Street Style: Women and Their Ubiquitous ‘Second Bags’
Photo: Bek Andersen
Every woman has one. Especially if living in a city, where few people have car trunks — or pack mules — so we’re left to rely on a little extra baggage. A canvas tote? An Ikea carry-all? An extra bit of Chanel? We’re urban MacGyvers, carrying along our cell-phone chargers, throat lozenges, diamond rings, and safety pins, ready to shield ourselves from an unforeseen hail storm or produce just the right red lipstick for a last-minute party. We traverse the sidewalks with our provisions — all of them — in any bag we can find, just so we don’t have to go back home between work, the gym, dinner, a date, or whatever may fall in the hours between. To prove our point, the Cut sent photographer Bek Andersen and reporter Katie Van Syckle to track down some of the city’s most fashionable bag ladies — and men, too. Inside, they found art, shoes, jeans, books, and plenty of reasons that the ancillary bag is a modern essential, even if it doesn’t always look so chic. Who cares? We need it.
Annie Auchincloss,
22, Student, from the Upper West Side Do you usually carry two bags? I try not to. For functional reasons, I feel like in Ne...
Annie Auchincloss,
22, Student, from the Upper West Side Do you usually carry two bags? I try not to. For functional reasons, I feel like in New York you are swinging things, and swinging your way to get through, but for errands, definitely a second bag is necessary. I didn’t want to put a lot of weight in this bag (points to Prada bag) because I want it to hold up as long as possible.
Photo: Bek Andersen
Kate Willingham, 34, Embellishment Designer, from Park Slope Photo: Bek Andersen
Lauren Aiello, 28, buyer at Marc Jacobs, from Greenpoint How did you pick your second bag? Actually I picked it because recently I just broke my ...
Lauren Aiello, 28, buyer at Marc Jacobs, from Greenpoint How did you pick your second bag? Actually I picked it because recently I just broke my foot, so my fiancé got it for me to do every day tasks, go to the market, and Duane Reade and stuff, so I couldn’t carry it with my crutches. Photo: Bek Andersen
Virun Manuswonkarn, 26, student, from Bed Stuy Why do we carry so much stuff? I don’t know. But I don’t want to take stuff out of my bag. Even if...
Virun Manuswonkarn, 26, student, from Bed Stuy Why do we carry so much stuff? I don’t know. But I don’t want to take stuff out of my bag. Even if we don’t need it, I still carry it. Just to be prepared.
Photo: Bek Andersen
Mackenzie Yates, 30, brand development, from Chelsea Photo: Bek Andersen
Heej An, 30, design consultant, from the Financial District Which is your primary bag? This is my primary bag (points to black bag) but I’m worki...
Heej An, 30, design consultant, from the Financial District Which is your primary bag? This is my primary bag (points to black bag) but I’m working, this is my lunch bag. And I always bring my lunch to work. Do you have two bags almost every day? Right, because sometimes I don’t trust the water and the liquid stuff stuck into my Balenciaga bag. So that’s it.
Photo: Bek Andersen
Annie St. Martin, 27, sales, from Hells Kitchen Photo: Bek Andersen
Josh Rutan, 24, works in merchandising, from Bushwick Do you usually carry two bags? No, my parents are in town and they are staying at a hotel s...
Josh Rutan, 24, works in merchandising, from Bushwick Do you usually carry two bags? No, my parents are in town and they are staying at a hotel so I have two bags because I am bringing all my shit, or my stuff, I should say, to stay with them. From time to time, will you carry a second bag? Yeah, if I have paperwork or I was going to be working out, which I don’t do too often, I might bring a second bag. Photo: Bek Andersen
Pegeen Rubenstein, 65, works at Chanel, from Westport, CT Which one is your second bag? This is my second bag. The smaller one? Yeah. I have to c...
Pegeen Rubenstein, 65, works at Chanel, from Westport, CT Which one is your second bag? This is my second bag. The smaller one? Yeah. I have to carry the big one. I have too much to carry. So then what do you keep in the second one? My metrocard, my Metro North card, my money, edited six credit cards, driver’s license, one lipstick. This is the one I take at lunch time, if I run an errand.
Photo: Bek Andersen
Evelyn Couzijn, "over 50," sales, from Westport, CT Photo: Bek Andersen
Michelle Wong, 34, prop stylist, from the Financial District You said you normally have even more bags than this? Yeah. What are you carryi...
Michelle Wong, 34, prop stylist, from the Financial District You said you normally have even more bags than this? Yeah. What are you carrying today? Work bags and then returns, some groceries. What’s in your second bag? What exactly. I have a bag to return to Muji. I am a prop stylist, so I constantly buy things and then have to return them too.
Photo: Bek Andersen
Bella Elund, 21, student, from the East Village Is this your second bag? (Talking about IKEA bag) Yes. What do you have in it? Right now I have a...
Bella Elund, 21, student, from the East Village Is this your second bag? (Talking about IKEA bag) Yes. What do you have in it? Right now I have a bunch of vintage stuff that I just bought and was giving away. Do you usually carry two bags with you? Yeah I do. I go to school, so I have a lot of books and stuff with me. This one is big and ugly but functional. Photo: Bek Andersen
Jacqueline Vidopio, 29, musician, from the Bronx Which is your second bag? And what do you have in it? Right now I have a change of clothes. I ha...
Jacqueline Vidopio, 29, musician, from the Bronx Which is your second bag? And what do you have in it? Right now I have a change of clothes. I have my kindle, I have an extra pair of shoes for some work that I have to do later on today. And let’s see some safety pins, a pin, some throat lozenges, I think that’s it.
Photo: Bek Andersen
Jennifer Rincon, 33, designer for Converse, from Greenpoint Why is it that we end up carrying so much stuff in the city? We don’t really have tim...
Jennifer Rincon, 33, designer for Converse, from Greenpoint Why is it that we end up carrying so much stuff in the city? We don’t really have time to go home, a lot of the time, so if you live in Brooklyn and you are in the city, you don’t want to go back and forth, if you are in the city you just want to stay in the city, and just do whatever you have to do.
Photo: Bek Andersen
Connie Chen, 69, Financial Consultant, from the Upper East Side Photo: Bek Andersen
Elizabeth Compton, 23, works in finance, from Prospect Park Which one of these would you consider your second bag? My backpack, definitely. What’...
Elizabeth Compton, 23, works in finance, from Prospect Park Which one of these would you consider your second bag? My backpack, definitely. What’s in it? Just my laptop, which I need for work. How did you start carrying a second bag? It’s just impossible to put everything in one bag especially with a laptop that’s really heavy.
Photo: Bek Andersen
Naz Mapidi, 33, works in finance, from Chelsea Do you usually carry two bags? Unfortunately, during the week I do, when I go to the office I do. ...
Naz Mapidi, 33, works in finance, from Chelsea Do you usually carry two bags? Unfortunately, during the week I do, when I go to the office I do. Otherwise on the weekend, I just have one bag. Photo: Bek Andersen
Lucy Bartlett, 26, student, from Oxford Photo: Bek Andersen
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