Local youths and man bags.

Noticed yesterday all the local youths (boys13 and up) are walking around sporting across the shoulder handbags.

Is this a thing now, or is it simply necessity due to skinny jeans and huge phones.

Dunno but I applaud them, it’s eminently sensible.

Clutch bags were very much in vogue in Europe years ago, I don’t know if they still are. I still have a nice Italian leather number I used when working in the Middle East due to lack of pockets.

Ridiculous.

Don’t worry. Fashion will soon come full circle and everyone the youth will have big pockets again.

When you start querying teenagers’ fashion choices it’s time for the old people’s home.

across the shoulder handbags

You mean a satchel?

Roadman fashion innit blud.

Drac – Moderator

When you start querying teenagers’ fashion choices it’s time for the old people’s home. Carousel.

FTFY. :-)

What you’ve found there, is a classic roadman.

Emancipation, disenfranchisement, sexualised objectification, and the rise of the transgender era.

The age on enlightenment is with the youth, you’ll need to get used to it..

For carrying weed, vape and shank.

Except these are satchels they had them when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s.

I never carried anything exciting in mine though.

These are smaller than satchels, nothing wrong with them. Could come in handy for skinning up on a windy day.

l they do all vape though , another thing I find strange seeing young kids vape.

I have of those seventies satchels. Hardly ever use it though. Now I definitely won’t as will be a weird old dude trying to look young. Instead of just a weird old dude in shorts. Oh gods there’s no escape.

Edit: Wait. …. shorts … satchel…socks…

… Crocs!

Roadman fashion innit blud.

They’re funny. Think they’re yardies. My son and his mates dress like soul boy mods, like nothing better than winding up the roadmen. Same as it ever was!

In France, almost all teens/youths seem to have these miniature satchels across their body. I only know the South of France, but its very noticeable.

They’re funny. Think they’re yardies.

Yup, just like all the wannabe football thugs fancy dress chavs 10 years ago (or thereabouts).

A guy in work has one, he aint a youth though. It looks stupid, he is in his 40s and built like a tank and he carries about this little leather handbag with a long thin strap across his shoulder.

Thing is he doesn’t wear skinny jeans, he has proper pockets.

I have never heard the term “roadman” before. But looking at the uniform, it is leaving the shop stickers on the cap peaks that makes me irrationally angry. All other youth fashion i can quite happily ignore or just laugh at the more ridiculous statements, but leaving the sticker on the baseball caps peak makes me want to grab them by the collar and slap them till they see sense.

have never heard the term “roadman” before.

+1

(Seriously) Was I the only one who thought that by ‘winding up the roadmen’ you actually meant that young men carrying gender-neutral handbags and wearing skinny jeans were walking past burly road-workers and eliciting not wolf-whistles, but surly confusion? #surlyburly

you can really tell the English live on an island, in more ways than one.

Nope never heard of roadman I also don’t think I’ve even seen anyone who fits that description.

Ah well, maybe having a teenage son makes me more aware – Or maybe everyone is roadmenz except me an’ Dezb….

having a teenage son makes me more aware

Oh most definitely! He was playing me “How to be a roadman” youtube vids in the car yesterday to entertain me. (We were stuck in a massive queue)
Dunno who the video makers were or I’d link them as they were pretty funny.

I never carried anything exciting in mine though.

What? No crumpled hedge porn hidden amongst your school books?

I noticed them too.

Is it the influence of the migrants?

I’m not a youth and probably not local unless you live near me, but I use one. I’m a geek, my pockets are at capacity.

I was actually shopping for a replacement at the weekend actually, mine’s seen better days. Seems the only ones you can readily buy now are either the size of laptop bags or about big enough to fit a cheese slice.

I’ve got a selection of man-bags and have also never heard the word ‘Roadman’ before.

I’ve used them for years. This has absolutely nothing to do with fashion, and everything to do with the sheer volume of crap I tend to lug around with me

Re: Roadmen…
Nope, no idea at all. This aspect of yoof fashion, or whatever the hell it is, has totally slipped past me; I guess I must have been doing something more important or interesting with my life when it raised its pointy little head.

Seems plenty of them in Manchester and Sheffield where I currently seem to be spending most of my time. My general observations are they tend to be estates kids or from the less glamorous area’s. It doesn’t seem to be a fashion that’s hitting the more middle class. I find it a very confusing mix of influences for a fashion, but it’s certainly got an anti-establishment draw for those disenfranchised teens. This generations ‘hoody’ I guess.

For the record I am all in favour of manbags, and I’m an active user. I think they can set off an outfit nicely, but maybe not as used above.

Out of interest what are you all carrying in these bags? I leave the house with a Kent folding beard comb (I pre-date the hipster beard), glasses on my face, phone and bank card. I’m struggling to think of anything else I might need to be honest.

Beard comb?

No cash, No keys, but a beard comb!

Brilliant

Never heard of Roadman!

Fam? Really?

I have a rather nice tan distressed leather satchel today, and inside;
iPad
Notebook (paper type)
Pencil and pens
Drawings for a flat I’m sorting
Tape measure
Bank card
Bottle of water
Mints
Paracetamol
Sunglasses
Cash
Keys
Hip flask (I’m a trains, planes, buses and taxis man)

Phone is in my hand :-)

Is this mumsnet?

My rather nice John Roscha man bag presently contains

Todays Guardian
This months Singletrack mag
Kindle
Headphones
Sketchpad
An array of drawing pens in various weights
Powerpack for charging stuff with an array of cables ‘stored’ in a spaghetti fashion
Ibuprofen
Mrs Binners spare glasses
Various e-cig liquids
Packet of cheese and onion Seabrook crisps
Wooly hat
Wallet
Keys

It says ‘disorganised ****-wit’ rather than ‘Roadman’ :D

This thread is now operating on three levels:

Youth tribes;
The practicalities of man bags or similar;
The joy of lists!

It says ‘disorganised ****-wit’ rather than ‘Roadman’

Indeed, without a handy shank you are just another manbag carrier.

I too have noticed this trend for a small bag closely strapped to the chest of local youths. Always assumed it was for carrying drugs and cash. There’s a group of “Roadmen” that cruise the streets in the evening round me. I see them when walking the dog on the mean leafy suburb streets . The dog sees these streets as his territory and marks them accordingly. Hope it doesn’t become a turf war.

Roadman keep some Peng tings in his bag, innit, fam.

Dem yoot round this way been wearing them bags for years. Roadman looks been strong round here at least 5 years.