The School Bag

A necessary for any school age child.  The perfect school bag has to be cool, fit in with the others and yet still stand out enough.  From the parents point of view it needs to last, fit everything in and manage to take the strain of all the books, PE kit and other items that they have to take with them on a daily basis, without putting to much strain on the kids.  Last years must have bags were the Paul Frank and Gola satchels in the retro style that all parents remember from when they were at school. 

 
Although that trend still continues the backpack is making a comeback, this year DC have delivered the Bourne backpack, simple in style with loads of space and padded back straps to protect young shoulders, the large stitched DC logo on the front that makes it stand out but not to much and of course it's DC, one of the coolest brands around so a safe bet at school.

Paul Frank continue to be popular with their cheeky monkey letting everyone know it's from Paul Frank in an instant.  A satchel style it does mean the weight from the bag isn't distributed on both shoulders like a backpack which is a slight disadvantage and they do have slightly less space than the standard backpack although you can still fit an A4 folder in them, and they are so lush.

The answer to a satchel not being able to evenly distribute the weight of the bag evenly.....the Paul Frank Backpack.  Still featuring the Paul Frank Monkey so it's easily recognised they come in fabulous patterns including grey and pink leopard print....totally awesome!!!

The Gola Tado Redford Seymour bag in Purple was last years must have back to school bag and still remains one of the most popular Gola bags.  Again a satchel style so you do end up with the weight of the bag on just one shoulder but they look so fab.  The big 'Seymour' eyes really stand out but at the same time aren't to overbearing.  Of course Gola don't just make the Seymour, the Redford comes in hundreds of colours and designs, everything from retro plain colours, to countries flags and even some to celebrate the Olympic Games.  This year Gola have also introduced the Supersize version which gives you even more space for all your school things.

  

I have only recently heard of Half Moon Bay and I wish I'd heard of them earlier, they are so unique.  With a huge range of designs these satchels really stand out, you just couldn't miss the Rolling Stones tongue walking down the street could you? The Half Moon Bay Bags are either made from a faux leather or durable canvas, unfortunately all my favourite designs come in the canvas version which perhaps isn't the most practical for school during the winter months but they look so cool, the ultimate in retro.

 Iron Fist are generally known for they're unique quirkiness on clothing and shoes however they do also make a wide variety of bags and handbags.  The Iron Fist Backpacks are huge and will fit so much stuff in them, they have a massive main compartment, large front compartment and then 2 side pockets as well, made from a textile they are durable although not waterproof.  The printed outers do give them an amount of water resistance though and certainly stand out in a good way.





These are just a few of my favourite back to school choices for bags but there are so many out there to choose from how do you know your going to get the right one.  When I was at school my dad went on a business trip to Australia and brought me and my brothers back some leather old style satchels with the big fold over top and buckles to hold them down, bless him he thought they were the best thing since sliced bread and to be fair they did last for years or rather, unfortunately they lasted for years no matter how much we tried, in fact I think I may still have mine somewhere :(  I hated that bag and I think when it comes to buying the all important back to school bag the best thing you can do is let the child choose for themselves (within reason of course).