Me in My Bag by Yi Ying Wang
Lately, I find myself glancing frequently towards this wonderful coffee table book sitting no, not on my coffee table, but on my book shelf in between Banksy: Wall and Piece and Debretts's Etiquette for Girls (oh, the irony). So today, I pulled it off the shelf and decided to do a blog post on it.
Can you guess what this book is about? Well, in a nutshell, it's a wonderful collection of pictures of 100 Londoners and things in their bag. Yi Ying Wang, Hiromi Iguchi and Will Farrow decided to go around London and ask random people to expose the contents of their bags! What an interesting project! The result is this charming little book, Me in My Bag.
To quote Wang on her website Noodoll.com, "This fun project blends design, London life style, fashion, trendy bag styles and photography together and plays on people's insatiable curiosity as to what people have tucked away inside their bags."
Ahhh…a book to feed my voyeuristic needs.
As you can see, this delightful book comes in the shape of a bag! Also, the clever page layout allows you to open up the pages so it feels as if you're truly peering into someone's bag.
The hundred Londoners were also given a short questionnaire to fill up, mainly to ask them about their bag and its contents. Some of the answers are really funny and some are creatively decorated. Oh, there was one by a 2 and three quarters year old toddler and his questionnaire was random bits of coloured paper and ink blotches. His bag must be one of those bottomless bags you see on children's tv because he had a lot of toys in it!
It’s definitely not the type of book you want to rush through in one sitting. Take your time to slowly devour it. Look closely at the items on every page; are they tutti fruti or minty fresh? Read the ticket stubs to see where they've been or what they've watched. Do they dump all their receipts to the bottom of their bag or are they a neat freak? With every page I turn over, I see how different lives are summarized between the pages of this book. Can we really tell how a person is by looking at the contents of their bag?
A lot of the artsy ones doodled on their questionnaire.
Besides your wallet and your phone, what is the one thing you always carry inside your bag?
Lol that is so cool. :) Like the one where it says "against ... bad breath" That's a pretty good idea, but I think I'd take mouth wash with me because it's quicker and easier. mmm. I prefer to not take bags out with me, but when I do, I always have a water bottle and a packet of tissue. Don't know why I always do, it's probably just a habit :)
ReplyDeleteYou might be able to guess what the person is like just by reading their answers on a questionairre. It depends on whether they are lying or not. :P x
This is really awesome. I really want to get this book now! It is such a good idea. I think it would be interesting to see the authors go to different countries and really show how different and how alike we are. That would be neat!
ReplyDeleteAs for me, besides phone and wallet, I always have two digital cameras with me and a flip camera. you never know when you want to or need to catch something on camera.
ah I love the little mushroom toy :) Love your comments, thanks darl!
ReplyDeleteCAMERA! IPOD! LIP BALM! MIRROR!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting blog entry. That book is really cool! Is it only offered in London? I can't leave the house without my camera, iphone, blackberry and bank card. If I have all 4 of those, I can't go wrong!
ReplyDeletehttp:live-life-in-style.blogspot.com
omg that is so cool!! i would love to look through his book.. i loveee peeping into people's purses.
ReplyDeletei always always have my camera.. my friends joke that it's my left lung.. i need to document everything! :)
cool book! I must have one!hehe
ReplyDeleteI always have tissue, small notes, a pen, small purse for pennies, a book or lattest magazine issue (my fave nylon)on my bag
I think this is a cool concept as well. I've seen bloggers share the contents of their bags, and a few weeks ago I did a post on that too. I think that what someone carries day-to-day in a bag says a lot about that person!
ReplyDeleteI always carry a sketchbook and a reading book with me, as long as the purse I'm carrying can fit both. I hate being idle, so if I'm ever waiting for something I can read or draw something :)
oohhHERRRRR i AM pretty sure i need that book!!!! hahaha amazing!!!! :) I might have to ebay it...Love the look of the writing and pictures etc.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to be buying that book soon, It's lovely! :)
ReplyDeletex
what an interesting book! As for the self timer function on lx3's,, i'm really not to sure because I rarely use it! ><
ReplyDeleteGreat blog ! :)
ReplyDeleteHope you will visit mine.
:) xxx
that's an awesome book, i love blog posts about "what's inside your bag" ... though if i did one myself it'd be pretty boring!
ReplyDeletemyblissisthisway.blogspot.com
What a sweet book that is!
ReplyDeleteI wish I carried some interesting stuff in my bag, but I'm boring lol. I'll probably only have my keys in there apart from my wallet and phone:P
Keys! I also carry a little pouch which carries necessities like lip balm, hand gel and cream and of course pain killers, just in case :P
ReplyDeleteI like to delve into peoples wallets/purses. I always find that you get to know the person a little better by knowing what member cards etc they have.
The book looks really interesting. I think i might invest! x
Except that you COULD read it in one sitting if you had the time. :)
ReplyDeletexx{ish.},
Mae Lu @ thereafterish.!
Such a fun little book, I want! :D
ReplyDeleteBeside my purse and phone I definitely need my ipod. Other stuff if I remember XD are hand cream, mirrow, lipbalm :)
xxx
I wanna read it :) I always watch 'What's in my purse?' videos on youtube. This makes me wanna do a post of what's in my purse.
ReplyDeleteI got to have lip balm with me >.<
ReplyDeleteAmazing book!! :D I wish I could get it here too!!
ReplyDeleteI always love "sneak peek at someone's bag" thing on magazines! (They do that often in japanese magazines here!)
I carry a small makeup bag, mirror, and schedule note book!
Haru x
nice blog.. and good article :) succsess for you :)
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I always carry lip balm and a water bottle! I don't know why, but for some reason I am afraid of being dehydrated :)
ReplyDeleteI like the cute mushroom, haha!
Thank you so much for all your replies! I really enjoyed reading all the comments. Thanks for replying to my question about what you have in your bag besides your wallet and phone. It has been an interesting read. Keep the comments coming! :D
ReplyDeleteFor those who asked, my bf purchased this book for me a loooong time ago. It seems to be sold out every where, but you can try Amazon (incase they restock) or keep an eye out on eBay. Also, the author has several other interesting books like this on her website (link in post), so you can have a look at that if you're interested
xx
this is one interesting book. i would love to get my hands on this one. gosh, i might pay the bookstore a visit.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of the book! I don't think we have anything like that here. Anyways I carry my camera, ipod and my sketchbook in my bag mos tof the time, I need to find a better, bigger bag though.
ReplyDelete- Meanz (Koi Story)