Manbags, Murses, & Pursies: OH MY!

Posted by mamo parker on January 8, 2011 · 2 Comments 

Can your man be too metrosexual? Too feminine? Or his accessories a tad too convenient? If so, perhaps “man bags” lie on the cusp of too much frou frou and functional enough to get by. Our first memory of  “man bags” stems from the classic Friends episode, where Joey beseeches Rachel’s fashion expertise in order to prepare for an audition. Rachel graciously connects him with a “man bag” at Bloomingdales, and instantly, a bond is formed. Unfortunately, Joey becomes too attached to the bag and his adoration of it costs him the audition.

Joey: But it is odd how a women’s purse looks good on me, a man.
Rachel: Exactly! Unisex!
Joey: Maybe you need sex. I had sex a couple days ago.
Rachel: No! No, Joey! U-N-I-sex.
Joey: Well, I ain’t gonna say no to that.

Do men not need to carry bags too? Just a thought, but perhaps “man bags” are an outgrowth of briefcases. Can you imagine a man carrying a briefcase and a “man bag”? It’s an either or situation, but in some professions and for some purposes it seems advantageous for a male to carry a bag that provides him with a bit more storage space. Furthermore, under some circumstances, briefcases might be too formal, but the casual nature of a “man bag” would be just right.

Though we hate the word, we know it exists, so we’ll give it credit – murse. A lot of people consider “man bags” to be satchels, however the term includes many more styles of bags. So in an effort to be inclusive we’ll use the dreaded word, murse. Murse, *rolls eyes and gasps*, huh. It’s the kind of word that just sounds awful, but it is better than another frequently used word, pursies, EEK!

Perhaps the creation of murses is an attempt to expand business to a growing demographic. In 2010, Coach announced plans to open its first ever men’s-only store. Could it be a “murse mecca”? Situated on Bleecker Street in NYC’s trendy West Village, the stores are viewed “as labs where we compile an emerging men’s collection and evolve our merchandising strategies,” said Mike Tucci, Coach’s president of North American Retail.

We are not exactly sure how to feel about murses, nor do we know how we should feel, but one thing is clear- they’re here to stay. Personally, we’d prefer a satchel to a murse and we prefer a briefcase to a satchel, but we understand times have changed and people should be free to express who they are and how they are feeling, la di da di da. Not here to be the judge/jury on pursies, just venting on the phenomenon. So, if you are a man that is confident enough to wear a satchel or a murse, more power to you. We just better not catch our boos borrowing our bags, because that just will not do! If you want to wear it, buy it with your own dime and make sure it’s more masculine than mine. Just being silly, but for real though… Mursies & Pursies — OH MY!

Filed under It's Frou Frou, It's Fashion · Tagged with friends, man bag, purse