"Oh look at Jerry! He's a fancy boy!"
Posted on 07/26/2006 12:24:45 PM PDT by DaveLoneRanger
There is a growing trend in men's fashion, the handbag. It goes by many names: the man-bag, the murse. It is a cross between a backpack and a briefcase that looks very much like a pocketbook. They have been big in Europe for quite some time. Who can forget Jerry Seinfeld's exclamation, "It's European."
But now, it is coming to America. Why? Because in these teched-out, decked-out times, American men need to put all that stuff somewhere.
Guys have their cell phones, BlackBerries, wallets, checkbooks, sunglasses, body spray, you name it. And the 21st century guy wants to put it somewhere special.
"Once you are out in the work world, do you really want to be carrying a backpack when you are wearing a suit?" says Adam Rapoport, the style editor at GQ Magazine. "At the same time, most guys don't want to be like their dads and carry a briefcase."
Hence, the man-bag, like the one carried by 36-year-old Carlo Vogel. I met Vogel in Central Park, where he carried his man-bag with pride. Inside were two cell phones, a camera, money and cigarettes (Vogel rolls his own).
"This holds the perfect amount of stuff," Vogel brags. "There is nothing else that I need that is not in this bag."
But there is a catch. He suffers abuse from friends who lack creative imagination. They say things like "Is that your man-purse?" "Is that your purse?" "Can Isee your purse?" "What's in your purse?"
It's the genre of comment that shocked many when American tennis star Andy Roddick uttered his version at Wimbeldon earlier this summer. Roddick clearly didn't dig European style, saying, "Anything bigger than a money clip or a wallet is to be left to your girlfriend or wife. If you have a man-purse, the wall is waiting."
Vogel had his own choice words for Andy Roddick: "Andy can carry my stuff the next time he's around here if he has that attitude. He's got what, people to carry his stuff? Lucky him!"
It should be noted that Roddick hasn't won a tournament this year. Maybe a man-bag would help.
Which brings us to Chewbacca. Take a careful look at the masculine figure next time you watch "Star Wars." What is he carrying? It must be a man-bag. Or in his case, a wookiee-bag.
Big deal, Gandalf carries a satchel by his side too. Of course, the actor was gay, but that's beside the point. Tonto also had a little pouch at his side. It's not a PURSE, nimrods. I haven't seen Star Wars, so I wouldn't know about Chewie.
Apparently Brian on F&F in the morning carries one. They tease him about it all the time.
"Officer, that man stole my European carry-all."
Man-bag ping!
REAL MEN USE BRIEFCASES!
:)
"Oh look at Jerry! He's a fancy boy!"
Man bags are just not cool. Get a case or backpack for that kind of stuff.
Gandalf carries a satchel by his side too. Of course, the actor was gay, but that's beside the point
Why, because you want it to be?
You homo. ;)
(Just kidding, I know how you....guys get offended so easily.)
I dont call what I carry a man purse...but I do (usually) carry a back pack or something similar...typically, I keep a Glock 21 in it with a couple of extra mags, which is my back up gun (in addition to the one I carry),...along with a whole bunch of other stuff.
The metrosexual male in action.
Body spray? Say what. And checkbook? Get a debit card or credit card and leave the checkbook at home. It's so damned annoying when people write checks at stores. My credit card gives me 2% cash back on everything. (Well, the 2% goes into my son's 529 education account, but it's still 2%).
Sunglasses typically stay in the car.
I carry a bag to work with my laptop (docking station at home and at work), a few papers and such, and a plug for my palmphone. If I go somewhere that doesn't require the laptop, I don't take the laptop bag.
No way I'm ever carrying a purse.
LOL... we used to carry some kind of bag all the time back in the day... when a brief case wasn't appropriate, and backpacks didn't look right with a suit. A whole lot of us military guys in civilian clothing doing our jobs... it looked cool back then! :) of course, we called em 'fagbags'... I dunno why.... :)
Backpacks are probably the best bet. I do know if you don't want the 'sport' looking backpack, there are companies that make good-quality leather backpacks (that are really full bacpacks) that may suit the tastes of guys who want that sort of look.
Real men wear sporran!
fannypacks: American sporrans ("sporran" is Gaelic for purse...)
Uhh...'cuz that's where you kept your cigarettes!
Yeah! Dat's it!
That being said, I carry a black college-style bookbag in which I keep my stuff. Not a handbag.
but I do (usually) carry a back pack
I always carry a back pack. You can put anything you want in them....body spray has never been in the back pack of mine, but I guess for those that carry it, it can go in there too...
