This past Thanksgiving was one of the best ever. So good in fact that I completely avoided Facebook, barely checked my emails, tweeted maybe twice since Thursday. Not to mention the great times and food I shared with my loved ones. Hopefully y’all had a great Turkey Day as well. By the way, I want to give a special shout out to James Jones and Aaron Rodgers for starting my Fantasy football weekend right!
Anyway, this may be a long post and it may not be–I have no outline for this so I’m kinda free styling as my mind allows so let’s get right to it–what’s up with this tote bag phenomenon?
While disconnected from the internet and playing tour guide for my out-of-town family this past week it finally happened: I ran into a guy carrying the aforementioned “tote bag”. I must say, I was like a deer in head lights–paused by a strange mixture of bewilderment and fear. While I’m very open minded when it comes to peoples’ sartorial choices the tote bag is just one of those joints I can’t seem to get jiggy with and being directly confronted with said accessory made me want to put those feelings on virtual paper.
I guess the thing that weighs most heavily on my mind is how did I miss this? That is to say “When did this become cool and/or acceptable in the streets?”
I remember vividly getting cracked on my sophomore year at South Carolina State University (around 2002) for switching up from my trusty book bag to a leather Ben Sherman messenger bag. Actually, I didn’t “switch” from book bags to messengers, rather I added the “man bag” to my book carrying rotation. I only used my messenger when I had one class for the day (it wasn’t built to carry as much as my Jansport) or to our Executive Speaker Series*.
But back to my point–I got hella clowned about my messenger bag until the start of my Junior year when I returned with my messenger and I guess everyone figured that I was serious about this “man bag” thing and left me alone about it. I heard it all from the basic: “Why are you carrying a purse?“, to the original (and quite funny at the time): “That’s a Metrosexual ass diaper bag you got there!” I didn’t mind the jokes because at the end of the day, my messenger bag was very practical, and I love to stand out in the crowd when it came to things like this.
Plus most of the dudes picking fun were my teammates (btw – I played college football), the same guys who’s idea of getting dressed for class was the standard issue Nike warm-up suit we were gifted by the equipment team at the beginning of every season. So considering the source of the mockery I wasn’t in any rush to stop wearing my messenger bags. Shoot, if anything their jeers made my desire to rock ‘em even stronger**.
Now, I fully understand the practicality of a tote bag but if your not a Librarian, a woman, an elementary student, going Trick-Or-Treating, shopping in a grocery store, or heading to your local Farmer’s Market, why on Earth would a grown man find that a proper accessory?
The only bright side to this whole “tote bag sensation” is that it seems that it’s popularity is limited to the internet and Asia. I mean, other than Johnny Cupcakes (who has a lady modeling the bag dontchaknow), I don’t see many American streetwear companies adding tote bags to their seasonal line-ups and I say that goodness for that.
Let Japan continue to send us their selvedge denim and we’ll let them keep the tote bag and fanny pack. And yeah, I know that their called “waist packs” now but once a fanny pack, always a fanny pack in my book. So, unless you’re one of the people or partaking in any of the activities I previously mentioned, again I ask: what kinda man rocks a tote bag?
More importantly, what is that internal conversation like before the purchase of a tote bag takes place:
“Oh snap, is that a HEAD PORTER tote son? AND IT’S ON SALE!?! Yo, I saw that joint on (insert wack-ass blog) last week! I’m pretty sure Pharrell fills his with money and takes to the strip club so he can look stylish while making it rain on these hoes. Lil Wayne uses a Winn-Dixie bag, and that’s cool, but naw…I’m too fly for that! Imma ride with Skateboard P on this one.”
*Clicks to insert into online shopping cart*
Maybe they are fly and acceptable in American streetwear culture and I’m just missing the boat on this whole thing. Well if that’s the case, so be it and consider me “on the shore” for this one because whether it’s in style or not is irrelevant; you won’t see me carrying one of those things around***.
Truthfully I don’t possibly see what a dude would need to carry around in his tote bag that he couldn’t just stuff inside of another more man friendly option (duffel bag, messenger bag, briefcase, trash bag, etc.).
However, if you’re reading this and are considering purchasing one, I beg of you–take a deep breath, have a glass of bourbon, and consider buying a real bag for goodness sake explain to me your reasons for doing so. I’d love to be enlightened on the subject. Otherwise, I have a friendly suggestion to keep your street cred in tact…
buy ANYTHING but a friggin’ tote bag!
*ESS was when business majors like myself had to put on a suit every Wednesday, file into a big auditorium, and listen to some dude give an hour long speech about whatever his business was about. 90% of them were a waste of time but whatever, it was an easy “A” and my messenger bag might as well been a briefcase, I looked so damn official?
**In fact, I picked up another one while in college, a brown rip-stop nylon joint from the GAP (which I still use to this day to carry my laptop in) out of spite.
***But just in case you DO see me carrying one just trust that I’m on my way to the Farmer’s Market. Nothing more gangsta that shopping local, ya dig?
