What’s In My Bag?

Sequel to What’s In My Pencil Case.

THE BAG

My King Jim Carchette in beige is the single item I get the most compliments on, and from an astounding array of people. I always wanted to be a briefcase person, and now I have found the perfect briefcase / handbag for me. I’m torn between wanting everybody to buy one and thus keeping it eternally in production and trying to hoard it as my personal style statement.

I often carry a Cambridge Satchel – whether it’s the Emily in navy, a style they no longer carry in British racing green or a batchel in oxblood, I really rate them as sitting in the price / quality sweetspot that makes them great value – the interior is always plain, but the bag itself is well-crafted, and despite my utter lack of care for them and the many I’ve had over the years not one has ever broken[1]. Expensive but a good purchase.

I’m switching to a Doughnut Macaroon in the most tasteful navy / brass colourway I could scare up; I’m not a backpack person but a) I need something that can take me on a short-haul flight or in-the-UK vacation, and b) I’m carrying so much these days that I do need something that is organised, capacious, and balanced. Hopefully the next chapter of my PhD will not require quite so much book-based reading (ha!) and I can get back to having something more in my style wheelhouse.

LAPTOP AND TECH

I always have a Macbook Air (M1 chip version) in there. This is my second: the first lasted me over a decade and is the gold standard by which I judge technology. Is it overkill to have such a large, powerful laptop when all I do is word process? Well, I word process very fast, so possibly not. I used to use an iPad with magic keyboard™[2] and whilst I did love it being more lightweight and it did do almost everything I need (again, I simply need to word process effectively) I do, in fact, need a citation keeper, which meant going back to a proper computer rather than an app-based interface. Once I finish my PhD I’m going back to the iPad, I think, until I write an academic book.

I only keep a couple of playlists downloaded on my computer: a classical playlist for working and my current vibe playlist for curation of the current mood. Much of my work is also cloud-based (I love to back up!!) but I tend to keep one file I’m currently working on in my downloads folder to avoid conflicts, and then I rename it with the current date and put it back on the cloud when I make a decision – essentially save-scumming my PhD.

The laptop is in a leather (pleather?) case that is supposed to work as a stand but I rarely use as such. Mainly it stops it rubbing against hard surfaces.

I keep a USB-C to USB-C cable and a USB-C to UK plug brick, and a traditional USB-iPhone cable with corresponding UK plug brick. Having recently changed my phone this is less necessary than it was, but given our general modern reliance on The Phone I do not want to run the risk of being without it.

My e-reader is a kindle (and to be clear I do not shop on amazon, they are a force for evil in this world, but I inherited it when my husband got two for Christmas one year). I buy books from pretty much anywhere except amazon, and back them up online so that I can read on anything I want. Sometimes I swap it out for a physical book (usually from the library but not always) but I always have at least one book on the go. [3]

My phone is an apparently ancient (I got a refurbed swap for my old model so it feels crispy and fresh to me) iPhone SE, which contains such wealth as: many more downloaded playlists, some downloaded YT videos, and a million photos / screenshots of books / music / film / events I want to read / hear / see / attend. I recently closed a couple of dozen tabs but there are still 200+ more open for me to be protective over – I will be a tab hoarder until I die. Obviously, Airpods. I’m also going to append my Apple Watch[4] to this category – I don’t wear it every day, but usually I like to check my activity and dictate reminders to Siri without having to have my phone near me (Apple Pay on the bus is good, too). I keep all my handheld tech in cases that remind me of Wedgewood pottery, and my Airpods case attaches to my keys.

ANALOGUE HOBBIES

I do not like to travel without my journal and pencilcase and get antsy if asked to. They take up a large amount of space in my bag, but I would be a lesser person without them.

My knitting often comes with me – I love a video essay on the bus home, and that’s an hour and a half prime crafting time.

As mentioned above, I always have a book – either my e-reader or a physical book. At the moment it’s a paperback of The Daffodil Days by Helen Bain (out of date by the time this post goes up but a general recommendation)

EDC ‘ESSENTIALS’

Wallet. I have an artisanally made long leather wallet we got at a maker’s market in Coal Drops Yard, from a brand called Godi. It’s exactly the same colour as the tiny Kate Spade purse I used to use [5] but its length means I can stuff it FULL of library cards, and it contains about 6 at any one time. Also my emergency cash, a photo of my husband with somebody else’s dog, ID, and my main debit card. I keep a tiny, gold telescopic pen from a 1960s pocket book that I acquired at London Pen Show in there too, for writing on anything that wouldn’t take fountain pen.

Keys may not be interesting, but I do subscribe to keyrings as personality. You can’t go too crazy or you end up with giant keys, so I simply have a Tower Records Japan souvenir and my delftware-ass-looking headphone case.[6]

I always keep a hairband and hairpins on hand – I usually have a few in my pencil case, but I also keep some in my bag so I can look kempt in any circumstance.

Some grungy receipts – these are essential. I wish I were the kind of handbag owner who did not keep a Waterstone’s receipt from months ago and the wrapper from a snack bar I particularly enjoyed, but alas I am a hoarder and glue random junk into my journal so I always believe random junk is valuable and a memory I want to keep.

