Which of these Case Logic bags is right for you? That depends on your slovenliness and gender-normativeness. (And the two often go hand in hand).
There’s no doubt that the smallest bag (“Vertical”) looks the snappiest. ZZ Top would come running just as fast as they could to sing the praises of any smart-dressed person who donned it. Some may call it a “man-purse” simply because it’s small and stylish. That’s often that way with small, somewhat useless fashion accessories — they look both sharper and feminine-ier.
Not that the “Vertical” is totally useless — it could hold a tablet in a pinch — but the “Attaché” is a bag that’s made for carrying. It sacrifices some aesthetic appeal in the name of stowage and perceived manliness, though the name “Attaché” carries a certain Continental quality that’s hardly puts hair on one’s chest.
The “Satchel" is, well, a satchel. As far as these bags go, it has the most overt utility. And we’re hard-pressed to see how anyone could question its bearer’s masculinity.
This trade-off between style and sex-appropriateness is timeless. It’s also, we think, balderdash.
Take cargo pants. Well, don’t really. But take them in your mind’s eye for the sake of this argument. They’re undeniably useful. They’re undeniably hideous. And many would say they’re undeniably masculine. No style-conscious woman in her right mind would dare becargo herself. And the inverse — pants so tight that they lack useful pockets — appear to be less useful, more stylish, and (many would say) feminine-ier.
Yet behold:
The pants are tight. The pockets are worthless. But un-masculine? You’d have to be blind or utterly immune to raw male sexuality to think so.
You’re still probably better off picking the larger Satchel to carry anything substantive. But don’t do it because you’re carrying around some outdated gender norms. Jeff certainly isn’t.
