Also the NY-based luxury brand Bode's store bags are definitely inspired by these (probably the versions seen in NYC's Chinatown). And Sandy Liang did her take in a pattern for her collab with Baggu.
I had no idea about the African history of this bag. I've always thought of them as "Chinatown Bags," since that's where the highest concentration seemed to be (and was probably where one went to acquire them), but New Yorkers of all backgrounds use these bags for all sorts of things that need to be hauled around the city. In particular costume designers, who spend much of their time hauling large quantities of clothing all over the grid and through the boroughs, and they work for storage as well.
I remember these being referred to as “French Laundry Bags”- because they are great for hauling clothes. I actually bought several when I have moved and actually have purchased them when traveling to use as luggage for overflow items.
I love your article, I must say, as a Ghanaian, this bag hold a lot of weight, no pun intended.
Anytime I see someone with this bag in their hand, the word “Ghana must go” comes to mind but I don’t really put much thought into the history behind it..
Most Ghanaians will rather call it “Check check bag” rather than the popular name it has.
I found myself hoping the bags had straps that would accommodate carrying them like a backpack, also. Would make the bags much more useful and versatile.
Can I suggest the Ivorian name - 'Chambre Tranquille', because it's also serves as storage for your things in rented rooms without luxuries like a wardrobe. I'm sure her patients would be happy to think of going home to a peaceful room of their own.
Good lord, now we are celebrating trash bags carried across nations filled with every belonging possible. But the bags have nothing to do with Africa, per se - the material sewn into 'immigration bags' (in China) can be seen on every continent, and in the middle of the ocean in a huge pool of other plastic junk. Tartan is one choice; others are Hello Kitty and SpongeBob SquarePants. The bags are not only used by emigres from other nations, traveling to a new home, but to ship goods for your small biz by air. Just one of these bags can easily be stuffed with 30kg of T-shirts or knock-off Levis to be sold back home. They have been designed to be the cheapest way to transport goods by volume, and I'd say integral to the small business economy of the Global South... they are that important. So bravo for writing about the mighty mylar bag!!!
These bags are so familiar to me; my mom would jam pack them with kitchenware, clothes, and other household items when we moved houses. Several of them came with me to my college dorm too! I forget what she called them, but I’m certain that some of them came with her from Nepal when she packed all her life into 23kg checked bags. I think it’s important to learn the history of our things, so I really loved this breakdown of the bag’s origin and embedding into cultures across the world. The stitches feel like a mosaic of all the lives, hopes, and fears they’ve carried across borders.
Thank you for this article! As a south east asian person, I've always thought that this bags history and use was an "Asian" thing and was unaware of its history of it in Africa and the connotations. An interesting one indeed in terms of thinking about cultural imports/exports as well as the unspoken unifying struggle, pain and strength of migrants.
Thanks so much for this! I am from HK. My eyes and brain flickered with recognition when I saw the pattern — it’s a part of the fabric of life over there that it isn’t anywhere else that I have seen. But I never knew the backstory, or its wider life!
This was so well written and interesting to read. As someone [a Nigerian] who knows the history of the bags, your essay provided newer [and more interesting] contex[ts] I didn't even know to explore/thread. And for that, thank you! — for writing and putting your words out into the world.🙏
Fascinating history! I've seen these in random cities (I live in a suburb in the southern US) but had no context for them. Before finishing the piece, the 99 cent IKEA blue Frakta bags came to mind as an option for your friend.
In Russia those bags are called "shuttle bags". After the USSR collapsed a lot of people were involved in so-called "shuttle trade" - going abroad, coming back with bags full of inexpensive goods and selling with a profit. In the nineties there were very few clothing stores in Russia, and the majority of clothes came from markets, where those bags were everywhere.
Being a "shuttle" meant you were enterprising, but also low-class and probably had a fall from grace (a lot of people involved in shuttle trade used to have steady well-paid jobs in soviet times).
I loved this piece as an African! I knew this history so it’s amazing to see it shared with a larger audience.
