i have expounded on my theory that a person should spend on two things -- shoes and bags. you can wear head to toe high street clothing, and done right, with a nice bag, look like a million dollars. a good bag is an investment - and if you treat it right it can last you a lifetime. in addition to that practical (out)side of it - there is the esoteric side of what is INSIDE your bag. who are you? look in your bag and you'll find the answer... it's kind of a fascinating game...
a friend of mine from a million years ago - one of those people who occupies a permanent space in the neighborhood of my heart, recently sent me this piece she wrote on that topic... i love it and wanted to share it... (and ps - the items i cannot live without in any bag - sunnies, a tide stick (i am a spiller), handi-wipes, my phone, a few business cards and moisturizer.... looks odd written down!)
read on and enjoy!
While driving with my daughter I tossed her my purse and asked her to
find something. During her search she pulled out my passport. And
held it up with a quizzical look.
"You never know when someone may call me with a hair emergency in
Europe and tell me to get to the airport immediately." We laughed at
this, and kept the story going, "They will have a ticket waiting, dont
worry about clothes, they have already shopped for me, I just need to
get on that plane!"
I am a purse whore. There I have admitted it. I will wear $2.00 flip
flops with a $500.00 bag on any given day. I have not limited myself
over the years. There are great finds out there at discount stores.
There was one bag I owned for a while that I purchased at Target, it
had a nifty little light inside it, making the search so much simpler.
My tastes have evolved over the years as my quest for the perfect bag
continues. Valentino with the ruffles are just too cute, Betsey
Johnson is whimsical, tho i think more age appropriate for my
daughters, Burberry speaks to my conservative side. Prada, Coach,
Ferragamo. I have spent hours online drooling over what I call "purse
porn."
I noticed at work that most of the ladies still carry a bag with them.
Drapped over their walkers, or held in shakey hands. I wondered why
they still carried bags in a building where they are never more than
an elevator ride away from their homes. The building is vast and
there are many places for the residents to go. Outside is always a
choice, though many do not venture.
Money is not needed as everything can be charged to their rooms.
There are even pens on almost every table and shelf throughout the
campus.
What are they possibly carrying in their bags? This made me wonder
what kind of excess baggage other women carry around. I began an
informal poll. "What do you carry in your bag that you do not need?"
I posted the question on a web site, I asked every woman I ran into,
even strangers.
The answers were outstanding and inspiring. It seems none of us carry
extra unwanted items in our bags. Everything is needed. The mother
of young children will have everything from crayons to pain medicine
to anti snake bite venom. One woman keeps her receipts from
everything she has purchased, not to balance her accounts, or account
for what she has bought, but "just in case."
Here are some of the results:
"My summer lip gloss..don't know why, this isnt my summer bag."
"Panty hose and a spoon..you never know when the need arises..I
switched to a smaller bag and I really needed that spoon. Lesson
learned."
"Two pairs of sunglasses."
"lipgloss (I don't even wear lipgloss), a mini brush (too small for my
Repunzel hair), notepad (I have an iphone) glow in the dark silly
putty (dont ask)."
"Coupons for places I never go..."
"As little as possible to avoid backpain."
"Pieces of a quilt I have been meaning to work on."
"A condom."
"Three pens, I guess I only really need one."
Reading these answers and listening to women defend the contents of
their bags I realized we are not weighed down by what we carry.
We are lifted up.
Besides the practical we all stuff our bags with fantasies and
hopes. I am not the only one who carries my passport in hopes of
being whisked away. There are many of us.
A woman that never wears lipgloss carries it anyway, she may imagine
the perfect moment where she would need it, have to have it and the
alternative to not having it would be crushing.
Future projects, dreams, little fragments of the women we sometimes
wish we were. The same reason my closet holds a dress that I have
never worn but would be perfect for a summer garden party. I have
never been to a summer garden party in my life, but should I be
invited, I am ready.
Could we all get away with carrying a small clutch with some cash, a
credit card and cellphone? Probably, but that would mean we were
giving up on the dream of needing two pairs of sunglasses for the
destination we may be headed to. It would mean that the quilt will
never get started, the notes will never be taken.
The contents of my own bag reveal my hopes and dreams as well. I
carry my camera with me all the time, I will need it when I am whisked
off to Europe. I carry a rosary, even though I can not recall the
last time I ever prayed the rosary. My bag is large and can fit books
in it if need be. The books I have been meaning to start, or finish.
My bag is Chanel. And it may impress people on the outside when they
see it, but whay impresses me is that my Chanel holds my life safely.
From spare change to six lipsticks.
Is it any wonder than why women are on the search for the perfect bag?
Their bag needs to protect the possibilities that await them. And
this is true for the teenager and the octogenarian alike.
Now when I look for bags online I am seeing them more as a life
partner, something I can trust with my dreams and practicalities.
So men out there, when your woman asks you to hold her bag, be
honored. She is really saying, "Here hold a part of my soul."
I quite like that pieces of my soul are encased in Chanel. Thank you CoCo.
my fabulous guest blogger - Amy Evers. xoxo
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