There is no Hollywood shortcut more effective than: nylon rucksack, both straps snugly over the shoulders = geek. It’s a staple of pretty much every teen flick, and for good reason – the wrong backpack has a kind of buttoned-up, function-to-the-total-exclusion-of-form uber-geekiness that is the diametric opposite of all things stylish and nice.

Shore Leave Oil canvas backpack

Herschel Little America backpack

ASOS James backpack

CoteetCiel 15” laptop rucksack

But that’s only the wrong kind. (And even they have been reclaimed by a certain kind of Dalston-residing, fixie-perching sound artist… but if we took our lead from them we’d all look like Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy if he played minor league baseball.) The right kind are pretty marvellous. Whether it’s cute and canvas, or elegantly modern like this laptop-ready number from Côte&Ciel, a rucksack thrown over the shoulder means you’re ready to go.