Pursuing the Purse

I want a new purse. I don’t need a new purse but I want one. I have cleaned out my closet and have kept only a few of my tried and trues. I have chosen a huge Lands End tote to carry my stuff that I feel is necessary but too big for a purse. It is functional but not as satisfying as a purse.

Over the years I have enjoyed many purses, of all colors, shapes, sizes, materials and brands. I used to choose for fashion, then to function, and then to Designer name. Now I want all three. Not! They don’t exist. My last purchase on discontinued, cheap, and bought on close out of sorts was a Coach. It is complete with all the right numbers, tags, and authentic identification marks. It was retailed at $300 which isn’t much by designer standards, but I got it super cheap. It was absolutely cute, summery, and ample in size. I put it together in a ceremonious way. I loved it…until I threw it on my arm. It was five hundred pounds with all its hardware and my stuff. I used it for about a month out of guilt. Ladies, I hate it. It is clunky and heavy. It looks good but not very comfortable, which is my problem…age! I want cute and comfy but not dowdy. WAH!

I was looking up on Google why some women are fascinated by purses. I am. I found a promotion of an exhibit on the history of purses. It had an interesting write up. I am posting some tidbits of info for you to read. I will also do a survey/poll today for you to participate in. I don’t know, girlfriends, I still have the itch. I will have to keep my eyes open. Here's the article in part:

Purse exhibit explores generations of women
Mary Walker Baus, Contributing Writer
Mary Walker Baus at mwbaus@lsureveille.com

“The Purse and the Person: A Century of Women’s Purses” exhibit at the Louisiana Art and Science Museum features 167 purses and their contents from the early 1900s to modern times.

“[The exhibition] shows the progression of women’s roles,” said Alyce Howe, assistant art curator of LASM. “You can see that progression in the purses and its content.”

The purses of the “Edwardian Matron” are small purses made of leather. The contents within each purse include a small container for aspirin, calling cards, a handkerchief and a mirror for the small amount of makeup women wore.

“As different as the contents are [between the different eras], there are always contents that tie the eras together, like the aspirin and the [makeup] compact,” Howe said.

The exhibit’s next stop is the Roaring ‘20s. Pictures of flappers with short hair and skirts come to mind as the exhibit showcases beaded and gold-chained purses with old-fashioned cigarette holders inside.

“Most purses [in the ‘20s] were handmade, which is expensive,” said Elizabeth Tadie, marketing director of LASM. “A person with this purse would be well-off. The contents inside the purses from the ‘20s show status.”

Howe and Tadie both said purses in the early 1900s were more for style purposes rather than function and that the function of a purse came into play in the WWII or “Rosie the Riveter” era when women had to carry their money, keys and war bonds around while they went to work in the factories.

“This is when you see how the size of purses increased,” Howe said. “You see the size increase and the rise of the purse being functional and stylish.”

The rest of the exhibit travels through the post-war ‘50s “Homemaker” era with matching gloves, sunglasses and purses, the “Counterculture” of the ‘60s and ‘70s where purses made both political and care-free statements, the “Superwoman” era of the late ‘70s and ‘80s where women carried not only their necessities but their children’s necessities as well, and the “Fashionista” era of the ‘90s, which began today’s fascination with designer labels.

“I think women have moved away from buying purses based solely on function,” Howe said. “Function has taken a back-burner to fashion.”

THE QUEST
Girlfriends, I am into function. I don’t want my keys falling to the bottom of the bag, and all my lose papers wadded in the bottom. I like organization but I don’t want a million pockets. I like a shallow but wider purse, with some pockets and lots of style. I had a perfect purse one year and my girlfriend had the same one. We loved this designer purse and carried on about it often. We were both convicted in the same year and she gave hers to her sister in law and I donated mine to a church auction. No one could love the purse like we did but then again they most likely didn’t idolize it. It wasn’t expensive Per Se but it was perfect. WAH!

So my quest for the perfect purse is on. I am sure I will stumble upon it.

Well, I am off to get ready to go to a funeral. An elder member in our church died. He has a precious wife. I so want to give her a hug. My motives are pure but I think I will notice purses today. I am sorry but I am feeling obsessed.

Check out the poll. Love ya, mean it, Ciao! Oooo leather…Italian leather…stop it Anna!