Not happy to happily sit on their laurels, our friends at Petunia Pickle Bottom have taken the diaper bag market to yet another level with the introduction of the new Touring Tote. I’m already the content owner of a Shoulder Bag, but the Touring Tote is so fantastic I think it is a wardrobe must-have. I look at the Touring Tote not as a diaper bag but rather as a purse!

I’m not alone in wanting to carry the Touring Tote as a handbag. We have many store customers who ask, “If I don’t have a baby can I carry this?” I say, “of course you can!” The Touring Tote is an incredibly well designed bag, baby or not. And doesn’t every woman want a well-appointed and well thought-out handbag? You don’t need me to tell you the answer.

Before I had kids, I wouldn’t have understood the brilliance in having a detachable change pad. Having done my time with the roll up version of change pads, I realize how they get stuck in the bottom of the bag, or take up too much room. Petunia Pickle Bottom’s change pad is soft and padded, yet tucks discretely into the bag. If you get it dirty, you can wash it with no problem. The detachable change pad is a stroke of genius.

My favorite “flavor” is the Coco Roll (Chocolate Brown and Blue), but my girlfriend swears by the Miso Lovely (Brown, Pink, an Gold). I can’t wear green very well, so I shy away from green handbags. The other day I was at Starbucks, and a lady walked in sporting the Green Tea Touring Tote. She looked so fabulous and put together I thought, “Oh she must not have a baby, she’s using it as a purse.” I was wrong; she had a tiny baby with her. She had a tight black ribbed turtleneck, great fitting jeans, and black boots. Simple and chic. Just like the Petunia Pickle Bottom way.