Men's Bags

The crossbody and the belt bag, worn where you can see them:

most men who carry a bag every day carry a small one. A crossbody takes a phone, keys and a wallet and leaves both hands free for the bus rail. The belt bag has moved up from the waist: slung across the chest it does the same job and snags on less. Nylon ones from brands such as Totto and JanSport shrug off rain and are cheap to replace; leather ones look better with a shirt and weigh more. Size it to what goes in daily: a half-empty bag swings and a stuffed one strains its clip. Wallets and card holders are in men’s accessories.

Briefcases, backpacks and the gym duffel:

for work the choice is between the briefcase, carried by hand or on a short strap, and a backpack that spreads the weight over both shoulders. A structured leather briefcase keeps papers flat and looks right in a meeting, but weighs more empty. Full-grain leather darkens and softens with use, while bonded or PU leather looks the same in a shop photo and starts to peel at the folds after a few years. A gym bag earns its place with a separate, ventilated pocket for shoes; the kit itself is in men’s sportswear.

The knitted shoulder bags of Nahualá and Todos Santos:

in parts of the western highlands a hand-knitted or crocheted shoulder bag is still the one a man carries, for papers and lunch. In Nahualá it is knitted on a circular needle in natural black and white wool, often with the two-headed eagle worked into the pattern, and the strap is woven separately on a backstrap loom and sewn on by hand. In Todos Santos Cuchumatán it is crocheted tight in bright cotton, with no lining and no closure. No two match, and the pattern usually gives away the town.

Nylon crossbodies and leather briefcases, new and second-hand:

a nylon crossbody or belt bag rarely costs more than Q300 new, while a full-grain leather briefcase is closer to Q2,000 to Q2,500. A second-hand nylon bag is up against a new one that costs little, so it moves when it is barely used or is a model people ask for by name. The leather briefcase is the bag that holds its value, because sound leather outlasts its first owner by years, provided the corners and handles have not gone.

Corners, handles and the Tumi plate on a used bag:

turn the bag over first. The corners and the base take every knock, and that is where PU starts to flake while real leather only scuffs and darkens. Then bend the handles of a briefcase where they fold: fine cracks there spread. Unclip the shoulder strap and look at the swivel hooks and the rings they hang from, because a cheap cast hook is what drops a bag on the pavement. Branded bags get copied, Michael Kors and Coach crossbodies above all. Inside a Coach bag there is a stamped leather patch, and on copies the stamping is shallow or crooked. Tumi bags carry a Tracer plate with a number that can be registered, but counterfeiters copy real plates, so check that the number comes back as the same model you are holding. On a knitted wool bag, check for moth holes against the light and look at the strap stitching.

Photos and measurements that sell a briefcase or crossbody:

give the height, width and depth in centimetres and say what it holds in daily use: a tablet, a folder, a change of clothes. Photograph the lining with every pocket open, the corners, the base and the handle folds, and give the brand label or plate a close-up of its own. Say whether the bag went to work every day or sat in a closet, and for a highland knitted bag, which town it came from and whether it is wool or cotton. A briefcase usually changes hands when a job does, and whoever comes from Huehuetenango or Antigua to collect it will want to load it with his own things before deciding, so let him.