Fashion
Check Your Purse, Sir?
And other things men will soon be hearing, if the fashion industry gets its way
dv436@nyu.edu
Web designer Matt Jacobs was barred from bringing his bag into a New York Yankees game, because “purses were allowed in, but bags were not,” he complained on his blog, www.capndesign.com.
“I told him my bag was a purse and [the security guard] asked me if I was a woman,” said Jacobs, 26. “I said that if being a woman means I can bring in my purse, then yes, I am a woman.”
The man-and-the-purse issue has been a hot topic for years, and even garnered some celebrity attention, when tennis star Andy Roddick weighed in.
“Anything bigger than a money clip or a wallet is to be left to your girlfriend/wife,” Roddick wrote on his website. “And just so we are clear: you should not be able to throw your “wallet” over a shoulder.”
It seems that the big names in fashion disagree with Roddick, though. Enter the “murse.”
Male models sashayed down the runways carrying them, at the Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, and Gucci fashion shows for spring/summer 2007.
Leather was the most popular material, but the details varied—- from bags with long shoulder straps and gold-plated buckles, to small black clutch purses. Hugo Boss even introduced bags in bright red.
“Man-purses are going to get huge,” claimed personal shopper Nikita Ostrovsky. “Fashion is really pushing for it.”
But while high fashion isn’t afraid to make a statement, stores that dress the average man have their reservations about how popular murses will be.
Oscar Avci, manager of New York City bag retailer Dean Leather, said the very word “purse” might stop men in their tracks.
“They call it a bag, a man-bag, a messenger bag, but certainly not a tote or a purse,” he said of his customers. “That’s not in a man’s vocabulary.”
Pointing to a medium-sized brown leather bag with a shoulder-strap, he said: “I have that one over there, but that’s the smallest I’ll go. Even still, I wasn’t sure.”
Men have been carrying bags ever since they owned anything that needed to be carried. In fact, in the 14th century, it was mainly men, not women, who sported sacks slung over the shoulder, decorated with gold and elaborate embroidery. Even Egyptian hieroglyphics depicted pouches carried around the waist—- a sort of ancient fanny-pack. As bag retailer Avci pointed out, it’s about function, not fashion.
But fashion does play a role, murse enthusiasts say.
“I own a couple,” admitted Paul Toronidis, a sales representative for clothing company Dustin’s Choice. “They’re a must if you want to look put-together, and not overstuff your pockets with gadgets.”
Fashion consultant Chris Taylor misses the days when it was acceptable to throw all your essentials into your pockets.
“With the new trend of skinny jeans, men are left without pockets, and are starting to use man purses,” he said. Taylor also confesses to carrying a bag, but makes the distinction that his is a laptop side-bag, which, he realizes, “to an average man might be considered a large man-purse.”
Retailers know men need extra pocket space. Haggar Clothing Company, as a part of its “Quality for Life” initiative, now designs pants pockets to withstand 98 pounds of weight.
But until more men’s clothing companies follow in Haggar’s footsteps, Taylor might have to get used carrying his “laptop side bag.”
Sales rep Toronidis says it’s natural that purses for men have emerged.
“They’re an evolution of the briefcase, except they’re less of a pain to carry, and look better,” he said. “They’re here to stay.”
Shades of the future?
Photo by Nicholas Monu