manbags at dawn

"I was in america," says this girl to me today, "and we had shoulder bags but the americans had nothing - so where do they put their wallets and cell phones and mp3 players and everything?"

a very valid question.

I explained to her that whilst most of europe enjoys very liberal views of fashion (and bags are no exception) the UK (and US) male population find anything other than a utility rucksack 'gay.' whether it be pride, or whatever, they certainly struggle with being in touch with their feminine side. in japan it's quite the opposite - canvas shopping bags, shoulder bags and french-style wrist bags are absolutely normal - and usually combined with long, dyed hair. it kind of goes more to describing how uninspired the US and UK are than the other way around. many 'furners' I meet here are australian, british or american who generally don't understand a lot of stuff (fashion, good food, language) - the ones that do tend to hang around for a bit. no doubt all the europeans love it though. it should be noted though that the japanese buy far too much vuitton: the city arcades become virtual catwalks on saturday afternoons.

a friend in the UK mentioned a discussion he'd had recently with a colleague about exactly what to do with the increasing amount of gadgets which were slowly causing his trousers to fall down. I guess the issue has been raised. just don't mention it at the pub.......

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