As most of OTC's readers know, I am a bag guy. I commute to work by train, which of course necessitates a good bag, but I also have a thing about carrying too much stuff on my person.The search for the elusive perfect guy bag has been, and continues to be, a mission of mine. I have had some successes - Jack Spade's Canvas Day Bag is a great option, as is Ghurka's classic and pricey Examiner.
I have also written on the most famous of all man bags, Indiana Jones' modified British Mark VII gas mask bag.
Jack Bauer (Keifer Sutherland), of the television show "24", has done a lot to bring the man bag back to the forefront. The original "Jack sack", as Bauer's varying bags came to be called, became a cult hit. Inexpensive and readily available, it's also a great bag in real life; roomy, good pockets, durable and classically functional looking.
The original Jack Sack
I received a number of requests to track down the identity of the current season-eight bag. This one is leather and a bit more fancy than Jack's typical military inspired bags. So, I went strait to the 24-obsessed experts at The Jack Sack and now have the answer. It's from Ralph Lauren.
Season 8's bag of choice
The bag is the Double RL leather Mail Bag and based on the classic American letter carrier bag. Only a few months ago I had this very same bag in my hand while on a visit to the Ralph Lauren store in Georgetown. I really liked it, but at nearly $900, I gave it a pass.
Ralph Lauren also makes a more elegant version of the bag in the form of their Deerfield Leather mail bag, but that one is priced around $1,200. The leather on this one, however, is amazing.
Ralph Lauren's Deerfield
The original reinterpretation of this iconic work satchel was made by J. Peterman and is still available at less painful $300. A few years ago I tested this bag, a gift to me from John Peterman, and it's still one of my all-time favorites.
I have an Indy bag from way back when, which I discovered is exactly the right size for my netbook, a book or notebook, my phone or ipod and a pen. Perfection. I didn't like the olive drab color, so I died it dark brown with some Rit dye. Gets a few compliments, a few "man purse" snarks, but you gotta have the courage of your convictions.
ReplyDeleteOh the Murse. The Man Purse. I think you have shown examples of some really great bags and the fact that Jack Bauer carries one, probably prompted this post, because if Jack Bauer (Kicking butt and taking names) wears one...then it OK to talk about them. The fact is, is that Bags are useful and needed for working professionals. I use one and I am not ashamed. I found a great one at Ben Sherman. ALSO, the ladies love them.
ReplyDeleteI think I make the ultimate man bag. I challenge any other of these bags to a battle, let's start at a hundred yards and see who takes the least damage from a .22.
ReplyDeleteetwasbags.com. bring it.
- Will
Have you ever looked at the BillyKirk bags?
ReplyDeleteAnother good option in this genre is the counterfeit mailbag at jpeterman.com under "men's thing"s.
ReplyDeleteso any word on where the ralph lauren RRL can be found? been scouring ebay, the web, the jack sack and still no answers
ReplyDeletethe RRL for $900 is on Ebay occasionally, the 1200 one is still on RalphLauren.com
ReplyDeletep.s. on ebay, search for mailbag or postal bag, sometimes the RRL bags have those key words/tags instead of messenger bag
ReplyDelete