More men packing purses

LV=, the U.K. insurance company that commissioned the 2,208-person survey, credits a "lust for technology" as the key driver in men's collective upgrade from wallets to satchels, noting that four times as many men as women carry laptops, and three times as many guys carry a personal digital assistant.

While women bulk up their bags with cosmetics, perfume and other items of a personal nature, the survey found guys are more into gadgetry. The top-10 items found in their bags, not including keys, were: pens (63 per cent), cellphone (49 per cent), book (37 per cent), MP3 player (26 per cent), sunglasses (25 per cent), camera (24 per cent), headphones (23 per cent), reading glasses (19 per cent), gloves (18 per cent), and a laptop (18 per cent).

Overall, 65 per cent of men in the U.K. use a man-bag - broadly defined as any bag a man would use regularly to carry his things.

"If you don't have that, you are screwed," says Stewart.