Welcome back to Retail Therapist. There are many modalities when it comes to counseling—this one is shop therapy. Every session, GQ’s Gerald Ortiz answers a real shopping conundrum from the fashion anxious. “I’m looking to buy my first “nice” bag. I’ve been a canvas tote bag guy for years and it’s served me well through a certain coming-of-age era of my style journey, but I’m ready to move on to something a little more mature.
I don’t really know what I like, though. There are so many options, which is equally exciting and daunting. How do I find the right bag for me?”
—Bagging For Help
You should be proud of yourself for taking the initiative to better your personal style through an accessory, especially when it’s so easy to default to something like shoes or pants. There’s nothing wrong with a canvas tote, of course.
But the fact that you’re seeing your style grow beyond the basic bag shows real improvement. Now, the door you’ve opened leads to many different kinds of bags, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed, but let’s take it in digestible bites. Your homework is to go through this list, where I’ll break down the four types of bag attachment styles with examples for each. Take some time and assess your own practical needs as well as how you want your bag to speak to your growing sense of style.
Keep in mind, personal bag attachment styles can
Keep in mind, personal bag attachment styles can change over time, so don’t get too hung up on whether you get it “right”. That’s what return policies and TheRealReal are for. Upmarket Tote
You like security and the familiar, but know you deserve better. Upmarket Totes share many features with your faithful canvas tote bag, but are better in every other aspect, from the materials to the construction to the overall aesthetic.
You’re also very practical and want a bag that feels a bit more elevated, which is distinct from the overwrought, utilitarian bag styles that result in briefcases or technical backpacks. Practicality in the Upmarket Tote sense means that your bag is still fairly simple, with enough space for your daily carry and perhaps includes a few compartments to segment your personal effects.
Capital-D Designer Handbags
You like to think of yourself as a person with high taste and superior fashion acumen. For the person with a personal bag style in the Designer category, you value your independence and self-reliance, and that manifests itself in saving up enough money to spring for an extremely expensive and visible display of social capital. Here, you may not get into the intimate details of the designer and their luxuriously crafted bag, but you find assurance in the fact that the bag itself speaks on your behalf.
It Bags There’s a sort of tension
It Bags
There’s a sort of tension and duality with the It Bag style that makes it so fascinating. People in this category want to be set apart from the crowd while also setting the trend for the crowd to follow. It Bags are always changing from season to season, and what may be It now could be forgotten—or worse, mainstream—tomorrow. While some see you as fickle or noncommittal, others on your same wavelength will see you as part of a small in-group of tastemakers.
You may not be the celebrity who makes the It Bag famous, but you’ll be the one who makes it “It”. Petit Shoulder Bags
Petit shoulder bags, or hobo bags, are the most secure of personal bag styles. While most men in other personal bag attachment styles opt for bags that eschew any accusations of femininity, Petit Shoulder Bag styles are very comfortable in both their masculinity and sense of style.
You are real and honest with what you need from a bag, so you don’t want to carry something larger than what’s necessary. You might only have your phone, a dog-eared Bell Hooks book, and wired headphones on you, and that’s all.
Source: www.gq.com