Also the NY-based luxury brand Bode's store bags are definitely inspired by these (probably the versions seen in NYC's Chinatown). And Sandy Liang did her take in a pattern for her collab with Baggu.
oh WOW I did not know about the Sandy Liang baggu thank you! I'll add it to the piece
I had no idea about the African history of this bag. I've always thought of them as "Chinatown Bags," since that's where the highest concentration seemed to be (and was probably where one went to acquire them), but New Yorkers of all backgrounds use these bags for all sorts of things that need to be hauled around the city. In particular costume designers, who spend much of their time hauling large quantities of clothing all over the grid and through the boroughs, and they work for storage as well.
I remember these being referred to as “French Laundry Bags”- because they are great for hauling clothes. I actually bought several when I have moved and actually have purchased them when traveling to use as luggage for overflow items.
I love your article, I must say, as a Ghanaian, this bag hold a lot of weight, no pun intended.
Anytime I see someone with this bag in their hand, the word “Ghana must go” comes to mind but I don’t really put much thought into the history behind it..
Most Ghanaians will rather call it “Check check bag” rather than the popular name it has.
check check bag!!! I love that!!!
I found myself hoping the bags had straps that would accommodate carrying them like a backpack, also. Would make the bags much more useful and versatile.
Can I suggest the Ivorian name - 'Chambre Tranquille', because it's also serves as storage for your things in rented rooms without luxuries like a wardrobe. I'm sure her patients would be happy to think of going home to a peaceful room of their own.
Good lord, now we are celebrating trash bags carried across nations filled with every belonging possible. But the bags have nothing to do with Africa, per se - the material sewn into 'immigration bags' (in China) can be seen on every continent, and in the middle of the ocean in a huge pool of other plastic junk. Tartan is one choice; others are Hello Kitty and SpongeBob SquarePants. The bags are not only used by emigres from other nations, traveling to a new home, but to ship goods for your small biz by air. Just one of these bags can easily be stuffed with 30kg of T-shirts or knock-off Levis to be sold back home. They have been designed to be the cheapest way to transport goods by volume, and I'd say integral to the small business economy of the Global South... they are that important. So bravo for writing about the mighty mylar bag!!!
These bags are so familiar to me; my mom would jam pack them with kitchenware, clothes, and other household items when we moved houses. Several of them came with me to my college dorm too! I forget what she called them, but I’m certain that some of them came with her from Nepal when she packed all her life into 23kg checked bags. I think it’s important to learn the history of our things, so I really loved this breakdown of the bag’s origin and embedding into cultures across the world. The stitches feel like a mosaic of all the lives, hopes, and fears they’ve carried across borders.
Thank you for this article! As a south east asian person, I've always thought that this bags history and use was an "Asian" thing and was unaware of its history of it in Africa and the connotations. An interesting one indeed in terms of thinking about cultural imports/exports as well as the unspoken unifying struggle, pain and strength of migrants.
Thanks so much for this! I am from HK. My eyes and brain flickered with recognition when I saw the pattern — it’s a part of the fabric of life over there that it isn’t anywhere else that I have seen. But I never knew the backstory, or its wider life!
This was so well written and interesting to read. As someone [a Nigerian] who knows the history of the bags, your essay provided newer [and more interesting] contex[ts] I didn't even know to explore/thread. And for that, thank you! — for writing and putting your words out into the world.🙏
Fascinating history! I've seen these in random cities (I live in a suburb in the southern US) but had no context for them. Before finishing the piece, the 99 cent IKEA blue Frakta bags came to mind as an option for your friend.
In Russia those bags are called "shuttle bags". After the USSR collapsed a lot of people were involved in so-called "shuttle trade" - going abroad, coming back with bags full of inexpensive goods and selling with a profit. In the nineties there were very few clothing stores in Russia, and the majority of clothes came from markets, where those bags were everywhere.
Being a "shuttle" meant you were enterprising, but also low-class and probably had a fall from grace (a lot of people involved in shuttle trade used to have steady well-paid jobs in soviet times).
'shangaan' is an ethnic group in South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe
In Zimbabwe we cal the bag the 'shangaan' bag
what does that mean!?
awesome