The Big Bag Theory

August 7, 2008 10:30 am     Posted in Style  B.A - Notre Dame g+ page

purse.jpgGone are the days of dainty purses and miniscule wallets. They’re fine for special events, sure, but for everyday use, it looks like women are turning to real bags. Huge bags. The kind of bag into which you fit half your life- and then never find it again. Giant black holes slung on our shoulders sucking in every stray business card, matchbook, and penny that cross their paths.


By B.A

At one time Big Bags were strictly for use by mommies, to carry Bandaids and nail clippers and tissues and lip balm and the million-and-one other things that kids may require on a daily basis.

Now my own Big Bag is stocked with Bandaids and nail clippers and tissues and lip balm, and I definitely have zero children in tow. The bottom is littered with old receipts, seven pens and gum wrappers. My Metrocards are slipping between the pages of my three notepads and my laptop is a constant companion. There’s even a hardcover copy of The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen somewhere in there. My iPod headphones are tangled up in my cell phone charger. Every credit card I’ve ever owned is jammed into my wallet that contains no cash. Three lipsticks are rolling around stuck inside of the lining.

Sound familiar?

The Big Bag bug has bit women nationwide. I think it started with the infamous “hobo”, but I can’t be sure. The trend has certainly evolved. Yesterday, I found myself looking interestedly at a purse that was really nothing more than a demoted suitcase. Toting around an extra pair of shoes, or two, comes in handy sometimes.

There’s something innately comforting in knowing that you’ll always have what you need, even if you are carrying a perpetual 20-pound load on your shoulder.

Today however, I realized that I might want to think about carrying something a little more crowd-friendly. Having a duffel bag under your arm is not exactly practical when you are trying to maneuver through the rush-hour swarm of people on the 5 o’clock train, or standing in the crush of the beautiful people outside the hottest club.

I started to become annoyed with my bag’s oversized-ness, and the continual “excuse me’s” necessary to avoid knocking an innocent bystander off his unsuspecting feet. So I dug out one of the small shoulderbags I had used back in the 90s. As I sat trying to figure out how to fit both the hand lotion and the hand sanitizer without breaking the zipper, I recognized the futility of the effort and gave up, stuffing the new tiny bag, hand sanitizer and all, into the well-worn recesses of the old one.

Apparently, they have not found the cure for Big Bag syndrome. I will gladly keep on suffering. Are you infected?

[Photo courtesy of People.com]

13 Comments on "The Big Bag Theory"

  1. Amanda says:
    Thu, 7th Aug 20086:47 am 

    I actually converted from a big bag to a smaller one successfully not too long ago. Then I fell in love with another larger bag, but it's not all rounded out like most big bags, it's nice and rectangular. I can carry everything I need without the fear of knocking small children out when I turn around.

  2. J - NYU says:
    Thu, 7th Aug 20088:16 am 

    My Big Bag had about two inches of crushed goldfish crackers on the bottom for about 4 months.

  3. Claire says:
    Thu, 7th Aug 20086:50 pm 

    I have to have room for at least a notebook, the latest issue of Vogue, my iPod, my phone, a book, and a full sized bottle of lotion from Bath and Body Works (I go through that stuff like there's no tomorrow), my medicine, my wallet, and a bottle of water.

    After listing all that off, I feel pathetic.

  4. Lauren, University o says:
    Fri, 8th Aug 20081:11 am 

    I FOUND an umbrella in my bag last week. How big is a bag when you can't actually SEE an umbrella, but have to search for it??

  5. Heather says:
    Fri, 8th Aug 200810:24 am 

    except for special occasions, i usually just put everything in my pockets (I manage to fit it all in despite the small girls jeans pockets). i just dont understand why everybody needs so much stuff all the time. i pretty much just have a tiny wallet, a cell phone, a tiny hand sanitizer i refill, keys, and cigarettes. lol maybe im 90s.

  6. Emily says:
    Sat, 9th Aug 20086:04 pm 

    I have been using big bags forever! I seriously lost my laptop cord in mine once!

  7. Alex - Cornell Unive says:
    Sun, 10th Aug 20083:09 pm 

    I started wearing big bags after my friend picked on me for wearing a man-sized backpack around campus. My current big bag is nearly half my height…and I'm 5'7.

  8. Allison says:
    Tue, 12th Aug 20089:12 am 

    The "Big Bag" is a Big City phenomenon, I feel. Living in a big city (I'm in San Francisco, personally), where you're constantly on the go, and often have to take a train ride or long bus ride to get home, and you don't have a car to keep your extra stuff in – it only makes sense to carry so much with you. When I lived in Texas (nobody goes without a car down there), I kept most of that stuff in the trunk of my car, and only carried my cell, wallet, chapstick, and lip gloss into the mall, concerts, whatever… But in the city, without an extra place to leave things temporarily… you HAVE to have a Big Bag.

  9. Brittney says:
    Thu, 14th Aug 20083:47 am 

    I don't think I own a big bag. I find them very humorous personally. Especially with short girls who appear to double their big bag as a mobile home.

    My purse is a medium sized tote, I can still carry my macbook in there, a book, and a wallet. If I push it maybe a water bottle. It's getting really dirty though, so I'm in the process of finding a new purse. Both sad and happy…

  10. Sarah Y says:
    Fri, 15th Aug 20085:05 pm 

    I manage bigger bags with smaller bags inside. I definetly don't want my make up smearing all over the place so that gets its own bag. (Inside- lip balm, lash curler, tiny bottle of lip/cheek coloring, pressed powder, pills and a usb drive)

    I can't hear or feel my phone going off so I try to put the phone back into the teeny "phone pocket" in bags. Carrying the essentials, I usually have enough room to even go shopping and not use plastic bags.

  11. sara says:
    Sun, 17th Aug 20081:08 pm 

    My bag needs enough room for my checkbook-sized wallet, my make-up bag, my planner, cell phone, iPod, water bottle, hairbrush, sunglasses, and keys. Just the wallet itself is big enough to rule out a small bag, but throw in my other essentials like the planner and hairbrush and a big bag is a must for me.

  12. anne says:
    Mon, 2nd Jul 20123:23 pm 

    I love big bags. Since I always carry a lot of stuff I need extra room, ha ha i like being prepared :)

Tell us what you're thinking...