Voilà pourquoi depuis deux ans, je ne me promène qu'avec des "cabas" Hermès, Rossetti, Fendi ou Dsquared... et que ma collection personnelle est en gestation.

THE bag is the new hat. That was confirmed on a trip to Paris, where plenty of men had traded in their fur trappers, watch caps and beanies for handsome leather carryalls. There was nothing timid about those bags. Weighty and capacious, they nudged aside the canvas backpack as a totem of hipster chic. Some were purely practical, large enough to transport documents, spare sneakers or, if need be, the contents of one’s medicine chest. Others conveyed heaps of status.

Wise to the power of a high-fashion label, Marcin Tyszka carried an envelope clutch by Louis Vuitton. Thomas Kirchgrabner showed off a fringed satchel by Miu Miu. Nicolas Cisa toted Gucci, while Jonathan Huguet made an aggressive statement, swinging a large leather messenger bag from Yves Saint Laurent. Yes, it’s a man thing.

Photographs by ELIZABETH LIPPMAN Text by RUTH LA FERLA www.nytimes.com