The Elephant in the Room - Man Purse

[scotrace]

MissQueenie's desert wear thread got me thinking of something about which I've been curious for some time.

Indiana Jones (and the COW Gearhead) carries a gas mask bag as a bag to stash equipment while adventuring.

That bag on a shoulder strap is just one tissue away from a bag to be carried over the shoulder by men for everyday use.

In 1930's issues of Esquire, a bag over the shoulder is sported by men in many of the illustrations, usually holding a camera or binoculars.

Briefcases these days often come with some kind of shoulder strap.

So: How many men here carry some kind of bag? And do you find the term "Man Purse" or worse, "Murse," as repugnant as I do?

I carry a leather briefcase-style bag to the office every day, sometimes on a shoulder strap. Weekends, I carry a "messenger bag" in olive drab canvas and russet leather from LL Bean. You have to have someplace to stow your gear - digicam, iPod, Nintendo, book, Moleskine, cell phone, snacks, smokes, gum, pens, sunglasses, pistol...
Look at this. I'd carry this without a second thought:

How about this?

What are you carrying, gentlemen?

 

[The Reno Kid]

A wallet: back pocket, right side

I have in the past used briefcases or bags with a shoulder strap. When a guy carries a bag as a utility item--containing things like binoculars, cameras, .45 shells, etc--it's just a bag. The problem is when it becomes a fashion accessory . "Man-purse" is an oxymoron. Yeesh! Just my opinion.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

This,....(or a variation of this)

http://www.quanonline.com/military/military_reference/american/mussette_bag.html


Has always been perfectly acceptable, provided a guy's got a good reason for carrying it. I mean a utilitarian reason as opposed to a fashion reason. One could carry lots of useful stuff in one of these.

 

[Tomasso]

One could carry lots of useful stuff in one of these.

Like?

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Uhhmmm,.....well, you know,...

Like?

Useful stuff. Such as camera gear, a CD player, binoculars for watching the birds, lunch, flask of bourban, anything a guy might need,....[huh]

 

[Sefton]

Khaki canvas Israeli paratrooper bag with shoulder strap. It holds Moleskine notebook, Parker Brothers ball-point pen, earplugs (essential in the modern world of commuting with those who talk loudly on phones or listen to headphones at extreme volume setting...hearing loss anyone?), lunch bag, reading material. It doesn't have any modern parts like Velcro,etc. that might alter the vintage look. ...and it's not a purse...

 

[Irena]

I see no problem with a man carrying a bag. I also can't see why women carry a bag/purse when they have a pocket. Doesn't make any sense.

I only carry a bag or purse when absolutely necessary. Other times, if I have pockets, I just use them. Does this make me the odd girl out?

 

[Tomasso]

Useful stuff. Such as camera gear, a CD player, binoculars for watching the birds, lunch, flask of bourban, anything a guy might need,....[huh]

Well, all you had to do was mention Bourbon. But, only a flask?

 

[Mr_Misanthropy]

You know, I really love these bags, but, I can't carry all that stuff around with me. I hardly carry anything in my pockets if possible. Cash, a house key, and a cell phone. Anything else is an encumbrance. I have an MP3 player I use for long walks, and a teeny tiny Kodak digital camera smaller than a deck of cards that I can tolerate in a pocket. I'm afraid I'd lose a bag somewhere. It would be nice to carry a few extra things though, especially if I could find one to hold my laptop and not look like a "laptop case".

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

How about this?

Only if I had the 1948 Chrysler Town & Country convertible to go with it.

 

[Salv]

I use one of these as a laptop case - it's not specifically designed for laptops, but it has two internal sections, one of which is large enough for my 12" PowerBook in its protective sleeve, plus a bag of cables and power adaptors. I also carry a book, a notebook, sometimes a small pair of portable speakers, a few pens and pencils, an iPod, and there's still space for more junk if I need it. I bought it from an eBay seller called LPStore - they have them for a Buy-It-Now £189.00 but usually have one on a 3-day auction; I got mine for £42.00 + postage.

 

[G. Fink-Nottle]

I use a Victorianox Travel Companion on my days off. It can be worn as a messenger bag or around the waist. It holds my mp3 player, my camera, sunglasses, extra keys, a pen and a moleskine.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I got a spew-green (kakhi green?) canvas shoulder bag of some eastern European army in a junk shop. It has a great compartment for keys, and is big enough to carry the latest novel, The Atlantic, the ubiquitous Moleskine, and any monographs/papers i might be reading. I also have a small Nepali bag (Green Tara) that i use when i don't need to carry much. It can handle a moleskine, that's it.

The wallet remains in my jacket at all times. Never know when someone's gonna steal your bag. 'Specially in foreign climes (slice the strap, grab, and run).

I see an awful lot of Vuitton men's bags around here (something of a status item amongst the richer kids on campus). Gaudy and horrid ... made of only the finest quality, hand selected polyester ... and with a price tag to match. Amazing what people will waste their money on.

bk

 

[matei]

Here in decadent Europe there are many men who carry "manbags". I myself carry one on occasion, one of those old WWII gas mask bags. It does the trick and looks cool.

However, while wearing the aforementioned accessory in the US, I was occasionally a target for derision and ridicule from an unenlightened few ("ooh - lookit the guy with the purse").

Methinks that men carrying bags are not so common in the US? They weren't when I lived there.

I think it is very useful.

 

["Doc" Devereux]

I generally use something very similar to this (the previous model, in fact):

In which I keep my current reading book and its successor, spare smokes, multitool, a pair of chopsticks, my A5 working notebook, a keyboard for my PDA, a bottle of ink and my laptop when I want to carry it with room to spare for unexpected purchases. Wallet, phone, pens, my small notebook and such all live happily in my jacket.

What I'd like to find at some point is a black leather backpack with similar capacity, but this is more than adequate in the interim.

 

[scotrace]

Also this one

As usual, Mr. Peterman gets it right - but at a hefty price. He always offers this mailbag, but at times also carries a "1940's" case that would be pretty much perfect.

This, however, may just be overkill:

 

[Salv]

For a while in the 80s I carried one of these around when I wasn't at my white-collar job. I dressed like a 1950s blue-collar worker, Lee carpenter jeans, chambray shirt, leather jacket, Redwing boots and...

 

[Story]

Tangential from Scotrace's Col. Littleton link, this is an amusing companion piece -

http://www.colonellittleton.com/?p=products&cat=77

Perfect for chasing Villistas.

 

[jake_fink]

What's in your bag?

A) Lipstick? Compact? A change purse?

B) Binoculars? Camera? Important documents of national interest?

A is mursey. B is Manly.

[huh]

If you have to carry stuff, then why not carry it in a bag. But do you really have to carry stuff?

 

[Twitch]

Cargo packs that men carry around today are an extension of the workplace that requires you better have your laptop with you all the time and WORK even in your leisure moments. People are working more and longer hours than ever...mostly for companies that expect it and will toss them out like garbage when they get anywhere near the time to retire or get any sort of benefit options.

Anyone remember how back in the 50s the prediction was how the future would bring us 5-6 hour work days and we'd have all this swell leisure time?:rage: