Real men wear man-purses. True story. Only the new official name is messenger bag, so called because it says what it is and the term was never used on Friends. Murse and shoulder bag mean essentially the same thing, but only squares would use such lingo. The messenger recently veered over to the shoulders of the urban chic from the backs of big-city bicycle couriers, who use them for deliveries. But the concept of a man carrying a bag is really nothing new. Backpacks have been big in the United States for years. And European types have always carried man-purses. Hell, even cowboys used satchels. Or at least they do on HBO's Deadwood.
The soft nylon or canvas messenger bag, usually square, comes in a variety of tough-boy colors, including all shades of green, blue, gray, brown and black. They are usually worn like shields across the torso or lower body. They are urban-commuter cool and say, "I'm so busy that I carry everything I own because I don't even have time to go home."
In Las Vegas, you will be hard-pressed to find authentic bicycle messenger bags in stock at most bike shops. Sad but true. Shopkeepers say Las Vegas riders pedal for pleasure, not work. So they don't stock messenger bags—but they will custom order. No worries, though; the fashion-forward can find affordable canvas and nylon bags all over the place. Two we particularly like are the distressed canvas messenger by J. Crew and the more polished nylon number created by Jack Spade (the men's line created by ladies handbag magnate, Kate Spade).
J. Crew, 3200 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 731-2060. Nordstrom, 3200 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 862-2525.
Urban Outfitters, an affordable department store for the tragically hip, lives up to its name and reputation with its first Las Vegas store, inside Mandalay Place. Look for cheeky T-shirts, great shirts, funky bottoms, unique accessories and great shoes by everyone from Vans, Free People, Penguin by Munsingwear, Paul Frank, U and Puma, to name-drop a few. Housewares include colorful rugs, unique paper lamps and fantastic bar accessories. Plus just about everything in this store, including the games and literature it stocks, is somehow hilarious. More importantly, it carries The North Face Base Camp Messenger, the best messenger bag not made by a bicycle bag company. Long live Urban Outfitters!
Urban Outfitters, 3930 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 650-2199.
Even though it's difficult to imagine a messenger bag as a hard-leather luxury item that costs a little more than $1,000, try to anyway, because the Louis Vuitton Dersou is beautiful in black Taiga leather and brass clips. (Taiga is the name assigned to Louis Vuitton's cross-grain leather pattern that looks like tiny blades of horizontal grass.) If you're going well-heeled Eurotrash—and, really, who isn't?—the Dersou is definitely the right bag.
Louis Vuitton, 3500 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 732-1227.
Anne Kellogg is a local writer and native Las Vegan who has a thing for purchasing stuff.