Tote bags and business attire

[thinman]

Originally Posted by No Shoes

and along that line, most public "classical" stations, and NPR in general, are generally perceived as very conservative, ie right wing. That's a sweet bag from STP!

NPR is considered decidedly left-wing by many.

 

[Kasper]

Can anyone suggest a non-profit organization that people don't associate with any political party that might offer tote bags?

 

[FLMountainMan]

Originally Posted by No Shoes

and along that line, most public "classical" stations, and NPR in general, are generally perceived as very conservative, ie right wing. That's a sweet bag from STP!

NPR is right-wing? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Do you actually listen to it? Great programming, but it has a justified reputation as a liberal news outlet.

 

[Jared]

I thought all organizations in the US were political?

Hijack: what is the "knee of the curve" (ie: the same quality/price position as AE shoes) for bags? Coach, Kenneth Cole, and Tumi are the only brands I see piles of in eBay's Soft Briefcases category...

 

[gehrig]

I think most people address this problem by carrying a sturidly constructed bag from a retail store. Zero cost, easy to cycle out to add some variety and generally in close proximity unless you throw them out immediately. I recall an old, decrepit economics professor of mine in college regularly using a Sotheby's bag for this purpose. It matched his persona perfectly. If a professional look is your main objective and you want something logoed, see if you can procure a small bag from your company. The nonprofit logo is a nice idea but finding an attractive logo that you are comfortable discussing in the event that the bag starts a conversation will require some legwork on your part. I suggest you consider using a sturdy bag from a bookstore, preferably a smaller local store with a strong selection of whatever topics you feel most at home conversing about. Book stores are neutral (some retail store bags could be interpreted as pretentious, others as too informal) and may add a notch of learnedness, or at the very least culture, to your appearance.

 

[texas_jack]

Originally Posted by von Rothbart

Many consider classical musics oppressive and are offended by them because they were written by dead white males for aging white males. So be careful.

I hope you're joking with this.

 

[tbabes]

Originally Posted by No Shoes

and along that line, most public "classical" stations, and NPR in general, are generally perceived as very conservative, ie right wing. That's a sweet bag from STP!

NPR is certainly left of center.

 

[Bradford]

You want to carry a tote bag with a suit????? Are you a woman?

I don't know if this was the style in Philadelphia in the 70's, but if I saw a guy carrying a tote bag, I'd wonder why he wants to look like my mom or my wife going to a Junior League meeting.

As for rummaging around in your pockets or a briefcase... it'd be a lot easier to find something in a briefcase with compartments than to dump everything in a tote bag and then try and find anything later.

C'mon Kasper, there's plenty of good, masculine looking messenger bags and briefcases out there. Try Jack Spade or something like this from Rawlings...

There are lots of other threads on this as well for other brand suggestions.

 

[contactme_11]

Try this place. I bought a bag there and love it.
http://flotoimports.com/

 

[Mr.Perdition]

Originally Posted by Kasper
Can anyone suggest a non-profit organization that people don’t associate with any political party that might offer tote bags?


Big Brothers and Big Sisters. I've been to a couple of their events and there are some really, really wonderful people who volunteer their time being a mentor. Think how well dressed the next generation would be if SF members joined!

 

[rajesh06]

Originally Posted by tbabes

NPR is certainly left of center.

These days, right and left are in the eyes of the beholder:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/art...&referral=SUPP

It seems funny to me how all the media (save Fox News) are defined as left of center. Is it grand conspiracy? or just that right and left aren't equal in terms of intellectual analysis which is what the news media are in the business of offering?

For example - for many years, the possibility of human influenced global warming was decried by those on the right; though most scientists agreed that it was occuring.

Somehow the right made it seem as if reporting the postion held by most scientists was a left wing position rather than an honest reporting of the facts.

 

[von Rothbart]

Originally Posted by texas_jack

I hope you're joking with this.

I am as dead serious as the OP.

 

[Kasper]

Originally Posted by gehrig

I think most people address this problem by carrying a sturidly constructed bag from a retail store. Zero cost, easy to cycle out to add some variety and generally in close proximity unless you throw them out immediately. I recall an old, decrepit economics professor of mine in college regularly using a Sotheby's bag for this purpose. It matched his persona perfectly. If a professional look is your main objective and you want something logoed, see if you can procure a small bag from your company. The nonprofit logo is a nice idea but finding an attractive logo that you are comfortable discussing in the event that the bag starts a conversation will require some legwork on your part. I suggest you consider using a sturdy bag from a bookstore, preferably a smaller local store with a strong selection of whatever topics you feel most at home conversing about. Book stores are neutral (some retail store bags could be interpreted as pretentious, others as too informal) and may add a notch of learnedness, or at the very least culture, to your appearance.

I think this is a great suggestion although I don't have the opportunity to read much, I don't see how anyone could be offended by a tote bag from a book store but since I travel most the year for work within the US it wouldn't be possible for one bag to be local to every city I work from.

Some of the alternative bags suggested here to my eye do not look as conservative as a simple tote bag and I think that a messenger bag would be entirely inappropriate as I only remember them being used by bike messengers in Philadelphia when growing up. While the messengers I knew were really great guys they were more likely to shop at Zipperhead than Joseph A. Banks as far as their personal style was concerned.

 

[Kasper]

Originally Posted by Bradford

You want to carry a tote bag with a suit????? Are you a woman?

I don't know if this was the style in Philadelphia in the 70's, but if I saw a guy carrying a tote bag, I'd wonder why he wants to look like my mom or my wife going to a Junior League meeting.

As for rummaging around in your pockets or a briefcase... it'd be a lot easier to find something in a briefcase with compartments than to dump everything in a tote bag and then try and find anything later.

C'mon Kasper, there's plenty of good, masculine looking messenger bags and briefcases out there. Try Jack Spade or something like this from Rawlings...

There are lots of other threads on this as well for other brand suggestions.


I am sorry but I don't think the color of the last bag is either appropriate for a belt, bag, or shoes in a professional business environment.

 

[acidboy]

Originally Posted by zjpj83

just carry a smaller and informal briefcase

Those will be no good if you're planning to swipe newspapers from Starbucks. You'll need big bags with large openings.