If the bag is of a reasonable, practical size then it's probably acceptable. A bag that is small and looks 'nice' is just not right.
As a man, I use a fairly tough, Large, North Face messenger bag to carry laptop, Ebay purchases, files and the odd tool.
Incidentally, there are a number of unused bottles of aftershave in my house.
On a personal level, although there's nothing necessarily wrong with it, I find it difficult to empathise with males who actually care about soft furnishings, hair & beauty, fashion or (un)reality TV.
I'm not sure what a REAL MAN is, but the misogynistic, abusive, violent, unhealthy & obese lifestyle of the blokes who frequent my local pub is probably not something to aspire to.