Not a handbag person, but I have stuff to carry! I have several styles, but they are all hands free. No tote bags either, because I find myself scrunching up that arm like a chicken wing.
As I moved through grad school, I moved from backpack book bag to a pannier to a messenger bag. Kept the last through the years I was teaching at universities, and afterwards for a while until about 10 years ago I realized I wasn’t putting anything into it. Enter the cognac bag I carried on my bike earlier today. The strap snaps on/off, so it could be carried as a clutch, but I’ve never done that. It’s much smaller than it looks in the find, a bit bigger than a cell phone, but it has perfect organizers—3 slots for cards, a zipper compartment for bills, a divider down the middle, outside zipper pocket for my phone. I love it.
But I didn’t always feel cognac was the right color, so when I saw a Coach mini on sale for $25, I grabbed it. Still has an outside pocket for the phone, but inside is just a dark hole, shaped in a way that makes it harder to see into, so I got a mesh bag, like a pencil case, as an organizer.
I never thought of myself as a purse person, but did sometimes want to carry a snack or my gym clothes, so I got the green and cream ones for around $50 each maybe 5 and 4 years ago. They’re OK, and are big enough for my 11” laptop (cream) or iPad (green), but sort of neither hot nor cold. The green suede one had a shoulder strap that was too short to carry it cross-body, so I added a guitar strap. I thought I was going to love that bag to death, but it’s aging very rapidly. It’s from Free People, so maybe intended as more of a fashion thing & less long-lived than I prefer.
When we moved to Berlin 3 years ago, I got the backpacks. They are very useful. I can carry my jar salad and bowl in one, or my swim stuff. The blue desigual at $50 was a test to see if I liked carrying one. I did, so Santa brought me the red Coach. The little handle at the top really improves functionality, IMO. The outside pocket on the red one is pretty useless, but the blue one has an outside zipper pocket on the side facing my back; that’s where I keep my phone.
But wait, there’s more. The great big groovy green crossbody was cheap as chips, fits absolutely everything, has a slip pocket inside and a zipper across the top. It is bigger than the backpacks. I can forget about it entirely, just like the tiny bags.
The little blue one is from earlier this year, about the same price as the green one, around €20 each. It’s a little odd. So small only keys, wallet, phone & mask fit, and that just barely. But in summer it feels too big & bulky. In winter I often have pockets for those things. Sigh. I should’ve kept looking for the flatter style I really want ( https://www.sundancecatalog.co.....rom=Search ) but I wear it occasionally. I bet we are going to see more bags that transition from crossbody/shoulder to belt bags.
Latest editions are back to the future—panniers! They have shoulder straps. The blue is utilitarian, and entirely waterproof. The botanical is not quite as waterproof, but I don’t plan on standing outside in a downpour. I think it’ll be fine for the rain it’s typically going to be exposed to. I think it’s cool because of how easily it transitions to shoulder bag or backpack.
I don’t have a favorite—they each have their time to shine
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