The Definitive MANBAG Thread Part I: 2009-2014

^I like the color and the leather treatment, but the triangle-stitching and the thin handles turn me off a bit. Seems a little off balance, or like they decided to try and "mix things up" with flare that went a little wrong. What is it, and how much?

Originally Posted by Uncontrol

Click to expand...

http://harajuju.tumblr.com/post/1167...-boston-47-250 Better pics + online availability of that 5351 boston
Seeing better pics, my only fear about it is that the handles are TOO long. I like the braiding, but if you want to carry it like a tote, not over the shoulder, I fear that unless you're very tall, you'd nearly drag the ground with it. As well, with a larger tote/boston, sometimes it becomes unwieldy to carry over the shoulder. In any case, that brand does interesting items (I see them reguarly in Japan), from decent materials, with decent construction at a fair price ($500 range)

http://www.blueowl.us/scripts/psp/VB...il&SKU=7999940

EOI by Mr. Olive.

I much prefer their messenger, but I'm sick and tired of all these bags that don't have enough pockets for proper organization. It seems to me that a lot of the avant garde ,grunge, niche, edward from twilight dark vampire labels do this. Seriously annoying.


http://www.blueowl.us/scripts/psp/VB...il&SKU=7999939

Originally Posted by rach2jlc

Click to expand...

Seeing better pics, my only fear about it is that the handles are TOO long. I like the braiding, but if you want to carry it like a tote, not over the shoulder, I fear that unless you're very tall, you'd nearly drag the ground with it. As well, with a larger tote/boston, sometimes it becomes unwieldy to carry over the shoulder. In any case, that brand does interesting items (I see them reguarly in Japan), from decent materials, with decent construction at a fair price ($500 range)

It definitely seems like it's meant to be carried over the shoulder.

Originally Posted by BubblyMasquerade

Click to expand...

I much prefer their messenger, but I'm sick and tired of all these bags that don't have enough pockets for proper organization. It seems to me that a lot of the avant garde ,grunge, niche, edward from twilight dark vampire labels do this. Seriously annoying.

I like the messenger better as well. And, I'm with you; I have no idea why they don't try to make things easier to carry. A big open space with nothing to organize makes it very hard to find. I have several large totes that are just blank inside, and everything gets all mixed up. As such, I've taken to using smaller document carriers, portfolios, pen cases, and such to keep things in place.

Originally Posted by Uncontrol

Click to expand...

It definitely seems like it's meant to be carried over the shoulder.

Agreed. I'd like to see it in person to see the size.

Originally Posted by rach2jlc

Click to expand...

Agreed. I'd like to see it in person to see the size.

i think you could do much better at that pricepoint.

Originally Posted by BubblyMasquerade

Click to expand...

i think you could do much better at that pricepoint.
Yeah, I'm starting to agree. It's now something about the handles. And, to be honest, one thing I don't like about even the great Hermes HAC is the buckle at the front... I find it gets in the way and flaps around if you don't cinch it closed every time. I like something a little more streamlined. That being said, someday when I earn much more than I do now I will own a 45cm Clemence HAC w/ palladium (or gunmetal??) hardware. Off subject, sort of, but one sort of strange thing I've found with pics of Japanese brands with Japanese models is that it's hard sometimes even to judge the size when a model is holding it. I have a Porter bag that is pretty standard size (15X16 or so) and yet the model they had was a tiny Japanese woman and it looked like she was carrying one of those 30" Garment Bags. Anyway, to post a pic, I saw this series of Celine bags in person in Tokyo this summer; really nice design, but the leather is lambskin (other than the python) and VERY soft, and the handles attach very delicately to the skin. Put anything more than a thin scarf and a pencil in that bag and those handles will rip off. I can't understand what they were thinking making a $1000 unlined bag in a skin so delicately you couldn't risk putting anything in it. When I asked the sales lady, "How much will this hold, it looks awfully delicate?" she just smiled and bowed and, in very polite Japanese, said, "Yes, it's mostly just for... looks."

