Why oh why, ladies, are we all shlepping around bags sized to carry your average Oxford English Dictionary? (Not the abridged one.) Where I currently work part-time, we sell bags your average three-year-old would fit into comfortably. I've checked. I see women carrying not one but two large totes--generally unmatched, generally one in nice leather and one found at a grocery store, and they don't seem to be carrying around recent purchases in them. Whatever happened to proportion? A nice clutch? A small satchel?
I'm just as much to blame as anyone. I have a deep-seated affection for my leather hobos, my new woven soft leather tote, and anything I can fit four hardbacks and a laptop into. Still. I call for a return to common sense. Any bag that cries out to be filled with 50 lbs of stuff--especially when said stuff is all mixed together in a huge sack with no dividers--is a chiropractor's dream.
So I have a new resolution: One bag, unless I'm shopping or carrying my son's backpack for him. Lipstick, wallet, phone, mints, collapsible hair brush. This is more than enough for out-and-about. If I'm heading to work, a slightly larger bag with my work papers neatly stashed in a folder will fit nicely into this:
Otherwise, I'm thinking more like this:
But if I absolutely must carry something larger, for say, a weekend in NY or a presentation with lots of handouts, let it be something fabulous. Like this:
All the pockets are functional and separate compartments! It sooooo appeals to the obsessive-compulsive in me.And as for backpacks -- Mike's right, ladies. Save them for the kids.
Posts
On the train, for the past month, I've ditched the bag and just carry a book (and an umbrella if rain likely) and I feel it has been liberating (I carry enough baggage around mentally). On the train, I've been noticing women carrying multiple bags - guys with backpacks. In general, as someone who used to carry multiple books and a laptop every day, I feel people like to carry around stuff that they don't use but just want it there - a security blanket of sorts.
ReplyDeleteWhat is your take on more-hipster-than-Target messenger backs like R.E.Load Bags?
I think they're great -- if you're a hipster! Or just grooving on that urban-cool look. But not with a suit or other conservative wear. I'll ask Mike for his opinion on that too!
ReplyDeleteI saw a woman on the train last week who was carrying two MASSIVE bags, just as you described: one nice leather one, the other was more "I just went to Whole Foods and bought every organic, dolphin-safe dessert they had." Absolutely nuts, I'm with you as far as trimming it down. People have houses for a reason, namely to store all of your crap so you don't lug it around with you. Why not just get a shopping cart?
ReplyDeleteSince you asked, I think man-purses are fine. Guys have stuff to carry around too. If that includes lipstick for some of my brethren, then so be it.