I love the purse, but the first day I used it I was wearing a white shirt. Big mistake! I now have a huge blue spot on that white shirt from the ink used to dye the purse. I've rubbed it down trying to remove excess color, but it doesn't seem to be working. DO NOT BUY THE BLUE ONE.

This is a solid bag that works ALMOST as advertised/pictured. There is one large interior pocket and one small interior zippered pocket. Add that to the two on the outside with the snaps, and the item storage is complete.

There is no 1) outside pocket on the back, nor 2) a briefcase handle. Then again, if it had these, would it be a 'messenger bag'??

On the upside, it is very roomy (fits smaller laptops and bigger tablets), the strap can be made quite long and stays exactly where you set it, and so far the zippers have not been an issue for me. The side pockets hold my small Moleskin notebook (and pens/pencils), and my smaller Kindle.

This might have been 5 stars, except that I ordered the slate color, and while the canvas is slate, be warned that the leather is NOT tan. Instead, it is more of a slate color itself. This was not enough of a reason to return it, and it does look good; still, not as pictured...