5 ms·

The USA variant of this is the briefcase or (more recently) the messenger/laptop bag. Not quite as expensive, but (arguably) still used as an indicator of soci

The USA variant of this is the briefcase or (more recently) the messenger/laptop bag. Not quite as expensive, but (arguably) still used as an indicator of social status.

whatrocks 16y ago
Backpack for me. Although I do consider it a minor victory when I can make it out with just iPhone, keys, and wallet in pockets.
russell 16y ago
I recently bought a messenger bag. Does that make me an alpha male or a sissy? But I have learned by personal experience how women accumulate all that crap ion their purses.
- pasbesoin 16y ago
  Put 40 pounds of mail [1] in one and hang it off your shoulder, and suddenly it isn't so effete. ;-) [1] At one time, the maximum load permitted by USPS regs. And yes, they got that heavy. Especially when e.g. Time and Newsweek Tuesday (and a few other glossy rags) coincided with a Spiegel catalog (ugh).
fanboy123 16y ago
Actually I would think the US version would be a nice watch. The article seems to stress that it is a status indicator for business purposes.
- atgm 16y ago
  Except that watches are kind of going out of style, with all of the electronic devices people have. Perhaps the US version would be a nice smartphone, a nice MP3 player, and nice, non-Apple earbuds.
  - jrockway 16y ago
    No, everybody has those. Do you assume someone's rich because they are wearing nice headphones? I don't; I assume they are a college student who just got back to the city after Christmas break. Hence, not a status symbol.
    - atgm 16y ago
      I don't really assume that someone's rich because they have a nice watch, either... or that they're not rich because they're not wearing a watch.
      - jrockway 16y ago
        Right, because in our generation, we don't really "get" watches. I mean, I know that there are $20,000 watches in the Universe, but I wouldn't know one if I saw one. So I don't consider it a status symbol and wouldn't pick it up if someone was using an expensive watch as a status symbol. To that generation that "gets it", though, then perhaps watches are status symbols. A status symbol that people have these days is their house. Most people pay way more than they can afford, mostly to make themselves feel like they "fit in" with a "more elite" crowd. (I noticed this because I rent what someone with my income can afford, but the people I live with make a lot less money than me. They are using their housing as a status symbol; I am using it as a place to sleep and shower.)
        brc 16y ago
        Trust me, if you saw a really expensive watch, you'd know it was an expensive watch. You don't have to know the list price of a sports car to tell it is expensive. It's obvious just from looking at it.
        atgm 16y ago
        Maybe if you know about sports cars. I've seen, for example, RX-8s and thought "Wow, what a nice-looking sports car, I bet it's expensive." They're pretty cheap.

The USA variant of this is the briefcase or (more recently) the messenger/laptop bag. Not quite as expensive, but (arguably) still used as an indicator of social status.

whatrocks 16y ago

Backpack for me. Although I do consider it a minor victory when I can make it out with just iPhone, keys, and wallet in pockets.

russell 16y ago

I recently bought a messenger bag. Does that make me an alpha male or a sissy? But I have learned by personal experience how women accumulate all that crap ion their purses.

pasbesoin 16y ago
Put 40 pounds of mail [1] in one and hang it off your shoulder, and suddenly it isn't so effete. ;-) [1] At one time, the maximum load permitted by USPS regs. And yes, they got that heavy. Especially when e.g. Time and Newsweek Tuesday (and a few other glossy rags) coincided with a Spiegel catalog (ugh).

fanboy123 16y ago

Actually I would think the US version would be a nice watch. The article seems to stress that it is a status indicator for business purposes.

atgm 16y ago
Except that watches are kind of going out of style, with all of the electronic devices people have. Perhaps the US version would be a nice smartphone, a nice MP3 player, and nice, non-Apple earbuds.
- jrockway 16y ago
  No, everybody has those. Do you assume someone's rich because they are wearing nice headphones? I don't; I assume they are a college student who just got back to the city after Christmas break. Hence, not a status symbol.
  - atgm 16y ago
    I don't really assume that someone's rich because they have a nice watch, either... or that they're not rich because they're not wearing a watch.
    - jrockway 16y ago
      Right, because in our generation, we don't really "get" watches. I mean, I know that there are $20,000 watches in the Universe, but I wouldn't know one if I saw one. So I don't consider it a status symbol and wouldn't pick it up if someone was using an expensive watch as a status symbol. To that generation that "gets it", though, then perhaps watches are status symbols. A status symbol that people have these days is their house. Most people pay way more than they can afford, mostly to make themselves feel like they "fit in" with a "more elite" crowd. (I noticed this because I rent what someone with my income can afford, but the people I live with make a lot less money than me. They are using their housing as a status symbol; I am using it as a place to sleep and shower.)
      - brc 16y ago
        Trust me, if you saw a really expensive watch, you'd know it was an expensive watch. You don't have to know the list price of a sports car to tell it is expensive. It's obvious just from looking at it.
        atgm 16y ago
        Maybe if you know about sports cars. I've seen, for example, RX-8s and thought "Wow, what a nice-looking sports car, I bet it's expensive." They're pretty cheap.