Last year I felt it was time for me to get myself a new tallis for Shabbos. You probably assume that as a tallit seller with considerable inventory, I just got up from my desk, pulled a tallit off the shelf and tied on some tzitzis.

Not exactly.

Truth be told, it took me months to decide which tallit to go with. I don't know whether to attribute that to an indecisive personality or tallit information overload. Eventually I managed to make up my mind.

Then recently it happened again, the dilemma over tough choices. This time I needed a tallit bag. What's so hard about choosing a tallit bag? Well, I'm a bit quirky. I'm not into nylon (have you read the post about my Aunt Enus' couches?), so I've never put my tallit and tefillin bags in those clear nylon zippered tallit bag covers. Most of the year I put my tallit and tefillin on at home, before setting out for Shacharis (see Orech Chaim 25, 2), and don't take them off til I'm back home. But today we got our first rain, so it's time to start getting serious about a plan to get to Shacharis on rainy days.

In recent years, leather and faux leather tallit/tefillin bags have become quite popular. And they really are a great idea. If you're the type of person who has a classy leather briefcase, you'll probably agree that a classy leather tallit/tefillin bag is a good idea. And if that's beyond your price range, there are plenty of very affordable PU (imitation leather) tallit bags that will do the job. 

One of the obvious advantages of this setup is that it's a bit simpler, since it's essentially a two-piece set instead of three. Typically the tallit bag is roomy enough for you to put the tefillin bag inside. And voila! you're set to go in style, with a reasonably weather-proof bag. (Note that your tefillin are protected by two layers of leather.)