This blog is about two of my most constant companions; more precisely, it tells of my shoulder bags without which I rarely leave home. Those I now use are the fifth generation of a series that started almost thirty years ago. My first, then referred to as a  ‘man bag’ – a term I dislike intensely – was compact, sturdy and made of brown leather. After ten years it had to be replaced, and this time the colour of the leather was black – to me the colour is important. Since then, replacements have been made of canvas which is much cheaper but, compared to leather is much shorter lasting. 

At any one time I now have two canvas bags ‘on the go’ and the decision on which to choose is simple – one is for smart occasions like going to the theatre or out to dinner while the other is a work-horse, for everyday outings.

It might sound odd, but I view the two current bags quite differently, and while I dearly love the older, ‘smart’ one (on the left in the illustration); the other, my work-horse (on the right in the illustration) gives me no pleasure – in fact it annoys me immensely.  That I can be so ‘tied’ emotionally to such everyday inanimate objects and see them in such contrasting ways may seem surprising but it is how I feel and for this there is an explanation. 

I am a devotee of the late nineteenth century Arts and Crafts movement which, amongst its many goals, championed the creation of objects where function and beauty went hand-in-hand. Accordingly, an object could not be functional unless it was also a thing of beauty and vice versa. I was given my ‘smart’ bag for my last birthday and after a few days allowing for ‘bedding in’, I fell for its umpteen attractive details. I love its unusual sandy colour, its broad strap that sits comfortably over the shoulder, its strongly-made zips that don’t jam, its pockets arranged so each is accessible, its simple but secure front snap buttons – there is something unpleasant about Velcro – and finally its clear orientation with an obvious front and back that allows for easy and ‘logical’ searching which makes finding things simple.

Wanting to know the whereabouts of the bag’s contents must make me appear finickety  but to me it is very important and it has become more so as I age. Oddly, having things in order is not for me a universal requirement; I have little interest in keeping an ordered wardrobe for my clothes – finding a shirt or a pullover is a lottery. However, for my shoulder bags it is essential that each pocket plays host to a specific object. In my smart bag, for instance, keys are kept front right, the wallet for my bus pass, bank cards and season tickets etc front left, and matters medical (asthma puffers, mask) in the pocket at the back. All this means that discovery can be quick and easy and that, if needs be I can always quickly find things  – a reassuring advantage. Interestingly, I have discovered that one of my friends prefers muddle; for her, spending time searching and then perhaps finding something unexpected is a welcome diversion!

I bought my current muddy-green, work-horse bag at the local street market and, most unusually, did so in a hurry. Its predecessor’s zips had started to jam and its lining was so torn that the pockets ran into one another – a replacement was essential. Stupidly, at the stall I was only interested in its size, it had to take my iPad, and to have a lot of compartments. Sadly, however, it has none of the endearing features of my ‘best’ bag and while I need to use it when I go out it annoys me enormously and gives me no pleasure.

I imagine many of my readers will see a blog about shoulder bags as an indulgence – surely they are personal and don’t deserve this amount of space. However, over the last month they have occupied me greatly and it is wonderful to talk about something I own – the smart bag – that has all the hallmarks of an Arts and Crafts model. After all, nearly fourteen years ago, I indulged in the trivial when I published a blog about the wonders of the shoe lace (‘The parable of the humble shoe lace’, July 19,  2011,) ) so, since the start, my values have hardly changed! 

The illustration is a photo of my two current shoulder bags. On the left is my much-loved ‘old’ bag, on the right the new, dull-looking work horse which annoys me intensely.

For helping me write this blog, I would like to thank Annie, Grace, Rohan and Vivien.