The feminization of the American male, continues.
Same reason matress covers are called "fart sacks"?
If you have to have something to carry around all those"electronic leashes" you are a slave to everyone around you as well as "Euro-Peon" dictates!This is a sign that"mens panties"are coming next.
This wouldn't be a manly option?
What ever happened to briefcases? My dad always carried one. It always had his latest copy of 'Aviation Week' in it.
Nothing new. They have been trying to get men to carry purses for the last 40 years. Makeup for men also.
They already have boys playing with dolls (action figures).
Before the 20th century men carried a pouch for nesessities like powder, ball and flint, and maybe a handfull of parched corn to eat.
My sister-in-law gave me an old hand carved leather purse years ago. Two boxes of 12 ga shells fit it perfectly.
I also use it when standing at the 100 yard line for singleshot fire. Carved leather is snazzy and no one has tried to rib me about it yet, (Of course when I'm shooting with my ought six or 12 guage no one would!)
LMAO!
I agree completely with your post. Matter of fact, I do my laptop the same way and just got a new Dell backpack laptop case. It holdes a lot more and is much easier to carry.
I don't wear perfume and I don't carry a checkbook. What is this, 1972? My cel goes in my front pocket. I was actually in the phone store checking which one fit the best. I don't "style" my hair and I don't use foo-foo shampoo whose ingrediaents read like a vegan restaurant menu.
No way I'm carrying a purse, either.
Maybe pick a more manly animal. Like a giraffe.
What about Indiana Jones?
"And the 21st century guy wants to put it somewhere special."
I'll just bet they want to "put it somewhere special".
I have a fanny pack with a built-in holster for the same reason. People who aren't LEOs or members of security don't think twice about seeing it. I can carry 2 spare mags, flashlight, cellular phone, PDA, and some other items, and it doesn't look feminine.
But I suppose fashions change and after another generation or so everyone will be carrying purses. I still get a chuckle when I see a man wearing an earring but it's commonplace these days. Back when real men carried only pocketwatches, they used to say "He wears a wristwatch, golf knickers, and squats to pee" (or so my Dad told me), but nowadays a big wristwatch is considered manly.
We can still point and laugh though.
"Real men wear sporran!"
My Sporran is bigger than your Sporran!
FAGBAG IS FAST ACTION GUN BAG... THATS WHY
Oh, for pete's sake! Men have always carried bags of some sort. When I need to, I carry a laptop case or a briefcase. The rest of the time, all the stuff I need fits in my pockets.
Still, if I see some guy carrying some kind of smaller bag, I can't see how it affects me in any way, so I don't care.
Come to think about it though, I think I'll switch to a web belt and olive drab pouches for everything. Yeah...that's the ticket.
WHO CARES?
Bad idea. The wallet and checkbook become easy pickins for pickpockets, additionally, the 'fat' wallet can cause and aggravate back problems. Who carries a checkbook these days?
Look on the brightside, you can conceal and carry a much larger handgun.
.....Checkbook,....??
Checkboks went out with the debit card.
I don't know about "man-bags" but I have a man-sack I carry around. Never go anywhere without it.
Due to nerve damage, I cant carry my wallet and checkbook in my back pocket... causes my leg to go numb and if I sit long enough, I can't control my leg, at all. So I have adopted using a fanny pack. Cool thing is that the local custom is for those with CCW, to carry their side arm in a fanny pack... so I get to retain some of my manhood.
Hey Carlo
It's good enough for Jack Bauer because nobody's gonna give him any crap about it...I know I'm not!
Now as for body spray...if you believe those Tag commercials that have college chicks hanging on you all the time, then maybe it's not such a bad idea.
If you have to carry a bag, make it a backpack.
My cell phone clips onto my belt, my wallet contains my ID, credit cards, and cash. My sunglasses go into my top pocket. At school I use a NorthFace backpack. There never will be a manpurse in this household. If I need to lug something around, it goes in the backpack. At age 39, there will be no metrosexual experimentation. I dont use body spray, hair gel, or a see a stylist, my wife shaves mine and the boys heads with number 1 clip. I dont care how the media spins it, or manpurse wearers justify it-manpurses are not for real men..
Dfwgator's Rule #4322
If you have to carry your wife's purse, you must carry it like a football.
Chewie wears a bandolier.
But if your man bag has the smell of gunpowder, not many people will say anything to your face.
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