Disposable Fashion

It isn’t unusual to see people on the streets using shopping bags as well…bags. Personally, it isn’t the most aesthetically-pleasing fashion statement to carry a beat-up paper bag but it’s something that a lot of us Pinoys like to do, including myself. When I was in college, paper bags were useful for carrying gym class clothes or art supplies for a school project. Nowadays, I sometimes use it double as a lunch bag, or when I’m being a cheapskate, I use a plain (un-creased) bag to hold  a gift–after all, it is the thought that counts; and almost everyday, I use an old grocery bag for my trash can.

At the root of it all, shopping bags have become a part of  Pinoy utilitarian style because of the following reasons:

1. We like to maximize our minimal resources.

They held our freshly-purchased items once, so why not use them again to hold other stuff? Nevermind if the neon pink bag clashes awfully with the orange shift since technically, we don’t treat paper bag bags as an accessory.

2. It is a symptom of our Third World practicality.

Again, and this is connected with #1, why buy a separate bag when we can use one of the many shopping bags we’ve accumulated over the months? Once a bag gets used to death, we simply toss it away and bring out a new disposable bag.

High and Low: try carrying a shopping bag in a color that will complement your purse or outfit.

On the other hand, bags have been given more artful and even haute couture appeal by both graphic and fashion designers. I first saw the Chanel Shopping bag purse (from the Spring 2009 collection) at a fashion show and wondered whether this was inspired by the utilitarian practicality of re-using shopping bags or if it is the luxe fashion world’s way of making something “cheap” look classy. Then again there’s nothing cheap about carrying an actual Chanel shopping bag holding your latest 2.55 lambskin purse-chase.

This Chanel "shopping bag" is anything but disposable until the next season's "It" bag comes along.

In recent years, the green movement spurred a trend in reusable, recyclable shopping bags, a viable alternative to the disposable plastic bags, which take long stretches of time to decompose and is mistaken by turtles for jellyfish. Designer Anya Hindmarch even made waves with her very popular “I’m Not a Plastic Bag” unbleached cotton totes which retailed for £5 and was sold out within a few hours of its  first day on the shelves, and like every other designer label item, was copied by the counterfeit market. 

The famous "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" tote by Anya Hindmarch.

However, what interests me more are these cleverly-designed bags, which I first saw in the book of Advertising blogosphere. Yes, apart from TV commercials and print ads, even packaging can now get accolades from the industry. Now these are the type of shopping bags I don’t mind using again and again!

This shopping bag is hot stuff.

This bag marries quirk with practicality.