Snack bar (varies). A couple of fruit / ginger tea bags. Meds, antihistamines, ibuprofen (the good kind in the liquid capsule), Zovirax (just in case), blackcurrant Lemsip, Soothers. Usually a tote bag, in case I get groceries on the way home. Usually a rogue pen or two. An M&S pink pepper roll-on perfume. Breath mints [7]. Business cards. [8]

A coffee cup from Waitrose is usually kicking around in there – it’s not my favourite item, but having a morning coffee made for me is a luxury I’m loath to give up, no matter how chunky the vessel. I would not recommend this particular item as we threw it in the dishwasher once and since then it has occasionally leeched blue dye from its stripes into my clothes (mercifully the inside remains food safe, I think the salt soap did not react well with the decoration).

MAKEUP

I typically carry makeup, even if I don’t wear it daily. As somebody who works with children, I subscribe to the ‘who are you trying to impress?’ theory of effort, and the answer for me is not ‘some 12-year-olds’, which is who I see every day. Still, there’s usually at least one lipstick kicking around in my bag, since I often apply those to become human again after leaving school property. You can see my shades on my notes feed, but perennial favourites that go with most things include Pat McGrath Fever Dream and Chanel Rouge Vie.[9]

I’m in between mascaras at the moment – that is to say, the one I had before was incredible but too glam for me, and I don’t like the shape of the wand on the one I have now. I would be happy with just lipstick generally, but a ‘full face’ these days[10] would be Nars Radiant Creamy in Vanilla, just to smooth out redness, and a simple swipe of Charlotte Tilbury to go with my lipstick du jour. The best brows are by Dior (I swear my colour was called Taupe but maybe it’s Grey Brown?) but I’m too lazy and sufficiently bushy so I’m more likely to use some simple Anastasia to merely hold them in place – if anything. All of these can be applied direct from the tube so I don’t have to carry brushes or a makeup bag.

Sunscreen – I actually need to decant this, because it’s way too big. I usually get sunscreen recommended by makeup and skincare heads, but this year I have a giant Ambre Solaire ‘kids sensitive protection advanced factor 50+’ because it’s hypoallergenic and the Armani one I had last year worked better mixed with makeup. I also keep a Blephaderm eye contour cream on hand in case my psoriasis flares up (it’s aggravated by sweat and is hard to get rid of unless you arrest it early)

For a mirror, I use a folding hairbrush with mirror. I used to use one from the Science Museum spy exhibition (bad day out / good souvenir) and still have a compact mirror in a similar blue willow pattern to all my other small accessories, but I just think a hairbrush (even a shitty one) is useful to keep around.

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On This Topic:

• Look dawg I’m not married to Apple I just got a MacBook at like 19 years old and I’m waiting for the right dumb phone / resurrection of Blackberry so I can make a decision instead of getting the same thing but newer.
• If you want to buy me a gift, may I suggest an overpriced travel mug? If I don’t fall over and add this to cart myself first.
• Megan Thee Stallion did the best ‘what’s in my bag’ video where it was 100% businesses she’s invested in. Queen, you show us how contrived these all are and get your OWN bag. Don’t make somebody ELSE rich (this post may contain affiliate links) [11]

To-Do:

• Listen to what A says and do the thing he intimated.
• Print out some test papers
• Finish reading Daffodil Days (ideally before tonight)

Today’s Culture:

• I have something like 300 hours of ‘listen later’ playlists but I am getting through them.
• It’s going to be a Plath Summer – I have Plath books, Plath talks, Plath friendships to dance with.
• Supporting Queer artists even as Pride month finishes – they deserve it from us.

[1] OK this is a lie, Victor Hugo killed the carabiner on one of my batchels, but I took it to the store and they fixed it with rivets for free.

[2] JFC I swear I did not pay that much for it when I bought it a few years ago… probably… anyway we rehomed it with a family member so it’s still getting daily use

[3] follow me on StoryGraph for corroborative statistics

[4] not sponsored, more the opposite of that where I done got got by the Apple ecosystem

[5] taken from a pale pink Kate Spade bag my husband brought me from a work trip – something like this, but not quite. He semi-regularly attempts to buy me smaller bags or pouches, in alternating attempts to get me to carry less or organise what I do insist on having on my forearm.

[6] again, it is my belief this was cheaper when I bought it

[7] I HATE GUM. I only hate gum more as I age, I consider it entirely superfluous and disgusting both as a habit and as an object. I still like to have nice breath, though, so I have stashes of tictacs, polos, mint imperials etc in both my bag and all places I frequent. I would rather brush my teeth in the middle of the day than chew gum.

[8] fun fact: in Japan, you treat the business card with the same reverence you would treat the person, it’s considered an extension of them. I treat mine like I treat my friends: carrying them with me everywhere but also kind of ignoring them.

[9] I used to have quite the collection (dragon-like hoard of overpriced gimmicks) which included over 30 reds alone (my signature colour) but I have deliberately slimmed that down over the years

[10] don’t kid yourself, I LOVE a proper full face with three layers of blush and at least three shades of eyeshadow, but I don’t feel the need to do it on a daily basis – that’s makeup as art, as fun, as stunting and is not something I employ casually anymore.

[11] it doesn’t but if I were a better hustler it would.