I think I can answer this as a woman who recently had to replace her small red jill-e bag (stolen). I did a lot of Googling and checked out a lot of bags.
This article share links with a bunch of companies that specialise in camera bags for women:
http://blog.veralana.com/2010/01/05/nee ... amera-bag/I looked them all over and finally bought two, the Cameron Hobo from Dre Hartmann (
http://drehartmann.com/shop/the-cameron-hobo/) and the red Cheeky Lime classic (
http://cheekylime.com/cheeky-lime-classic-bag-red).
I've been using the Cameron Hobo for about a month and a really love the compactness of it. One of my main gripes about the jill-e small red leather bag (
http://www.jill-e.com/style/camera/smal ... ry-all-bag) was all the floppy handles getting in the way, and it always took some unraveling just to lift the bag. I always left the shoulder strap on because I need my hands free for other things (like taking pictures), but the shorter carrying handles didn't come off and flopped everywhere. That meant there were three leather straps to sort out and get out of the way constantly.
With the Cameron Hobo, the carrying handles are stiff and stick straight up all the time, making the bag super easy to just pick up and move any time without juggling. The carrying handles are also long enough to be able to sling over a shoulder easily.
The downside of the Cameron is that it is a tight squeeze for a 5D2 with a battery grip, 24-70, and BlackRapid strap attached. I have the camera taking up most of the middle going in sideways with the right grip handle up. That leaves two small compartments on either end, but forget about putting anything else in or taking anything out once the camera goes in. I can get a 50 f/1.4 and 16-35 into those side compartments, even a blower bulb and small notebook. But spare filters? No chance. I have to shove the ExpoDisc across the top of the camera. So the bag is ideal if you only need a stripped down kit of two (medium to small) lenses and minimal accessories.
I also bought the Cheeky Lime bag because it had all the best features of the Jill-e bag, only without the floppy useless handles. I like the double zipper opening, as that gives you the best access to all the contents without having to remove things in a certain order.
The Cameron bag's single zipper means you scrape a lot of knuckles in order to prevent gear getting scraped, and accessing anything at the far end of the zipper is a pain.
Many of the other bags I looked at had the same flaw. Most women's bags try to emulate hand bags so the top openings are predominantly zippered. That's fine if you're just using the bag to carrying equipment from one location to another, but not so good if you're using the bag while you're shooting. If you're constantly putting the camera away, changing lenses or filters, these bags are inefficient.
My other problem with the Jill-e bag was that it felt a bit flimsy for my purposes. I'm not exactly "precious" about my gear, so things get shoved and tossed and crammed (within reason, of course). Also, the 5D2 (with grip and bottom strap attachment) is quite hefty and bulky. The Jill-e bag started off stiff, but quickly became limp with use. It's padded, but not extremely well padded. The bag once fell off my lap as I was getting out of a car, hitting the pavement, so maybe a three-foot drop? The filters on two lenses were completely smashed and jammed into the threading. So if you've got a heavy camera and heavy lenses like I do, these bags are minimal protection at best. I've now owned 5 Jill-e bags, sent two back for full refund because of poor workmanship, and I won't buy another one.
The Cameron bag seems slightly hardier than the Jill-e. I suspect the Cheeky Lime bag to be roughly similar to the Jill-e (This bag hasn't arrived yet, so I can't give it a full critique yet). I like the look of the Cameron better, but I have a feeling that for most assignments, I'll find the Cheeky Lime bag more useful.
Other bags I considered were from Ona (expensive), TheIt Bossi bag (strap looked too flimsy), and Epiphanie (tassels, studs, and braided leather are too much for me).
Good luck with your search.
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