I spent days and hours, for a couple of months looking for a purse that will fulfill all of my requirements. I love this bag. It closes with a zipper, unlike other purses which are buckets and such that are totally open or only close with a hook or magnetic snaps. It is all leather, very soft and supple and is a wonderful crossbody with an adjustable buckle strap which can be shortened or lengthened to your comfort. The strap is comfortable. I purchased mine in the light blue. It holds a long, rectangular wallet, a checkbook, a passport book holder for all my receipts and any business cards I might accumulate. It has a zippered inner pocket in which I use for my key. It also has, 2 inner pockets for like eye glass wipes and whatever you need. It is deep enough to hold personal items as any lady might need. I can put my clean Pilates socks in it for class days, and also my earmuffs when I am in the Pilates class. It also has an outer zippered pocket on the back side of the bag, which is big enough for any cellphone, which is what I use mine for, and I pull the zipper close to it so that it stays in place. And I would guess that it is large enough to carry a book, a newspaper and possibly an ipad or laptop. But since I don't own an ipad or a laptop I really can't say that it will hold those items. I am trusting that this beautiful bag will last me for years to come. The Sak company is headquartered in New York. The purses are made by Balianese artisians from Bali which is where the company's owners visited and developed the idea of starting The Sak in 1989. The company is also partners with Oceana, to protect the oceans. Yes, this purse was worth the time and the money.