a tale of utility without beauty: laptop bag
this is entry #10 in my series about beautility
i admit my bias for utility.
i will be the first to acknowledge that as a person, i have no patience for fashion that ignores function. i will rarely invest in objects of art. i also admit that while i am exceedingly fickle in my own definition of beauty, i have often made the mistake of being eternally optimistic about the potential for usefulness. i will often purchase an object for which i have no evidence of its actual utility (for example: a drawer full of kitchen gadgets that have never seen the light of day).
so as i’m exploring the additive nature of beauty and utility, i thought i’d take a second to reflect on an object that is the very definition of utility, but that disappoints me every single day. it falls short in terms of beauty.
this is my tom binh cafe bag. i’ve had it for at least five years now, and i use it nearly daily. like all tom bin products (and i own several), it is superbly made. it is a perfect fit for my laptop, plus whatever stuff i need for the day. its pocket structure has been well thought out, it has o-rings for keys and other clip-enabled things, and the tom binh absolute shoulder strap is nothing short of miraculous for those of us who loathe backpacks.
there are a variety of colors that are suitable, and even after five years of northwest rain and mud (and monthly flights around the country) it still looks good. no fraying. no stains. i hate to jinx myself — but the thing seems indestructible.
but no matter how useful, i occasionally cheat on poor tom. once, it was for a frye bag that matched my favorite pair of boots. that was, truthfully, a disaster. on a few occasions, a kate spade has captured my heart. these affairs lasted longer, but somehow i always return to dear old tom.
now, i am not a fussy girl. i prefer jacket pockets over purses. and my work uniform is generally jeans and a hoodie. but even so, i want to feel love for the products i use — especially those i use daily. if i’m going to strap a thing to my body, i want it to say something about me. and the tom binh? to other owners of tom binh products, it says a lot about my value of utility. but to the rest of the world it doesn’t say much at all. it’s mostly just an inelegant looking drab, gray, laptop bag.
i would love to imagine a world where tom and kate paired up. where kate’s sumptuous leather choices (also remarkably durable) could be paired with tom’s eye for practicality. i could imagine a more feminine twist on his designs. in the same way, i wish most of kate’s products more accurately reflected carrying-needs of most women today. (a laptop, ahem.)
and that is why this bag does not meet the criteria for beautility. i will staunchly defend all of the reasons i use it, but it does not stir positive emotion in me. in fact, quite the opposite.
it makes me grumpy because each morning i am reminded that it is not meeting its full potential, and it gives me a wandering eye. if ever i find a bag that perfectly blends the beautiful and the useful, this one will retire to the dust bunnies in the back of the closet.
