The Ultimate Accessory: The leather messenger bag for men

Okay I have been obsessing over messenger bags lately. Probably because I carry a lot of bleep around but they are all the rage for me. Now, I haven’t invested in one for myself, mainly because I have been nicking Mathew’s bag every time I need to hit the gym after work or pack extra clothes. Haha. That inspired this post. The leather messenger bag for men. 

For every man working in a tightly regulated environment, which requires the wearing of business suits, the horizon of style seems pretty plain. Sometimes, adding just the right accessory (or accessories) to an otherwise extremely serious outfit can add a nice touch of casualness without being in any way out-of-place with the rest. Such an accessory we’d recommend is a leather messenger bag: the format and design of a bag are usually employed more in casual looks, but the leather is elegant enough to make it match the business outfit.

So, here are 5 ways to sport this ultimate accessory in way that still makes sense with the rest of your outfit.  If you don’t know where to start on adding a leather messenger bag for men to your suit outfit, you can start with these 5 tips, in order to make the bag more at home with the rest of your style:

1. Mix blazers and trousers

If you’re intent on wearing something more stylish than your average middle management then you may venture into infusing more colours into your look. Start by saying good-bye to coordinated color suits: while the combo is indeed a classic, tops and pants of different colors have become a very common sight in business environments so they might as well be considered classics too. Especially if this is unfamiliar to you, you should try it right away. Our advice: start by choosing similar colors and similar tones, for the two pieces. Then verge into trying something more contrasting, like, say, a navy suit top and light beige pants, and you’re good to go.

David Gandy knows what’s up.

2. Classic man bags

In order to be able to juggle multiple colors in an outfit, you need to uphold some basic rules for colour combos. They’re not necessarily strict rules, but more like guidelines, after you learn the ropes, at least. You can think of it as learning to dance: first you need to learn the rules and follow them strictly, and then you can feel freer to improvise. So, here is the first rule: keep the color temperature coherent. That means you should choose a black leather bag for a cold-colored outfit and a brown leather bag for warm-colored suits. Cold colors include black, green, blue (navy included), while warm colors are brown, yellow, tan, reddish colors, as well as some khakis (if they’re saturated with yellow or brown undertones).

3. Timeless navies and browns

After getting accustomed to the basic colour matching rule explained above, go off the char a bit with this idea: match a brown bag (albeit a dark-coloured one) to a navy suit. Few things look better than this combination. Just look at that deep and beautiful navy and the warm-toned brown: the way they make each other pop and seem enriched is amazing. Complementary tones have a way of doing that, and you can also be sure that the colour of your eyes will be brought up in quite a stunning way, no matter if they are blue or brown (it works for both the colours involved).

4. To match

Another classic ‘rule’ or combining tip to have up your sleeve is matching the colour of the shoes with the bag. If the colors are similar enough to even seem as if it’s the same leather, then it’s even better. Even if you don’t follow this rule every time (and in some circumstances it may be a better idea not to) you should at least keep it at the back of your mind whenever you’re thinking what to wear. For more modern minds, it may seem like outdated advice, but some classics never change: just because the matching rule was in style in your father’s day, it doesn’t mean it’s not stylish today as well. And you’ll already have an element of novelty with the leather messenger bag, anyway.

5. Dress up a ¾ sleeved shirt

For a touch of more casualness, but still very much in the range of smart-casual, try wearing ¾ sleeves in your shirt and suit top. The stylish factor will rise through the roof, and the business protocol will be upheld nonetheless. Also, your leather bag will feel right at home with the rest of your style. The more stubble, the better – added scruffiness with three quarter sleeves is simply one of the sexiest looks of the past few years, and the trend doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.

Hey, you could even go further and wear shorts instead of regular pants, why not? Reports say the suit shorts are more and more in style and widely accepted in business environments as well, so there’s nothing to worry about, if you think you’d be comfortable with the style. So good luck with your shopping and matching, and remember that a well-chosen business accessory such as a leather messenger bag can be exactly what your suit needs to rise up from plainness.

Got any men’s fashion tip of your own? Share!

xo

Lydie