BaggalliniWomen's Modern Everywhere Bag, Set 2 Piece

great bag but falls short of its potential

This bag is the closest I have found to the perfect crossbody travel bag, but it falls short of its potential. I have travelled internationally for work and service for 35 years, so I know what I need in a bag. I have happily used several Baggallini bags over the years, and I reviewed dozens of bags last year before choosing the Modern Everywhere Bagg as my primary purse while living abroad in Europe for 9 months. Here are the good parts: I love all the different compartments to organize my things by category, the wide base that allows it to stand up by itself, the soft sleeve for sunglasses, the separate sleeve for my phone, the smooth zippers, the firm metal zipper pulls, the durable good-looking material, the detachable strap (which I exchanged for a wider one), the wallet that's included, and especially the little vertical side zipper pocket for hand sanitizer or other little bottles. It served me well and I plan to use it for years of travel. However, there are several downsides that were consistently annoying: the phone sleeve is not attached so it slides inside out every time you pull out your phone (and it's too narrow to accommodate a phone case); the small zipper pocket on the front is too narrow for your hand to fit through, making it difficult to get to the small items stored there; the wider zipper pocket on the front doesn't have the clip to attach the wallet, which is the most logical place to put it; the water bottle holder is too tight to fit even a slender bottle (and there is no flexibility), so it takes up interior space when you shove one into the holder; the curved top zipper is just about an inch too low, so a regular folder or magazine can't easily fit inside (for an academic, this is a deal breaker); and the external magnetic fasteners in 3 places are that annoying kind that you have to fit together just right, and that interfere with access by catching on things, rather than the nice smooth magnets that are sewn inside the fabric to allow easy in and out access. I would be happy to work with Baggallini designers to develop a better bag for sophisticated professional travelers! And to promote the outcome.