an exaggeration – it literally has my entire life packed into it. Everything has a compartment for itself: from my laptop, to my work ID badge, to my Nalgene. A coworker of mine recently complimented my bag saying she wished she had one as sturdy and structured as mine – one that stands up tall on its own instead of slouching over. I told her about my DD bag and showed her all of the compartments. She was blown away by the amazing quality of the bag, the organizational options it provides and most importantly the effortless-chic look of the bag, which are perfect for any busy woman on the go! Luckily for her, I teamed up with Dagne Dover and my Style Collective sisters on a GIVEAWAY to win a FREE PURSE! Head over to my Instagram to see how to enter. In addition we have a 20% coupon code off your purchase just in case you don’t win the giveaway – STYLECOLLECTIVE20. Below I am sharing a few tips on how to keep your work bag organized and the essentials you need in your bags – always! Photography by Matthew Wonderly.

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“A Place for Everything, Everything in its Place” – You don’t know how many minutes of my life I have spent watching my mother fish around her floppy purse looking for her keys to the house. I’d stand there and tap my foot, frustrated that she couldn’t magically snap her fingers and the keys would appear. My first tip is to always put your main items in the same compartment of your bag every single time so you never misplace them. Put your keys in the left pocket, put your wallet in the zip compartment, and put your train pass in the phone slot behind your phone. This will make everything easy to grab and once you are in a routine of putting things in the same place, you won’t even blink an eye as you go to reach for that item – it will ALWAYS be in the same spot! One of my favorite features of the Dagne Dover bags is the key chain they have. It’s an attachable chain that you connect inside of your purse so one tug brings your keys right to your hand!

Color is Key – Picking out a color of a purse is one of the hardest things to do while shopping. You want to make sure it’s a color you can wear across many seasons and is easy to match with your outfits. With Fall/Winter coming up, it was a no brainer for me to chose the Onyx Stingray bag by Dagne Dover. One of my favorite things about the Dagne Dover bags are that they have the best solid colors to chose from. I have a black one, a tan one, and a baby blue one. The prints and textures are fun and beautiful as well, but for me I stick with solid colors so matching and having a true everyday bag is easier. My second tip is to choose a neutral color for your everyday purse: black, tan, navy, ivy green, white or brown. These colors are versatile with many outfits and can transition from season to season effortlessly!

A Bag that Means Business – As we all know, first impressions are everything. From the work outfit we wear to the strength of our handshakes – we are being judged from the exact moment we meet someone. As strong, intelligent and goal-driven women having a bag that reads the same vibes is extremely important. My third tip is to invest in a tote bag that looks as professional as you are! You don’t want to be leaving the office and bump into someone with a saggy, crinkly bag that has makeup explosion stains and that bag of chips from 2 weeks ago in it. A structured bag is not only the perfect accessory for the organized and driven women, but it is also gives a professional and put-together vibe. A Dagne Dover bag will make you look even more professional, and more importantly they will make you feel more professional – instantly boosting your confidence!

Bag Lady – Being a bag lady is NOT a bad thing! In fact I love bag ladies because they are kind of like Mary Poppins and can whip anything out of their purse from Neosporin to an extra tampon. With Dagne Dover’s many compartments I have achieved my bag lady goals into one single purse. Instead of having to cary multiple bags, I can fit everything I need into one bag. I have a hydration station, first aid kit, work supplies, pens, lipsticks and room for more! My 4th tip is to always keep these essentials in your bag: a pen, bandaids, Advil, extra feminine products (for yourself and a sister in need – you always want to be that girl to help someone out!), a small notebook and a shade of lipstick! Embrace the bag lady, you know you want to.

In the comments below share your professional and organizational tips!

Dagne Dover Work Bag