Material Wants
I was reading a stranger blog yesterday and it rekindled my desire for a new bag, and that is bag as opposed to backpack. But first, I have some ethical qualms with getting a new bag. I certainly need to replace the tattered old backpack I’ve been taking to work of late. But getting a spiffy new backpack would be the cheaper and more practical choice. A backpack is biomechanically better and easier to run with, at those times when I need to run for train or bus. So does it make any kind of sense to get a pretty bag instead, mainly because it will carry my stuff AND give me aesthetic joy? My second qualm is that for what I would pay for a nice sturdy bag in long lasting high quality leather and good workmanship, I could buy a farm for a family in Africa. Seriously, does it make sense to spend that scale of money ($200-$400) for pretty things, even pretty things I can use every day (and hopefully for years - I’m not looking for something so trendy it will be dated next year), when there is a much cheaper option. I mean, yeah, I spent a pretty penny on my elliptical machine, but I expect it to last for 10 years and I use it a lot to do something every functional and important to me.
Ok, let’s just assume I decide I’m not going to hell if I get myself a nice birthday present without strangling any family members to acquire it. What kind do I get? Here is where I am looking for suggestions and discussion.
For a couple of months I was using a Timbuk2 bag we had lying around the house. (Actually, we have dozens of bags in our house, many of them variants of laptop bags, some of them just plain tote bags in canvas. (Another reason I feel foolish getting a bag. But none of these are the sort of bag that I want.) It was some kind of software swag, and a horrible color combination, IMO. But it was very practical. It was the largest size, held a lot when I needed it, but kind of flattened out when I didn’t. If I were getting myself a Timbuk2 messenger bag, I would get the next size down. The huge flap with straps seemed very stable. Stuff just stayed inside by gravity, even if I didn’t snap the straps. There weren’t really many specialized pockets though. I liked how it lay on my hip, and I had a large choice as to where it lay. Highly practical, but UGLY. I am interested in something more attractive and more femme than a messenger bag - something that would look strange carried by a man.
In contrast to the messenger bag, I have been observing people with briefcase or laptop bags with long cross the body straps, but with the bag itself mostly an awkward, inflexible rectangular solid that slaps against the body with every step. My experience with such bags is that they are as uncomfortable as they look. And they don’t even look all that good to me, even in leather. Furthermore, they are not very flexible in their shape, so they are fine for carrying a decent volume of other rectangular solids, but not great for lunch, shoes, etc.
I am not even sure whether I want to carry something across my body, or on one shoulder. The former is more practical, but again the bag itself has to be just right or it’s not very comfortable. But many of the one shoulder bags are just oversized purses, or just open topped, over-priced, overly embellished tote bags.
It’s possible that the bag of my dreams does not exist, and I will either buy something that is not exactly what I had in mind, but appeals to me anyway, or I won’t buy a bag and just get a big backpack.
So anyway, if anyone has a bag they think I would like, or knows of a good place to look, or a good brand to look for, please let me know. I will probably go looking for something at the outlet mall, so that at least it might only be the price of half a farm.
Ok, let’s just assume I decide I’m not going to hell if I get myself a nice birthday present without strangling any family members to acquire it. What kind do I get? Here is where I am looking for suggestions and discussion.
For a couple of months I was using a Timbuk2 bag we had lying around the house. (Actually, we have dozens of bags in our house, many of them variants of laptop bags, some of them just plain tote bags in canvas. (Another reason I feel foolish getting a bag. But none of these are the sort of bag that I want.) It was some kind of software swag, and a horrible color combination, IMO. But it was very practical. It was the largest size, held a lot when I needed it, but kind of flattened out when I didn’t. If I were getting myself a Timbuk2 messenger bag, I would get the next size down. The huge flap with straps seemed very stable. Stuff just stayed inside by gravity, even if I didn’t snap the straps. There weren’t really many specialized pockets though. I liked how it lay on my hip, and I had a large choice as to where it lay. Highly practical, but UGLY. I am interested in something more attractive and more femme than a messenger bag - something that would look strange carried by a man.
In contrast to the messenger bag, I have been observing people with briefcase or laptop bags with long cross the body straps, but with the bag itself mostly an awkward, inflexible rectangular solid that slaps against the body with every step. My experience with such bags is that they are as uncomfortable as they look. And they don’t even look all that good to me, even in leather. Furthermore, they are not very flexible in their shape, so they are fine for carrying a decent volume of other rectangular solids, but not great for lunch, shoes, etc.
I am not even sure whether I want to carry something across my body, or on one shoulder. The former is more practical, but again the bag itself has to be just right or it’s not very comfortable. But many of the one shoulder bags are just oversized purses, or just open topped, over-priced, overly embellished tote bags.
It’s possible that the bag of my dreams does not exist, and I will either buy something that is not exactly what I had in mind, but appeals to me anyway, or I won’t buy a bag and just get a big backpack.
So anyway, if anyone has a bag they think I would like, or knows of a good place to look, or a good brand to look for, please let me know. I will probably go looking for something at the outlet mall, so that at least it might only be the price of half a farm.