I have a friend who swears by his Prada man purse. Of course, he refers to the accessory as his “man sack.” Always good for a conversation starter. Cue the jokes!

Portage is the default man purse manufacturer for all of Manhattan, I think. And yep, a purse is an essential.

Don’t look at just the regular shops. Also try the resale shops and army surplus. My… uh, man sack… is an old army medic bag I picked up for a couple bucks at a surplus shop.

Yeah, I ended up spending more than just a couple of bucks. I’ve never paid that much for a bag before, but it’s exactly what I was looking for and I’m too tired of traipsing around the city comparing products every time I try to buy something.

When I’m traveling, I always carry a small camera bag (Tamrac Explorer II) that’s about the same dimensions as a typical purse. Because it has my cameras and lenses that I’d rather not have lost or stolen, I take it everywhere (including places like restaurants where I would never think of opening it to use a camera). I don’t feel the slightest bit self-conscious about carrying something that looks like purse, possibly because I know it’s not a purse. But sometimes I wonder what other people think when they see me carrying it.

All seriousness aside, I think the “man purse” is too useful to pass up. But somehow I don’t think I could convince myself to buy and use one, even though it’s not much different from my camera bag.

I think you made an excellent choice. I’ve been trying to track down the perfect manbag for years now, and I’ve realized that anything too small to hold a flat magazine or 9×12 envelope makes it almost impossible to run errands, since there’s never quite enough room to stow things away in an emergency. That binder size is a very lovely solution.

Man bags (down under). They’re a great idea, and there was a two page spread about them in our Sunday papers a couple of weeks ago, as a fashion accessory. I’ve got a canvas type briefcase thingy which works well. The trick is to get into a habit so you won’t forget it when you put it down on a bus, in a bar, cafe, etc.

try http://www.manbag.com

Matt–I just ordered the MP model 1414 manpurse (I need something to carry a couple of books and a light lunch to school every day) plus a cell phone holder (which I’m going to keep my *camera* in–you know I hate the cell phones). I never would have known where to begin looking without your link to Manhattan Portage, so muchas gracias!

yes – http://www.manbag.com is a great site. i got an axible and it’s great for PDAs

Swing Your Bag
Matt has finally shamed me into ditching my fanny pack in favor of a real messenger bag — though it’s…