Handbags

I don't know about you but sometimes a trend appears that I just can't warm up to.


For me it has been the hardware heavy bags that have been around for a while.


Don't get me wrong. 


I love a big bag. One that can hold a wallet with 14 pounds of pennies in it (thank god the Canadian mint is going to stop making these, but think of all the $4.99 price tags that are going to have to be changed), a hairbrush, 5 lipsticks, a cell phone, a sock to knit, an iPad, work keys, home keys, car keys, a book to read in case one of the four bamboo knitting needles gets broken because I sat on my purse, sunscreen if it's summer, warmer gloves if it's winter, pens, address book, diary, a plastic bag (a.k.a. a "poop purse" in this household, no explanation necessary), lunch in large glass containers because I have gone responsible for the planet, a barrette and a sock Miss Scarlett left at my house, and a pattern to think about.


I am not a clutch sort of person.


Once when I was working in political media relations and everyone was supposed to be able to talk to me at any time, even when I was hiding from them, and I was never to ever go to the bathroom, I lost my cell phone for three weeks. The office had to replace it and I had to tell everyone a new number for some reason, and that was too many people.


It turns out I had lost it at the bottom of my purse. Battery dead. For three weeks. (Come to think of it was this just before our office administrator quit? See earlier post).


Anyway. I like a big purse but I thought all the hardware could look sort of junky but I was afraid to say that out loud, since everyone else was carrying these purses and often had paid a lot of cash for them.


So all of that leads somewhere. 


Here to a one of those lovely Bill Cunningham NYTimes pieces on the the new bags. You could even make these:


http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/04/20/fashion/100000001501886/bill-cunningham-upsize.html