The things they carry: Silicon Valley VC loves his man purse
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
David Cowan is no girlie man. Father of three and married to a beautiful French woman, Cowan has major cred on Sand Hill Road as an investor with Bessemer Venture Partners.
So imagine our surprise when we discovered that Cowan carries a purse. On his blog, he called his man bag one of his favorite ‘gadgets.’
In July 2005, he wrote:
Let me just come out and admit that I carry a purse. (‘Come out’ may have been the wrong choice of words.) No, I don’t have matching shoes, and no, you can’t borrow my lipstick. (‘Ho, ho, ho -- I never heard that one before!’) Of all the gadgets I have tried, none has changed my life so much for the better than this old black camera bag that I now sport wherever I go. In pre-purse days, I would end every meeting, movie, and meal with The Dance, patting myself down as I ran through the checklist -- keys, wallet, blackberry, camera, phone, receipts -- and still inevitably leave a trail of belongings sprinkled behind me. But now that I carry a purse, I no longer (publicly) pat myself down or trace back my steps in search of my wallet. Every morning when I dress, every moment I move around, my chachkes are present and accounted for in my precious sack. Truly, it’s technology that works.
Readers immediately seized on this Seinfeldian moment (remember the small men’s carryall from the J. Peterman catalog?).
But three years later, the VC who was man enough to tote a purse has at last found the perfect carryall to replace his trusty camera bag: The Tumi T-Tech Flow Jane Small Flap Bag.
He says the Tumi bag has everything a man could want, including a quick-access flap with magnetic connector and zipped compartments. It’s also waterproof and durable and the perfect size for his gadgets (‘just big enough for a Kindle’).
‘I guess I got caught up in the purse fever around ‘Sex and the City,’ ‘ Cowan said.
Before making any catty comments, consider this: It was none other than Jack Bauer, the tough-guy character on ‘24’ (played by Kiefer Sutherland) who dragged the man purse, or ‘murse,’ back into vogue by strapping on a messenger bag in the television series’ fifth season.
-- Jessica Guynn