What is a manbag? 

It’s a good question – what exactly IS a manbag?

On one level it’s self-evident. It’s a bag. Carried by a man. But it’s not as simple as that.

Derisively derived from ‘handbag’, the man’s version carries a lot more baggage than its physical dimensions suggest.

You see, traditional wisdom has it that the bag as essential lifestyle accessory is exclusively for women. And by definition, the preserve of the feminine is not manly.

Women have all that clutter to carry around, don’t they? Purse, tissues, comb, phone, sunglasses, stamps, make up, keys, etc. etc. But as men start to take more of a pride in their appearance, any and all of these items could apply to them too, and they too need a bag to hump it all about in.

And if it happens to look fetching while draped over a burly shoulder, then so much the better.

But to find the original manbag, you have to go all the way back to 1977.

Now, wookies are not often seen as style innovators. But Chewbacca, whose general dedication to male grooming gave little indication of the trail he was blazing for manbaggers across the galaxy, was a proud early adopter of the look.

His bandolier/satchel combo meant that he was equally ready to recharge the battery for his plasma crossbow as to conjure up packet of menthol tissues for Han Solo, or pluck out a digital camera to capture the spectacular twin sunset of Tatooine.

And in a further Harrison Ford connection, Indiana Jones himself, that bastion of scholarly manliness, was rarely without his manbag.

From there, the look has been picked up by other fashion icons such as David Beckham, who even needs a minder to carry an extra bag for him.

Is it acceptable?

But any discussion is always tinged by an apologetic ‘is it acceptable for a man to carry a bag?’ disclaimer.

The simple truth is that life has become more portable. We all carry around more than we did ten years ago, and it all costs a great deal more.

Most people are never without their mobile phones and MP3 players, and as work becomes more flexible, ferrying a laptop to and from the office makes a bag essential.

In the 20th Century a man could leave home with nothing more than hard cash and a set of keys about his person. For some, even taking jangling change out of a front pocket and placing it inside a wallet came daintily close to making it a ‘purse’.

But it’s just semantics, really.

The reality for most of us going about our daily lives is that a bag is pretty much a necessity. Male or female.

Chewie may have lived a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but in 21st Century Britain he’d probably be packing hair straighteners and styling products on an average day.

As for myself, I’m sticking for the time being with a sober, sturdy black bag. Yes, it has a shoulder strap, but also a handle, so I can tell myself it’s just a bag. For a man. Semantics again.

But anyway, I carried a briefcase to school when I was 12, so I guess I’m moving in the right direction now.

IMAGE by Flickr user adactio