When bags define style

Summer holidays are over, and it's back to schools again: but it's fun to be back carrying bright, new bags in lovely fluorescent shades....

Summer holidays are over, and it8217;s back to schools again: but it8217;s fun to be back carrying bright, new bags in lovely fluorescent shades. Going to school need not be monotonous or boring anymore, what with zany designs for bags, stationery, tiffins and pencil boxes flooding the market.

You can take your pick: there are the sling bags in parachute material, mostly in glossy black, that you can hang on your shoulders like a rucksack, or try the ones in pinks, reds and blues designed as cartoonish monkeys, Donalds, Mickeys and even elephants complete with the trunk.

Says Aatish, studying in Class III, 8220;I love the elephant bag the most because it has a big trunk attached to it and none of my classmates have it as yet.8221;

Ridhima, studying in Class V, prefers the ones in fluorescent shades with Titanic printed over it in bold and Leonardo de Caprio and Kate Winslet on the ship, completing the picture. 8220;I like to carry the bag because all my friends have seen the movie, which is so popular and I like both Leonardo and Kate Winslet.8221;

The parents may find it a little tough though, to cater to their kids8217; fantasies, for the bags are priced in the range of Rs. 300 to 400 apiece. And with some kids asking for more than one bag each, it does turn out to be a dear proposition. Says Sanjeev, who is running a shop dealing with kids stuff, in Sector 7, 8220;Though it is the parents who have to pay the price, the choice is entirely that of the kids. Whatever they like is what is going to be purchased.8221;

And it seems the kids do have quite a choice. The World Cup seems to have caught their fancy too, and bags with logos for Brazil and France, displaying pictures of Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane, are much in vogue. So are the ones with Reebok, Nike and Fila displayed prominently on them. 8220;I like to carry the Nike bag because I like it8217;s ad and also it is a big name. I can8217;t wear Nike shoes as yet, but I can carry the Nike bag,8221; says Amit Singla, studying in Class IV.

While the older kids go in more for sling bags displaying well-known brand names, the younger lot still prefers the ones with a covering flap, though in bright colours and the latest tetron material. Girls still go in for bags made with fluffy material, with cartoon characters and long arms that can be tied around. 8220;I think they are quite girlish, and different from the ones everyone is carrying. Also, they cost more so not everyone would like to go in for them. So, you are noticed when you carry them,8221; says Prabhjot, a student of Class X.

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Bags, it seems, are no more about carrying books to school, they are more about one8217;s personal style statement and the instruments that get you noticed. Not surprising in a society where consumerism and 8220;We are better then the Joneses8221; syndrome is passed on to the kids early in childhood.