Part 1 - A Beginners Guide to the Man Bag
It’s all about the bulges isn’t it – in your pockets that is. Do you cram your wallet, phone, keys and morning snack in there and end up with your jeans looking like a pair of chipmunk’s cheeks? What if you’ve got a laptop, blackberry, ipod, or other essential gadgets? If you’ve decided you can’t put it off any longer and you’re going to invest in a man-bag, this beginner’s guide is for you. If you’re already a seasoned user read part 2 to find out how far you dare to go to follow this season’s man bag trends.
Ok first off, a backpack, brief case or holdall cannot technically be called a man bag. Man bags come in 4 basic styles, messenger bag, camera bag (smaller version of messenger bag), newsboy bag (slightly more casual than the messenger, made of softer fabrics such as canvas) and the tote.
Now if you want to keep the look quite masculine, the best choice is probably the messenger or newsboy bag. Look for something stylish, but functional with a wide adjustable strap, a spacious interior and compartments so that you can sort your stuff. Remember size matters! Big enough not to look like a handbag, but smaller than a weekend bag. A newsboy style bag is probably best if you’re at college or can wear casual clothes for work, a messenger when you want something more business like. Go for leather to add an extra bit of formal styling. The way to wear is with the strap diagonally across the chest with the bag tucked to the back, behind the hip.
And just what should you carry in your man bag? Well all of the above mentioned, plus a few extras, chap sticks and sunscreen are apparently popular and sunglasses, bottles of water, the odd banana – Dermot O’Leary shoves in a couple of tennis balls in a sock so he can massage his glutes (hey whatever tickles your er glutes mate), read more on this. And finally, what do you think of the term, man bag? While more men are warming to the idea of carrying a bag these days, the jury is still out on the name. But whatever you think, it can’t be worse than the American term ‘murse’ (man purse), take a look at the clip.
