We all want to make the right choice with any of our clothing or accessories, but getting the right bag might be the most important. As with the rest of your outfit, your bag is an important part of the look. Unlike everything else, the bag has a crucial role to play in a practical sense, and even a physiological one– get the wrong one and you can hurt yourself. End the day with a bad neck, not enough stuff, and looking silly, and you’ll wish you’d picked a better bag.
Fortunately, this is our speciality, so we’ve created this guide of which bag you want for different occasions. Read on to make the right choice every time.
Best Bags for Walking Around
Walking around is pretty vague, so we’ll need to divide it up. You might be traveling very light, or want to take a few more things with you. Maybe you’ll be doing a lot of walking, with heavy stuff in your bag. You might even start off light, but be planning some shopping later. Also, despite times changing, there is still a bit of gender difference when it comes to bag choices.
Keeping It Light
The small handbag has long been a favorite for any woman who doesn’t need to carry much with them. You can get your phone, keys, and makeup in them, but they aren’t bulky and annoying. Once you’re used to carrying one, it feels a bit like an extension of you, so you’re unlikely to leave it behind.
For men, the handbag equivalent should not be overlooked. Fanny packs might make you feel old, but the waist bag over the shoulder is a much more acceptable look for young people, and is essentially the same thing. They’re especially useful for the summer, when you don’t have the extra pockets you get with a jacket, and can add sunglasses to the things you want on you. Keeping your keys in your pockets tends to put holes in them, so it’s worth it for that alone.
Carrying a Bit More?
If you’re taking more with you then you need a larger handbag. Even if you’re going to work, and taking a laptop with you, there are handbags that are big enough and strong enough. This shouldn’t exclude the small handbag though– part of the problem with larger bags is that it’s harder to find everything, so a little bag inside with the essentials in is worth having.
For anyone who doesn’t want to go down the handbag route, get yourself a shoulder bag. Again, you get plenty of reinforced ones with laptop compartments these days. You’ve also got duffel bags, which aren’t great for laptops, but are for clothing, which is why they’re so popular for going to the gym or doing sport.
Of course, we should all really use backpacks instead. They might not look as cool, but they’re much better if you’re going to be carrying heavy stuff all day. Also, isn’t practicality cooler than caring about what’s cool? Maybe not, but it depends on your style.
Whichever you go for, larger bags should always have a smaller bag inside. Throw a tote bag in there– they fold up very small, and you’re covered if you decide to do any shopping while you’re out and about. Another advantage of tote bags, cheap drawstring bags, or reusable shopping bags, is that you don’t mind too much if you don’t come home with them. So they’re great if you need to take things that you might not bring back.
Best Bags for Traveling
Again, we’ll divide this one up, seeing as we have to consider how much stuff you’re taking with you, and how you’re traveling. There is also your build to think about, and how much you’re comfortable carrying on your back.
A Short Break
The roll-along cabin bag was a firm favorite for a long time. They’re small enough to fit in luggage compartments, and they stack together well. Their tough exteriors protect your things, and of course they roll, so no carrying.
There are disadvantages though. Firstly, they often lack exterior pockets, so for easy access you’ll need a second bag from those we mentioned before. The wheels are also designed for hard, flat surfaces. If you’re going to be walking on grass, or sand, or cobbled streets, they are not your friend.
If the roll-along doesn’t work for where you’re going, you’ll need a backpack. They work on any surface, and if it’s a small backpack, most people are pretty comfortable carrying them for longer periods. There’s another advantage if you’re getting a flight with limits on luggage size– suitcases always get noticed if they’re too big, but unless your backpack is massive, they rarely check.
(Always follow airline rules. Wordans accepts no responsibility for any fines incurred.)
Longer Trips
If you’re moving from place to place, and planning to be in places that are not very wheel-friendly, then you don’t have a choice– it’s called backpacking for a reason. If you can’t carry too much weight, then you’ll have to make do with a medium backpack, and be selective about what you take with you. One bonus of these hiking backpacks is that you always get ways to attach things, so you’re covered if you pick up extra stuff on your travels.
When you’re going straight from one place to another, you can make use of the large roll-along suitcase. This lets you fit everything in, and keep everything safe. Be careful with the wheels– the ones that stick out and move in every direction are great, but they have to be very good quality, or they won’t last long. Uneven surfaces are not kind on these wheels, and if they do survive the city streets, the baggage handlers at the airport will no doubt finish them off. We recommend going for two built-in ones instead.
Don’t Bag Down Now
The conclusion of all this then, is that it’s worth having the right bag. This means you need to own an array to cover every situation, but it works out just as cheap in the long run– if you use a variety of bags, instead of the same one, they’ll all last longer. You only need a small bag for essentials, a larger one, plus a semi-disposable one to go inside, a rucksack and a roll-along suitcase, or maybe a couple of each in different sizes.
Okay, so that might be a few. Fortunately, you can get started at Wordans. We have duffel bags, totes, backpacks and more. They’re all great quality, and very reasonably priced. You can even design your own if you like. With reasons like that, it’s probably time you got a brand-new bag.
We hope this guide helps you always get your choice of bag right, take a look at the rest of our blog for more tips on a whole range of topics related to clothing and accessories. If you’re ready to start shopping, our website has an enormous variety of products to take a look at. For more inspiration, check out our Instagram, @wearewordans.
