Man bags

Angilion said:
Many men have managed to carry their stuff for many years without using a handbag, so your question is silly no matter how many question marks you use.

Manbags are just a fairly clever marketing name to make it easier to sell handbags to men as well as women - a straightforward expansion of the potential market.
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oh rly?? ;)

Early Bags

Before all the men pack their man bags and run it's important to note that the first recorded bags were only carried by men. Lacking the room for a laptop, the first bags are recorded in Egyptian hieroglyphs and are shown as sort of pouches carried around the waists of Egyptian men. These early bags were sewn from a circle of cloth and had a double-stitched hem to include a drawstring. The drawstring was then attached around a belt and used to house precious items which may or may not have been of use to the Egyptian man about town.

Still in the years BC, men were taking their bags to work, the farmers to carry their seeds to the fields and African holy men to hold their beads or bones, but it wasn't until the 14th Century, when bags were first recorded in literature, that the evolution of the article can be monitored. The 14th Century bags were worn by the wealthy to house their currency and small valuables, the bags themselves were not unlike the Egyptian bag and worn with a belt or girdle. Where these more modern bags stood apart was their decoration, as they were beaded and bejewelled to reflect the social status of the wearer.

By the 16th Century the bag had evolved in two directions, the small pouch or purse, and the bag as we would recognise it today. The bag became larger and more practical. It was used mainly by the traveller and had a longer strap which could be worn diagonally across the body in the satchel fashion, leaving the wearer's hands free. In those times leather became the material of choice rather than the more basic woven materials. The ladies would carry 'sweet' bags containing perfumes and herbs for their handkerchiefs, to disguise the foul smells of the era. The gentlemen would carry their coinage or counters for gambling. There was also the emergence of the document wallet for carrying those all important letters and deeds around town, the first briefcase or courier bag if you like.
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yes but he didn't say he carries a laptop bag.He carries a bag with a laptop in it. Which suggests to me he carries a 'man bag' or 'messenger bag' and is pretending he doesnt :)

If I/my boyfriend carried my ibook in a messenger bag you'd have no idea it was in there. Ergo he'd be carrying a man-bag to the onlooker.
 
I know, I was just commenting.

I have two bags for laptops and too many laptops to cart about without them. They're not man bags though, they're obviously laptop bags :)
 
And I prefer not being a gay.

Also I prefer functionality over form. It is good that you don't mind people thinking you are a poof though, given your posts in here :)
 
Mad old tory said:
Do you mean briefcase? A suitcase would be a pain to carry around all day :p
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To be fair, my bag is pretty close to a soft leather briefcase, depends where you want to draw the line between briefcase and bag.

If you mean a hard sided attache case though, an interesting idea but I'd prefer to avoid looking like i'd fallen straight out of the eighties...
 
johnny6 said:
What happened to men just carrying their phone, keys and some folding money and getting their woman to carry everything else?????? :confused:
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I'm assuming that with some of the attitudes displayed in this thread, several of the men posting in it would have problems getting a woman to stand anywhere near them, never mind carry their stuff for them. Obviously being such non-homo man-beasts they'd be too busy trying to drag nearby women back to their caves by the hair to worry about carrying anything ;)
 
Gilly said:
And I prefer not being a gay.

Also I prefer functionality over form. It is good that you don't mind people thinking you are a poof though, given your posts in here :)
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Actually I don't care if they think that generally, my friends know that I'm not and the girls don't seem to be under any illusions about where my interests lie. It's functional and it looks good.

If somebody think that carrying a bag makes a person appear gay then good for them. If they'd hold that against someone then I just don't want to know them.
 
kitten_caboodle said:
I'm assuming that with some of the attitudes displayed in this thread, several of the men posting in it would have problems getting a woman to stand anywhere near them, never mind carry their stuff for them. Obviously being such non-homo man-beasts they'd be too busy trying to drag nearby women back to their caves by the hair to worry about carrying anything ;)
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:D
 
I would say that any man carrying a man bag is probably not going to be overly bothered what people think; especially "what a gayer / uphill gardener / marmite mining queer". Afterall, they're comfortable enough carrying it so why should they care that some disgruntled stereotyper thinks nasty thoughts (oh noes!) about their appearance.

The 'issue' is with the stereotype whereby some straight men get labelled gay just for carrying a bag. This has probably emerged from the fact that we've all grown up learning that a handbag is what a girl / woman carries, not a guy. I don't see why not... Women didn't often wear trousers but now they do. It'll become a thing of the norm over time. I don't think many gay guys mind getting labelled gay... because that's what they are.

But there are some things that people have to carry around. e.g. medication. Where's a guy meant to carry his inhaler? In his pockets? What about lunch that you bring into work? A plastic carrier bag... How flattering.
 
I carry what could easily be described as a man-bag. It was even bought by a girl and is from France.

As a practical guy, sometimes there are things which I want/need to have with me and can't easily be transported in hands/pockets/jacket. I don't take it everywhere, it's organised (unlike a handbag) and useful.

And _real_ men don't care what other people think.


JonC
 
Gilly said:
Man bags?

Crime against mankind. The domain of massive bummers and extreme metrosexuals only.

Pockets suffice.
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Massive bummers.

EDIT.

If I need to carry stuff, I have a coat and my hands. There are also my pockets.
If I'm going away somewhere I'll have a suitcase or a sports holdall to put stuff in. Unless I needed to cart a laptop (and then, I'd probably just carry it under my arm) I can't see what use I'd have for any sort of messenger bag or manbag.
 
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