‘I bought him a man bag. It's going mouldy in the wardrobe…'

It’s a funny old world

- Gabrielle Mullarkey

Why can’t a man use a man bag? Well, he can, of course. I’m not talking about rucksacks or the sort of casually worn canvas satchel favoured by Indiana Jones for collecting unearthed treasures. I’m not even talking about the trendy tote adopted by Joey in an episode of Friends, when Chandler called him ‘Mrs Tribbiani’.

I’m talking about an honest-to goodness, cross-body, zips ‘n’ flaps extravaganza that my other half was quite prepared to wear, until someone called it a ‘man purse’.

I bought him that man bag. I even had it monogrammed, in my latest attempt to spread the load when travelling. That bag was a thing of highly expensive beauty. And I found it the other day in the back of the wardrobe, mouldy at the edges.