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The NY Post warns the women of New York that their bag habits may be bad for them. Some women sling up to 11 lbs over their shoulder on a daily basis, and doctors warn that "Any time there's an unequal weight distribution on the shoulders or upper back, it's going to affect alignment of the spine." While we think it's more about living in New York and carrying around what you need to get you through your waking (and walking) hours -- the Post also lays blame on celebs who have made the big-bag trend popular.
Designers and fashion-forward celebrities have turned oversized totes with massive metal hardware into must-have accessories. While many start at over $1,000, they also weigh an average of 4 pounds empty.According to their poll, the average bag weighed in at 7 lbs -- most included water, makeup, wallet, cellphone/BlackBerry, sunglasses, keys and some of the harder core handbags even toted gym clothes. Always ahead of the curve, the Harvard Crimson wrote about this very same thing two years ago.
Pint-sized celebrities and models who do cocaine on the front page of the London Daily Mirror have taken to bragging about their protruding collar bone indirectly, by sporting an extremely large bag. Seemingly, the largeness of your bag is inversely related to your smallness, thus, the greater the possibility that you could dismember yourself and stuff all of your extremities into it. The trend probably started with the Olsen twins, the originators of all things hip and extremely outsized.Didn't that trend die earlier that year when the NY Times wrote about it? One tip to the still weighed-down women out there: "Alternate sides every other day. That will at least help balance the weight distribution." And read more about the "killer handbag" here.
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What about carrying two bags, one on each should, 11 pounds each?
You're right Jen. I think that seems to be the bigger (and more annoying) phenomenon in NYC.
I never understood what chicks are carrying around in all those bags they're always shlepping. Travel light!
Poor ladies, having to carry all that stuff everyday...
Me, I don't even carry a cellphone... well, I do carry an ipod, but it's the shuffle...
I used to carry a heavy purse on one shoulder, and ended up needing physical therapy to correct the asymmetry in my shoulders and hips. Now I wear a fannypack instead of a purse, and if I need to carry more, I wear a backpack. My friends tell me I look like a tourist, but my back doesn't hurt anymore.
What we need is for some trendsetter to start carrying around a backpack. You'd see some sexy, sleek, ergonomically correct designs in no time.
also, your giant handbag is fucking annoying.
Rose Fox, your friends are right. Invest in a weekly or bi-weekly massage and lose the fanny pack.
How about the fashion trend with the HUGE overstuff sunglasses?
How about the fashion trend with the HUGE overstuff sunglasses?
When you're a bridge & tunneler who leaves the apartment at 7am and returns at 9:30pm, you do need to carry everything you need for your waking life - and that includes lunch AND workout gear. Maybe you don't stash it all in a handbag, per se, but somehow a backpack seems less than professional.
@nycblonde: Don't I wish I had the spare cash for a weekly massage! It wouldn't be enough to correct the damage done by asymmetrical bag-slinging, though. I'll stick with my fannypack and backpack-style purses, thanks.
@meese: You might want to look into some of the laptop backpacks out there. Levenger's SoHo Leather Backpack is the nicest I've seen, but there are plenty of others with a handsome, professional look and a lower price tag.
@JenChungsBra: Women's clothing is frequently designed without pockets, so we kind of have to rely on bags. On a given day I need to haul around wallet, keys, notebook, pen, meds, iPod, and hand lotion (prescribed by my dermatologist, or I wouldn't bother); if I'm taking the subway someplace, as I usually am, I also need my current book and/or crafting project (which could be tiny or huge). The little things can fit in a little bag, but for the book or project I need something bigger. Many women also carry around makeup, gym gear, comfortable shoes, tampons, and other tools of the patriarchy useful items.
If you are in grad school, have a full-time job, a social life, and good personal hygeine, and are traveling around the city all day, you'll realize that adds up to a lot of stuff in a bag. Just sayin'.