I'm generally not a huge fan of Billykirk, in that I feel like some of the bags are a little too 'rugged' for my liking (my style isn't exactly trying to look like a house painter from the 1930's), but I liked this document carrier/briefcase bag, and the price seems quite reasonable for the decent materials used.



http://www.blackbirdballard.com/Bill...ack_18021.html

Well, I still like it, but I just bought a bag so I'm not looking to buy anyway haha

Originally Posted by Uncontrol

Click to expand...

Well, I still like it, but I just bought a bag so I'm not looking to buy anyway haha

Yeah, I knew you had just gotten one, so I figured you weren't actually thinking of buying it. I think it would go with your style very well, especially if you were wanting a shoulder bag.

Btw, did you get your other one yet? Post pics!

Originally Posted by rach2jlc

Click to expand...

Yeah, I knew you had just gotten one, so I figured you weren't actually thinking of buying it. I think it would go with your style very well, especially if you were wanting a shoulder bag.

Btw, did you get your other one yet? Post pics!

no, not for another while, i will def post pics when i have it man there were only 2 left in the country. 1 now haha

Originally Posted by Uncontrol

Click to expand...

no, not for another while, i will def post pics when i have it man

there were only 2 left in the country. 1 now haha
Excellent! On other matters, when you look at the prices for domestic brands like Billykirk, or Japanese domestic brands (porter, 5351, etc.), and the often very nice materials they use in comparison with "top" fashion brands like Prada, Gucci, Dior, Costume National, etc. it really starts to become clear how much markup there is just for the fashion name attached. For example, the Billykirk document case above is $320 retail, made with good leather, riri hardware, etc. A Porter fullgrain leather brief is about 45,000 yen, or around $450-500. The Costume National document case I've posted before, which is nearly the same size/layout/style, was nearly $1600. Prada gets $1580 for its Saffiano cases, which are almost all machine made in factories in Italy staffed by imported Chinese labor. Gucci is about the same, and almost all of them have switched and cheapened their hardware to YKK or even no-names, with lots of gluing going on. The nice thing now is that there are becoming lots of better selections at decent pricepoints. It's still tough in the USA (though getting better), but no longer is it just Targus Nylon $50 crap and then $1000 Prada. Japan still kicks out ass, though, at figuring out this mid-range price point. For $500 you have hundreds of good choices.

I love the Japanese fashion industry for the wealth of mid-range choices. They are really spoiled over there.

Originally Posted by Uncontrol

Click to expand...

I love the Japanese fashion industry for the wealth of mid-range choices. They are really spoiled over there.
They've responded smartly to market demand. I mean, when I first went to Japan nearly 10 years ago, it was still the "thing" to get a Euro fashion brand for a bag, like Prada, Gucci, etc. LV is still big there, but not as much as it was. And, Prada and the others have ALL scaled way back, because people just aren't as interested in shoddier quality for absurd prices. THese days, almost all the friends who used to carry Prada, Gucci, Dior etc have switched to domestic Japanese brands (porter, julius, viridianne, and such). The quality is there, the pricepoints are 1/3 as much, and the styling is often just as good... or better, and they hold up better. Caveat emptor! Other brands like Versace have pulled out of Japan altogether, and Ferre, Valentino, et al have shuttered lots of their boutiques. It's NOT just the economic downturn, IMHO, but a changing realization that you don't have to pay $1900 for a glued together bag whose handles will fall off in two years. Again, 10 years ago there wasn't as much selection, but as Japanese brands got better, and Euro brands cut LOTS of corners while increasing prices, customers just jumped ship. Sort of like a "lexus-ization" of the bag market.

Originally Posted by rach2jlc

Click to expand...

I'm generally not a huge fan of Billykirk, in that I feel like some of the bags are a little too 'rugged' for my liking (my style isn't exactly trying to look like a house painter from the 1930's), but I liked this document carrier/briefcase bag, and the price seems quite reasonable for the decent materials used.

http://www.blackbirdballard.com/Bill...ack_18021.html

That's really nice. At first I thought the middle might be cheap nylon, but it's waxed canvas. I could see that bag having a real interesting look after it ages. Price is not bad, but a little out of my budget right now.