Weekend bag

Back to School: The Pack

13 August, 2012

I had a friend in high school who once wore the exact same outfit every day for a month just to see if anyone would notice. We did. He looked stupid and smelled even worse. While variety is the spice of life, sometimes there are items that you only buy one of. As great as it would be to have a different car to drive every day of the week, most of us just get by with one.

The pack you use for school will fall into that same category. Your clothes will change but you’ll carry that same bag almost every day. So it’s important to make sure it’s one that works and looks good.

Just like with the other Back to School posts, the first thing you’ll need to determine is your level of formality. A third-year law student should avoid a skater pack and a junior in high school doesn’t want to carry a leather brief case around.

Skate Pack

If you’re hard on your stuff or you use your backpack in precarious situations, you’ll want a skate pack like the Nixonone above. Don’t go easy on it as it’s built to withstand some abuse. The skate pack has evolved into something more simple and streamlined so it doesn’t stand out like a sore thumb if you’re wearing one with a blazer and some bucks. Perfect for high school and undergrads, it’s time to upgrade if you’re a grad student though.

Rucksack

Trail packs and rucksacks have been using by adventurers forever. Think of them as the still-stylish cousin to your ratty cargo shorts. The military history gives them a distinctly masculine feel and the extra pockets go a long way in helping you carry things like phone chargers, sunglasses cases, etc. The beauty of a rucksack is that it mixes utilitarianism and tradition perfectly so you can carry one of these your first day of high school or in your last year of med school. It’s the perfect High/Low pack.

Canvas Messenger Bag

This was my personal choice my whole time in college. It fit a laptop and the occasional book or two without bulking up too much. I also liked having the one strap instead of carrying two on my back. A canvas option is going to be more casual and it’s also going to cost you considerably less. And, while it’s not as bulletproof as the Skate Pack, these things were originally made for hard-riding messengers and will get the job done. There’s an unspoken association between messenger bags and college so I won’t recommend this for a high-school kid.

Leather Messenger Bag

Works the same as the Canvas Messenger but steps things up in the formality, durability, and price departments. Since they are more formal this is something you’ll want in your last year of your undergrad or in grad school. Think of it as Indiana Jones’ briefcase. It’s nice and will keep your documents/laptop safe but it will survive a bike crash or being chased by the natives. With anything you do in leather, choose brown instead of black. It’s still formal because it’s leather but it’s more versatile with what you’ll be wearing and the situations you’ll be in by going with brown.

Briefcase

The most formal on the list is obviously the briefcase. You want to avoid the hard cases that were ubiquitous in the 60’s and opt for something softer and all leather. These can range from a couple hundred bucks to thousands of dollars. The thing about a brief case is that it communicates you’ve already arrived. If you start carrying one too young or without the right confidence it’ll be easy for everyone to tell. It is just a bag, but a brief case is still a symbol that demands a certain amount of respect so make sure you have the acumen to demand that same respect yourself.

A pack is going to be used everyday so you also want to make sure the function fits your needs. It’s pointless to have a beautiful briefcase when you ride a motorcycle to school and don’t have any shoulder straps for it. Lastly, look to historical men’s bags for inspiration. You will find classic shapes and functions along with visual references to masculinity by sticking with something tried and true.

PS. Don’t forget I’m running a deal on Basic Consultations all month this month as a back-to-school special.

Wednesday Weigh In: Summer Suit

2 May, 2012

Go…

cotton summer suit

Solid Weekender

2 April, 2012

…that won’t break the bank. Good mix of the canvas bag with the leather handles. Grab one here.

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How to Pack a Bag

26 March, 2012

Just got back from a trip that was supposed to be three days and turned into five. Most of it was spent in St. George Utah and then we decided to make the drive the rest of the way down to Long Beach and see some old friends.

Packing is always something that’s been a bit difficult for me. I tend to overpack and end up wasting valuable space. Even on this trip, I took my laptop when I didn’t end up using it a single time.

But there is an art to packing a bag for any length of trip. The key is to pack items that will work well with anything else in your arsenal. That way you can where the same shirt with something different and it ends up looking like an entirely new outfit. Here are the basics that I recommend.

Shirts

For a four-day trip you can get away with packing four and not having it take up too much room. that being said, you can get away with even fewer if you want. I recommend something comfortable to drive or fly in like a henley or a polo. These are both still going to work if you’re going out at night when you throw a jacket on over them. I also recommend a white button-up shirt. This one saw more action than anything else I packed and still ended up looking different each day because of what else I had on. A patterned button up shirt is also great for either dressing up or down.

Jacket

This is a staple I will cover in more detail shortly. An unstructured jacket is probably the best piece of clothing I own. I can wear it every day, beat the crap out of it, stuff it in my bag, and it still comes out looking great. Depending on what you wear it with, it can look dressed up or just casual cool. By day five I still had people at the Pike at Long Beach complimenting my jacket.

Sweater

There’s that V-neck again. If it’s cool out and you don’t want to wear a jacket for the third day in a row, throw this on and you’ll still get your High/Low flow going without looking like you only brought one thing to wear.

Pants

Given the time of year, I didn’t see a need to pack any shorts, those can either be added in or substituted for something else. The pants you want are pretty easy. Dark, straight jeans and a pair of slim, flat-front khakis. Both of these will look good with anything else you own.

Shoes

The cool thing about desert boots is that they can be used to make you look more dressed up or more dressed down. It just depends on what you want to do. Khakis, a green henley, no jacket and boots looks very casual but still very stylish. Dark jeans, a button-up shirt, a jacket with a pocket square, and boots makes you look like you’re ready for a night on the town. I’ve also found, since I don’t own driving loafers, that these boots are my favorite shoes to drive in. The boat shoes are great for being down by the pool or even going to the beach but also can be pulled off if you’re going out to dinner that night.

Socks

I prefer to go sockless as often as possible, but I always back an extra couple of pairs. They take up little-to-no space and can be great if the temperature drops below what you were anticipating.

Swim Suit

Because, even though it barely topped 70 degrees, we haven’t been able to swim all year and it was great to spend some time in and hanging around the pool. Also, we had a hot tub on our deck.

Hat

I’ve found when I travel, especially when that travel is a road trip, that I don’t get to shower at regular intervals. We ended up making the drive home from LA to Salt Lake Friday night instead of leaving Saturday morning. This means you’ll smell and your hair will start to get weird. You will look even worse after you’ve been passed out in the back of the car for three hours. A hat is a perfect solution. Throw this on and you won’t feel like an idiot when you stop to grab snacks at the gas station and your hair is sticking out on all sides.

Belt

I grabbed a casual one but you could go any direction. Just make sure it’s sturdy enough to get the job done.

Dopp Kit

It should already be packed with the supplies you need, so just throw it in.

Pajamas

My wife bought me these for Christmas this year. Most of the time no one but you and your lady will ever see what you sleep in, but there’s always the exception. Those of you with kids can vouch for me on this. We made this trip with my wife’s sister and her husband and I didn’t want to be walking around in my underwear or just a pair of basketball shorts. Grown-up pajamas may take some getting used to, but I don’t think I’ll ever go back.

Misc – Pocket square, pocket knife, extra cash, and a good book to read by the pool.

Take all this

Put it in this

And you’re good to go.

Tag: Weekend bag