I love this purchase! I needed something professional looking but didn't want to spend a fortune, and didn't want something gigantic weighing me down. This bag was the perfect fit. I got the black one with brown and white panels which is nice because it goes with absolutely everything.
The faux leather is very handsome and realistic-looking. I actually thought I made mistake and ordered a leather bag. You can't tell even up close, and even better, it's much sturdier than the real thing. The workmanship overall is really solid: no loose stiches or stray threads or rinky-dink hardware. It looks and feels like a much more expensive product. I'm really hard on my bags and this thing has been knocked around for months and it is still looks perfect. My last briefcase was a $200+ Lodis bag and if you so much as breathed on it the finish scratched and left an ugly white mark. After a few months it looked like hell and I was embarrassed to bring it to meetings. This bag still looks brand new no matter what I put it through. It resists scuffing and scratching as if it was made of teflon. The handles are extremely secure feeling, no sign of pulling or tearing away and I can load up the bag with heavy items and I have no fear of the handle breaking.
Ok, the few negatives: it is on the small side, as some other reviewers have noted. I have a 13-inch Macbook and it fits perfectly, but I would be skeptical about getting a 15 inch laptop inside (I haven't tried this though). Even with the 13-inch, it's hard to zip the top zipper, but that doesn't bother me since I don't usually keep it zipped. The bottom is the widest part and tapers up, so you can easily fit additional smaller items (wallet, phone, charger) down at the bottom but it would be snug to try to fit, e.g. a big portfolio or a thick sheaf of paper, in additional to the laptop.
Also, the bottom is too rounded to sit upright on its own. It just tips over. This isn't a deal breaker but the four little metal feet on the bottom just tease me, then. One final thing I would change would be to make the brown square lighter; it is a very dark brown, almost black. That's kind of a minor quibble though. Overall, a very satisfying purchase.
*** update ***
I wanted to add that I recently upgraded from a 13-inch to a 15-inch Macbook Pro and thought I would have to get a new bag but I am able to just barely slip the 15-inch into the bag. It is a very snug fit, and I can forget about putting too much else in (except for smaller items that nestle down lower where the bag is wider), but it does fit. The Macbook has a fairly slim profile so your mileage may vary with other brands.