You can wear Chanel or Armani but if your attaché looks like a beat-up throwback to the Pony Express, or worse, a boring bag or tired tote, you’re sending the wrong message. In 2007, the mantra in business or relationships is quiet confidence. Unless you’re scaling Kilimanjaro on a film shoot or navigating your way through Nepal, braving torturous elements, carry leather, like the pebbled duffel in dark chocolate by Giorgio Armani—that is the perfect traveling companion to your midnight-blue pinstriped suit of the same name. The $2,595 price is, ah, an investment that can be amortized over the long life of the bag and, yes, it will be noticed without being ostentatious. www.emporioarmani.com.

Carl Bally started plying his trade as a shoemaker in Switzerland in 1847 and his guiding principle was fine footwear that didn’t overstep the boundaries of tasteful design. The craftsmen and designers of Bally Shoe Factories Ltd. who now carry the legacy have created a leather bag that’s free of logos and looks smart, with considerable storage space, two side pockets, and traditional straps and brass buckles. At $1195, it says something about you when it hits a boardroom table. Fits comfortably in an overhead compartment. www.bally.com.

Raffaella Camera didn’t start as early as Carl Bally but the former advertising executive’s web site, www.kolobags.com, is like a Fifth Avenue cyber specialty shop of exclusive (and some more reasonably priced) computer and travel bags for women. Too numerous to describe in detail here, she’s amassed a collection of brands like Adrienne Vittadini Tiger Wheeled Travel Carry, Lodis Travel Brief, Baggallini Computer Bag, Casauri Portfolio Bag in Stripe and, my favorite, the Melissa Beth What-a-Croc Tote. Is your iPod naked? Camera carries the Lodis Disco Diva shuffle case that will dress it up. www.kolobags.com

Going Solo …Venerable bag maker U.S. Luggage of Hauppauge , New York , has jettisoned its name on its luggage lines and cooked up new brands. Solo is the new handle for its handheld and rolling laptop cases, in ballistic and leather, and the prices are not astronomical. A black leather attaché like the kind top execs would tote in all those Jack Lemmon, Fred McMurray movies from the ‘50s and ‘60s, is expandable, has two brass combination locks and brass hardware, suede lined interiors, organizers and a five-year warranty (style 464-4) for $129.

Too sedate? Solo makes an aluminum laptop attaché in one color, titanium that can handle notebook computers with up to 17-inch screens. Weighing in at 7.1 pounds empty (style AC-102), it sells for an amazingly reasonable $70. An expandable (by 1 inch) leather attaché (style 471-4), essentially a laptop case, with fan file folders, can accommodate a 15-inch screen computer, and retails for $65. The Web site, www.solocases.com, showcases a wide array of bags and styles in ballistic nylon and leather. I’d also check www.e-bags.com and www.luggagpoint.com for discounted pricing, although the manufacturer’s prices seem like a real steal. The famed Zero Halliburton metal suitcase preferred by hard-core global road soldiers costs $625 and up.

D.O.A.—Brookstone, known for its clever gadgets sold through airport and mall stores, makes a slick-looking battery-operated Quick Charge that recharges cell phones with 30 additional minutes of talk time and you don’t need an AC plug. Perfect for business travelers. Cost: $20. Problem, though, is it’s not universal. Fits some models of different phones but you don’t know which until you open the packaging. Called Brookstone customer service line five times for

help and couldn’t get through. Left a message for CFO Philip Roisen who did, in fact, call back. They said you need to buy a product called iGo Tips for another $10 bucks at Brookstone’s 50 odd airport stores (or www.brookstone.com) to connect the Quick Charge and power up your phone. Better yet, Brookstone should list all the brands and models Quick Charge can charge on the back of the packaging; there’s plenty of room. It wouldn’t hurt to add customer service lines and people, either.

Ali ve and Well. Meantime, Energizer of tireless bunny fame makes an Energi (cq) To Go portable charger for $20 and includes two Energizer lithium AA batteries and claims to recharge a dead cell phone in 30 minutes. But Energizer gets it right. The power tips are exposed in the “try me” packaging so you can be confident the charger will charge your cell phone—before you spend the money. www.energitogo.com…Wrinkles, the archenemy of the business traveler, can be chased on the road and in your room with the Travel Smart Micro Pro Garment Steamer for $25. www.franzus.com. Also be sure to pack Madame Paulette Professional Stain RemoverKit that claims to make coffee, lipstick, even red wine stains vanish from a white shirt. Just $10. www.madamepaulette.com

Mad About You …Crinkled nylon sounds like a manufacturer’s defect but it’s actually a thick, durable, textured, stylish material for Kipling’sGolden Gate, a 30-inch duffel on wheels that’s a perennial strong seller, according to Steve Amirian of Kipling Luggage in Sherman Oaks, California . The bag, lightweight for its size, can be carried on planes legally and sells for $250. Kipling also sells lots of Madhouse Messenger Bags, again made out of crinkled nylon, with a flap and a strap for $86. www.kipling.com

Not a Dry Eye in the house is an old saw among theatergoers but on long flights, re-circulated cabin air can easily dry and irritate your eyes. Severe cases are called lagophthalmos (cq) and can affect your sleep. However, a company called Eye Eco makes a medical grade, flexible rubber product called Tranquileyes that restores moisture to your eyes by increasing humidity around the eyes. A hydrating therapy kit, ranging from $25 to $55, includes an ocular mask that fits over the eyes—looks like a cross between goggles and a sleep mask to shut out the light and prevent evaporation of the natural teardrop plus cleanser and a stainless steel carrying case. For details, go to www.eyeeco.com. For more information on the condition, try www.dryeyedoctor.com.

New Gear to Go. Staples , the office products retailer, makes a luggage lock called WordLock that’s TSA-compliant and well worth its five-dollar price tag. It has four letter tumblers and lets you choose 10,000 letter combinations including over 700 words. Never worry about losing a luggage key again but just don’t lose your memory. www.staples.com…Did you know that Delta, American Airlines and Continental have maximum weights for overhead storage bins—40 pounds—but United and JetBlue have no limits….Checked luggage mishandled by airlines leaped 23 percent between 2004 and 2005, latest available figures, according to the House Aviation Subcommittee. Need to document a meeting, a trade show demo, a product intro? CVS, the drugstore chain, has a one-time use, pocked-sized, digital camcorder with a 1.4-inch color playback screen for under $30. For $13, you can get what you filmed on a DVD….Check Smartbargains.com for markdown prices on brand name luggage. Sample prices: Recently a Samsonite wheeled ski bag that normally retails for $120 was sliced in price down to $50, a 58 percent savings….Concerned about your seatmate sneezing, wheezing and coughing? You should be. But a Wein Mini-Mate Millennium Air Supply is a powerful personal, reusable air purifier that’s featherweight, lithium battery-powered, quiet, and shouldn’t disturb anyone for $99 at www.safehomeproducts.com.

Chris Barnett has reported on great saloons and bars worldwide for 25 years for the Los Angeles Times and the in-flight magazines for United, TWA and PSA, and has been a contributing editor for Frequent Flyer magazine for over 10 years. Chris also specializes in travel strategies that save business travelers time, money and anxiety, and he is the creator of Frequent Flyer's On the Road With column that chronicles how celebrities and high-profile executives travel and the magazine's Baggage Beat, which showcases hot new luggage products and innovations in the baggage industry. He's based in San Francisco. Chris can be reached at cbarn@aol.com.