The New York Times-20080124-A Hand-Held Reporting For Duty

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A Hand-Held Reporting For Duty

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YES, gentlemen, it's time to change your bag. Your messenger bag has had a good decadelong run, longer than it should have unless you are indeed a messenger, and then, by all means, keep on carrying it.

No, you don't have to carry a canvas tote. True, your fashion-forward friends have been carrying them, but you are not a man who lets his handbag speak for him, especially not one that speaks volumes. You are not going to the Hamptons with an armload of pastel cashmere. You are going to work in your multitasking, macho profession, and yet you are not a square. Perhaps your bag should be.

The latest style to find its way onto the abbreviated list of bags acceptable for carrying by all men (let's just say it ... gay and straight) is an updated version of a 17-by-17-inch, slouchy-sided military accessory known as the helmet (or pilot's) bag, like the one Tom Cruise carried into the cockpit in Top Gun.

I have seen a change from messenger styles to hand-held bags, especially for a more modern kind of guy, said Betsy Seale, a buyer for Flight 001, the travel-themed retailer that helped make helmet bags hip. The company has been selling bare-bones versions and more colorful leather-trimmed styles for a few years, and now they appear to have inspired bags in men's collections from Lanvin, Costume National and John Varvatos, among others. Some have done away with the side pouches, given that modern technology has done away with the need by actual pilots to stow flight plans, aviators, hair gel, whatever.

It's such a simple, clean design, Ms. Seale said. You'll see it years from now as well.

O.K., so it's basically a tote with a zipper, but its clean-cut practicality suggests, with a just a hint of military authority, that stylish bags don't have to come standard issue.

[Illustration]PHOTOS: BAG CHECK: Clockwise from top left: Nylon Ibiza flight tote by Hayden-Harnett, $205 at Flight 001. Wool gabardine utility bag, $545 at Jack Spade. Nylon H+ Flyer bag, $34 at Flight 001. Calfskin T-Bag, $1,395 at Tod's. Cotton and hemp canvas satchel, $795 at John Varvatos. Trevor tote, in nylon with leather trim, $445 at Lambertson Truex. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAMEL TOPPIN FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)