Envelope, clutch, baguette, minaudière, hobo, tote and many more! It’s not easy to pick a bag that both reflects and understands us. Some of us believe in carrying our world with us and others like to strut light. Join us on a bag hunt to identify a bag that is your type.
Ask us the oldest question from the fashion book, “What would we never be caught dead wearing?” and we would ignore the question, a reaction that often both surprises and annoys people. After all, you can’t be a fashion follower and announce to the world that you would be fine getting caught dead wearing anything, for instance a horrendous, nude lace number. But then, that’s the type of fashion followers that we are. So our answer to the question always is, “We don’t want to be caught dead without a bag or purse in hand!” Now, this has a deeper meaning. Being caught dead without a bag would mean we left home or work in such a hurry that we forgot our wallet, hand mirror, lip gloss, shades, notebook, pencils (I prefer those over pens)… A lady without a hand bag is the biggest fashion faux paus in our eyes. And we sincerely believe that just like there is a perfect match for all you perfect woman, there is a perfect bag too. All we need to do is look! Here’s something that will help you get started.
First, a shout out to the believers of the phrase ‘the bigger the bag, the better it is’. We know you love to carry your little world in your big bag and one can find anything from a hand-sanitizer to a stapler and blush on to tomato sauce sachet in your bag. Yes, women who believe in being prepared for anything from a night-out to an evacuation can be identified with the mythical bottomless hobo. You would see celebs carrying this crescent-shaped roomy shoulder bag when traveling. Another favorite while traveling, or even walking with the kids to the mall, is the tote bag. Totes are not slouchy like hobos and come with two handles.
Bucket and messenger bags are other roomy options, and they are loved by the men folk too! On that note, do check out the bags from Gucci Men’s Spring 2014 range. So what are the other options to pack a room full in? Backpacks and athlete bags, which will bring a big smile to your face when you see how much stuff can be stored inside these. No wonder, some recent research says that an average woman’s handbag weighs 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs)! Have you ever weighed your bag? If you do, do let us know the numbers. Now, while we do carry these biggies to work on some days, on most days we prefer the baguette and satchel, the latter for its flat bottom. And they work as life saviors on days when we don’t get time to switch bags before a business dinner.
From larger than life, to small is pretty; the fashion bible says that a lady must-have a clutch, an envelope and a fold over clutch. If the trio is in your wardrobe then you won’t have to spend hours wondering what to carry for a fancy dinner or a club outing. These small evening bags have space just enough to fit in the essentials like gloss, shades, mobile, keys, etc. We have a weakness for metallic clutches and neon envelopes. It is beautiful the way these tiny pieces light up an outfit. And yes, another petite bag option that we love is the mini flap bag. Khloe Kardashian was seen carrying an adorable Chanel Lego mini flap recently, and those who were in tune with Chanel’s Spring 2013 line would recognise this one as a leather shoulder bag version of the Chanel Lego Clutch. Last in our list of petite ‘adorables’ is the minaudière. If you love all things French from their language to the wine then you would love the minaudière, a small ornamental case, which we prefer to call a jewelry piece rather than a bag. And the best place to spot these jewelled, sequined, pearled, et al tiny treats is on the runways or the red carpet evenings, award nights in particular.
So, remember to compile your very own ‘bag’ wish list before you head out for some bagilicious fun. And please don’t disappoint us: come back with more than one luxury bag! As Karl Lagerfield says, “Luxury bags make your life more pleasant, make you dream, give you confidence, and show your neighbors you are doing well.”
Images courtesy of Heatons and Next.
