When I read the OP, I immediately thought of backpacks, messenger bags, briefcases, and laptop bags-- all of which have been pretty much mentioned already. Then I realized that, while culturally it’s now pretty common to see men with bags (not just suited business men with briefcases, as in the days of yore), it’s still expected that men will not carry those bags in certain instances.
Apparently, men are only supposed to have bags if they’re going someplace where items in the bag will be immediately needed, while women are given carte blanche to tote giant bags at all times… nevermind the fact that I might walk to the grocery after attending classes, and haven’t a car in which to stash my book bag, and that half of the shoppers there have bags slung over their shoulders, I’m a man and I’m not supposed to have stuff when I go to a grocer. (Ever point out to a security worker that they’re letting 50% of their customers walk in carrying bags when they stop a man for having a bag? They don’t usually respond too well.)
I carry a bag every day and have done so for the last twenty years. I used to have my parents get them for me from Mexico as they travel now that they’re retired. But lately I buy them from Wilson leather stores in the malls they have here in Vegas. Outlet malls they are called.
Maybe if you took some pieces of suede leather and made your own – including loosely weaving it together (leaving strips left over for hanging it over your back or shoulder) you would feel a little more manly about it. Even bums used to tie things together in a large handkerchief – or so cartoons used to portray.
Where exactly do you live where social mores keep you from using a bag? I’m a guy, and I leave the house without my backpack at most maybe, like, twice a year, tops. What, how do you mean I’m supposed to go outside without… let’s see… (checks bag) my iPod charger, my cellphone charger, my cellphone, two kinds of moisturizing lotion, a notepad, six pens, two kinds of chewing gum, painkillers, my water bottle, a book, three DVD’s, some napkins, a folder with a bunch of documents, various scraps of paper, a cigarette lighter (where the heck did that come from? I don’t even smoke), an extra pair of socks, and a fairly large packet of yellow Play-Doh?
Not to mention the fact that I need to stuff my groceries in there.
I used to just use pockets, but a few months ago I was on holiday and saw some really neat-looking bags including this one.
Wouldn’t be without it now.
I’ve seen a couple of the larger ones in the range being used since, and the people who own them really like them…
Screw mores; if you want to carry a purse, just do it. For most of history, both men and women carried their small items in a purse, either tied to the belt or on a shoulder strap. There’s absolutely nothing in carrying a purse that’s inconsistent with masculinity.
(Oh, and if anybody asks you, just tell them that a purse is as close as you can come to having a vagina, which you’ve always wanted. Good luck!)
I always carry a bookbag. It holds all the things I need to carry around with me, including books I’m reading. Get whatever kind of bag you need to carry things and forget about other people’s opinions.
Hang on, we’ve overlooked the most obvious solution:* a codpiece*. There’s no more emphatically masculine personal storage accessory. They’re long overdue for a big comeback.
This has got to be the way to go! The Black-Russian like Blackadder used.
That or the Skull thing.
ETA: I live in South West England. I was talking to one my colleagues about this today. He moved up country to go to University and always used a bag up there, and even when he came back to visit. But once he moved back down here permanently he had to give up using it. He says it drew a lot of attention.
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