Bag a Bearilicious Bag

Excuse me, are you NOT a model? Let’s face it, we, the chunky monkeys, muscle bears and beefy bison will never be conventional fashion models. Look at all the fashion catalogs, most men models fall into the same category of body shape: from the muscular lean fit types with handsome faces to the edgy, androgynous and skinny look with distinct angular facial features. Very rare (unless it is a clothing line for big size, bodybuilder and/or bear men, which are not many out there) you will get to see big men posing in fashion catalogs or worse, strutting down the catwalk in international fashion shows. In fact, I feel that fashion at times is such an exclusive industry that alienates not just us, but also the plus size opposite sex members. Some of the great fashion designers don’t even cater to our body size and shape and that’s a sad fact!

But honestly, I don’t give a fuck! And all of you out there shouldn’t too. I always think that big size men are definitely much more masculine and attractive and with the right and suitable outfits and accessory, we do look as good if not better than our scrawny counterparts.

One of my favourite messenger bag: Vaude

Well, enough bantering for the day. Today I want to share with you my love for a good accessory specifically, the BAG! As many fashion critics and writers have agreed, men bags are no longer a necessity, it’s an important fashion accessory and if paired well with your outfits, will even enhanced your masculinity.

Before I tell you what bags that suit our bear-like body shape, let me share with you the different kind of bags available for the modern man. They are:

1. Messenger Bag

2. Briefcase

3. Duffel/Weekender

4. Tote

5. Document Holder
(There's a few other types i.e. backpack, waist bag, etc. which I will not be covering in this post)

What kind of Bag person you are?

So you maybe wondering, there’re so many bags out there, how am I going to choose one that fits me? Well in the first place, you can have more than ONE bag in your closet, in fact, you should have at least three. The more the merrier. At minimum you should have one for work, another for weekends, and the last one for travel.

Ask yourself? Are you a person who favours necessity and functionality over fashion and looking good? What is your profession and are you a fun, sporty and outgoing person or are you otherwise? Well let’s start with a workbag. Most of us will carry a bag to work whether to keep our documents and files neatly or to lug our laptop around for ease of communication, a suitable bag is necessary for the job. While functional is really important here and fashion statement maybe secondary, who says that we can’t get a bag that can satisfy both our needs and wants?

If you’re in a more serious and stuffy kind of job where you need to wear well tailored suits, shirt and tie, then I guess there’s only one option for you, the briefcase. However boring that you may think the suitcase is, you can always spice it up with the different materials available i.e. canvas, leather, pvc, fabric, etc. In addition, a manly tote bag, which I mostly disagree, maybe another option especially if your job is less stuffy and traditional.

BOTTEGA VENETA

INTRECCIATO LEATHER BRIEFCASE (Pic from http://www.mrporter.com)

The tote bag although has been the ‘in’ bag for the past few years especially with the metrosexual and fashionable men, I personally have my doubts. Although the tote is very accepted as a norm men’s bag in recent times, this highly functional yet fashionable bag is not very much my cup of tea. Call me old fashion or traditional, to me the tote regardless how masculine is made, still exudes and definitely intensifies the feminine side of the carrier. To all big size guys, my advice is please don’t go there, especially if you want to have the masculine and macho look. To be honest, I have bought a few of the totes and ended up in my storeroom (some which are still brand new) cause it just didn’t suit me. However, if being masculine is not your priority and you just want to look trendy, feel free to get one for yourself.

Tote bags from Trussardi F/W ’13 men’s and Louis Vuitton F/W ’13 men’s (Pic from  http://www.fashionising.com)

In my personal opinion, the messenger bag is the most flattering to our kind of beefy bear-like body shape. Whether the bag is use as a work, casual or gym bag, the best way of creating the masculine look is to carry the bag with the strap over your shoulder and across your torso, making sure the strap is shorten to the height where the bag just sits above your hips, slightly above the waistline.

The masculine way to wear a messenger bag (Pic from http://cdn.timbuk2.com)

But be careful when choosing the size of your bag cause too small a bag will make you look as if you’re carrying a ladies handbag, while too big a bag will make you look smaller in terms of your body size, hence reducing your masculinity. 

Oversize bag makes you look small (Pic from www.the-gadgeteer.com )

To get the right bag size, I recommend the Divide-By-Three Back measurement. Measure the top of your back from shoulder to shoulder and then measure the bottom of your back from one side to the other at your waistline. Add both and then divide by 3 (can increase to 4, if you want a smaller size bag). This will give you the approximate width measurement of the bag that is suitable for your body size. With a plus and minus of 10% in measurement, this size will definitely accentuate your manly look.

Manhattan Portage Messenger Bag (Pic from http://www.manhattanportage.sg)

Superdry. Messenger Bag (Pic from http://www.superdry.com)

PORTER Messenger Bag (Pic from http://porter-yoshidakaban-europe.com)

As for the duffel/weekender, this type of bag is safe for all shapes and sizes of men and useful for travelling purposes. But please remember not to go overboard in the size. And finally, although the document holder is back in trend unless you actually have documents to hold and bring to somewhere, it is definitely not the kind of bag that you want to be seen carrying around especially if you belong to the heavier set category.

Duffel bags at Trussardi F/W ’13 men’s and Burberry Prorsum F/W ’13 men’s (Pic from  http://www.fashionising.com)

Document holders at Fendi F/W ’13 men’s and Wooyoungmi F/W ’13 men’s (Pic from http://www.fashionising.com)

Well we have come to the end of another blog post of mine. Remember, if there’s any one bag type I recommend, it's definitely the messenger. This kind of bag is definitely most flattering to the beefy body type.

Bearilicious! Gerard Butler wearing a messenger bag (Pic from http://theluggageandbagshop.blogspot.com)

The weekend is round the corner, so guys hope you have a great one and for my Taiwan friends, Happy Taiwan Pride! Love you all!

Till next week, this is Jimenian signing out! Be happy always!

Cheers.