Manbags and waistcoats
Many apologies for concentrating on male fashion, but I think female fashion gets quite a bit of press already.
Fashion changes to suit the environment and circumstances.
In the way back then past pockets were separate bags attached to the belt. Then they started to be attached more permanently to clothing. As technology changed special pockets were created. Sometimes they disappeared after their reason for existence disappeared. Like special train ticket pockets in jackets. Other times they carry on through habit, though no one knows why they exist. Like the little watch pockets in jeans.
Another more recent example would be that of morning coats and their long tails. Originally the tails existed to make it easier for the wearer to ride a horse. The two tails falling either side of the horse’s back. When the high tech automobiles came along, coat tails were a distinct hindrance and so went out of every day fashion. They stayed around for formal wear and special occasions because of the association with horse riding which was seen as an upper class thing.
Coming to the present day and the introduction of new technology such as tablets and phone, it’ll be interesting to see how fashion handles them. Tim Worstall wonders if waistcoats might come back into fashion because of their pockets which could hold a small tablet/large phone.
Will we see a resurgence of fancy waistcoats just as colourful and stylish as women’s cloths are? I mean, why should men have to make do with the same old suit and tie with only the tie being used for a bit of colour.
But could an alternative come into fashion instead? What about man-bags? Men’s trouser pockets are already bulging with having to carry a wallet, phone, keys, spare glasses, and penknife. A waistcoat wouldn’t be able to hold all of those items. Not unless you go down the style of an angler’s waistcoat. But man-bags would be able to hold all the normal items, plus a business man’s accoutrements.
Or will it all be ignored as foldable phablets are invented which fit into the trouser pocket.
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1
June 4, 2012 at 14:40 -
A gentleman should not wear a BAG. He may, however, wear a fedora and carry a sword (or a swordstick) and should carry a pair of flintlocks, or a service revolver. Long cloaks and Regency riding breeches are also VERY veru very acceptable.
Most other matters are of individual taste, but there are some matters which are simply NOT acceptable. Yesterday I saw a man greet Her Majesty onto the Royal Barge whilst wearing BROWN shoes. That is right, BROWN! As anyone knows, the rule is NEVER BROWN IN TOWN, let alone when meeting the monarch! Were I there I would have SHOT him in the head and pushed the body OVERBOARD and then apologised to Her Majesty for his lack of decorum. Why did her personal protection detail NOT ACT?
That is all.
In love and light
Sister Eva Longoria -
2
June 4, 2012 at 15:59 -
I ran out of trouser pocket space years ago and not wanting to wear a jacket in the nice warm sun here in southern France I followed local custom and got a gilet. It is lightweight with 10 pockets that carry everything from mobile phone and tools to a small torch. It was black when I got it 12 years ago, now it is bleached to a grey colour. Unfortunately, the new ones all seem to have a padded lining in them which is not the thing for wearing in the sun.
Something like that would be the answer to carrying all the technical gear that everybody seems to need today, and the padded ones would be ideal for the UK
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3
June 4, 2012 at 16:19 -
What’s the point of being married and still carrying your own ‘stuff’ ?
Single breast-pocket in shirt for fags & lighter in case of short-term separation, car-key in trouser pocket to offer swift escape – that’s all we need.
With a good woman alongside (or a pace or two behind depending on faith or domestic structure), who needs more pockets or man-bags ?
We may no longer get tax-relief, but there had to be some benefits.
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4
June 4, 2012 at 17:37 -
I bought a man-bag in France many years ago. It’s damn useful, but I have to say I wouldn’t be seen with it in the UK. It’s about the size of a housebrick and carried pipe & tobacco (when I smoked), phone, wallet, camera, reading specs etc very efficiently. It is soft black leather and has a simple wrist-strap – carried always in the hand, like blokes do. I would never wear one of those courier-bag things. Far too metrosexual.
As other have said, for sheer utility it’s hard to beat a gilet with lots of pockets. I have a Barbour version, which is waterproof for as much as it covers great for cool days. But probably not cool as and in itself.
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5
June 4, 2012 at 19:55 -
I adore my mankini, not much storage space, but it does cover the “goods” nicely
Nah only joking!
I love wearing a t shirt and a leather waistcoat when riding my motorbike in the summer. Cleaving through the warm summer air is lovely, you start to hear Steppenwolf ” Get your motor running , head out on the highway…”
I ride along the quiet roads of North Hampshire at the speed limits, lovely.
Simple pleasures. It reminds me of warm spring days when I used to take my dog into the bluebell woods and we used to have a lovely place to sit on ,with a fallen tree and surrounded by bluebells and spring ferns. We used to sit in the warm sun , he would chew a branch, roll around on his back kicking his legs in the air and I would think life is good -
6
June 4, 2012 at 20:22 -
What about Me. I need something less cumbersome than a handbag to carry my Hammer, Screwdriver and Pliers, without which I would not be seen dead. So I don’t much care what men carry their make-up in.
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7
June 4, 2012 at 20:23 -
Actually, one of the reasons I dread summer is nowhere to keep my stuff …
I have a bag, not the handbag type of bag , what we used to call a “record bag” in my misspent youth, for work at least. It carries my lunch, uniform and when sunny my leather jacket. It’s not too sunny at 5am when I leave for work.
I like the idea of waistcoat, but I like the idea of a hat too and I can’t carry that off either. -
8
June 4, 2012 at 23:56 -
Surely this is what back pockets in slacks are for? A slim wallet – no store/credit/debit cards thank you very much – containing a few paper notes with the odd coin or two in the right trouser pocket. Of course, not too many so it causes an unsightly bulge, which may give an incorrect impression to the young Memsahibs, with the left pocket holding a neatly folded kerchief in case it was necessary to apply a tourniquet to a recently injured limb (modesty forbids me from saying where the tourniquet stick is being held)! If I need anything more I simply call my manservant Levenson who is a whizz at contacting all sorts of people who can provide what I require.
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9
June 5, 2012 at 01:24 -
I have a leather satchel like the ones you took to school in the 60′s/70′s. I have my kindle, water bottle, sweets, phone, keys and wallet in it.
A few months back someone joked about my “manbag”, and asked what was in it. We were sat in the museum foyer, I started rummaging in my bag only to realise that some mission creep had come into effect. Tissues, pamphlets, receipts, notebook (moleskin type), pens and lemsips.
When I got home, I emptied it, and decided not to carry it around anymore; yes I was that embarrassed. Within two days, I bit the bullet and started carrying it again. I missed it to much. It may be ridiculed, look stupid and get commented on – but I need it, and life is so much better with my mini mobile clutter carrying device.
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10
June 5, 2012 at 05:43 -
In my briefcase, is an old Psion leather case, stuffed with Swiss Army Card, nail clippers, folding scissors, airplane sewing kit, one Elastoplast, small pack of Kleenex, two Alka Seltzer, spare glasses (nearly right prescription – cheap), Biro and small penknife.
And when exactly did men stop wearing just ‘shirts’ and ‘jerseys’, and start wearing rugby style shirts?
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11
June 5, 2012 at 10:34 -
Man bags… useful, but anyone seen with one is branded as a raving… I have toyed with the idea of one but, being British, it is something I will leave for Johnny Foreigner…
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