What's in the bag?

As all ladies know, we must have a purse to put in our "stuff."

It’s amazing how much those small things can fit!

The amount of “stuff” needed depends on the individual, but all of us need something to carry it in, whether large or small. There was a time when I used to think that I didn't need a purse. I could get by just fine with keys and a cell phone, I declared.  But I was wrong. I needed things at home and things at work, and what if I was not at either place or needed something both at home and work? You can see the problem.

Most of my friends will tell you I’m not a girly girl. I hardly comb my hair. I hardly wear makeup. I don’t plan outfits way in advance. I hardly ever wear earrings because I keep losing them anyway. And I can easily walk out the house without looking in the mirror. But the one thing I do share with most women the world over is the tendency to put a tonne of “stuff” in my handbag or purse, whatever you may call it.

I used to be one of those women who’d only buy those ridiculously large tote bags, because well they could fit anything. Then after my mum kept telling me to clean up the mess my bag was always in, and every bag meeting its demise due to busted straps caused by too much weight, I told myself, “Really, you don’t need most of the things in there”, and I switched to clutches. Problem is, I stuff those too. It’s amazing how much those small things can fit!

Seriously though, women compulsively like to put totally unnecessary items in their bag, things that we think is ‘important’ to us. But do we really need to keep two bottles of nail polish of the same colour in our bag? I’m not sure. The word important is subjective in itself, so if a puppet of Sponge Bob is important to me, it goes in. See, what goes into a woman’s handbag is dictated by what said woman thinks is important for her to carry around. So each woman’s needs differ based on her lifestyle. If she drives, her shoes might not go in her bag, because they can go in the car. If she’s into her looks, she’ll definitely have a tonne of make-up items. You get the drift, right?

But, honestly, I think most of us end up filling up our bags just so it won’t look empty. A big, empty bag is not fashionable. I’m no fashionista but even I know this. A woman’s handbag is a fashion statement. It’s an extension of her personality and sense of style. Regardless, she knows that some spaces must be filled, because it’s not necessarily about functionality. Stuffing your bag is about completing ‘the look’. It’s not that we plan to have all that stuff. Honest. Some of us just never clean out our bags, so stuff builds up over time. I’m guilty of this and I have no qualms in saying that I’m one of the messiest women you’ll ever meet.

If you really want to get an idea of how a woman’s mind works, all you have to do is look inside her handbag.