How much does your bag weigh?

FASHION FIX

The last time I emptied my handbag, my husband quipped that we could run our household out of it! There were telephone bills, visiting cards of people I didn’t remember, my son’s first drawing of the solar system, plastic spoons and forks and straws apart from the usual must-haves like wallet, tissues, wet wipes and cosmetics. New stuff steadily makes its way to my bag. The latest is the sanitizer thanks to swine flu scare!

Should I carry all these things where ever I go? Actually, no. But, I might need something, I reason. So, I carry everything. No wonder women have handbags while men are content with wallets.

Life-saving orlife-threatening?
Many argue that women carry a lot of unnecessary things, which makes it necessary for them to lug a bag. There are others who believe that women being caregivers, carry a bag to fit in things which they or others may need.

Gayathri Vijay, who lives in Mumbai, says:  “Why do you think men ask us to rummage in our bags when they need something like a nail file or a wad of cotton wool? They know they won’t be disappointed!”

Gayathri has a point. My mother-in-law’s handbag weighs a tonne. Sometimes, I wonder if she even knows what she has in there. But, whenever I draw her attention to her weighty bag, she retorts: “What if someone needs something urgently like a safety pin or a pair of scissors? It’s good to be prepared.”  

Madhvi Punamiya, who is a mother of two kids, says: “I guess we carry bags because most of our clothes don’t have pockets. On second thoughts, even if my trousers had pockets, I’d rather not have them bulging with sundry stuff. Instead, I’d rather fit my treasures into a smart bag. A well-chosen handbag is stylish while being convenient.”
What your bag says about you

The size and the contents of a handbag reflect a woman’s personality. Although Gayathri carries a separate bag for her baby, women like Madhvi carry a single large bag that accomodates all the things she’d need.

Neeta Shetty, who used to work in a bank in Mangalore, says women who are conscious of their looks carry make up, some carry their iPod, and others  carry books. Perfume, ear rings, goggles, foldable parasols, bindis, glue stick, disposable straws, Swiss knife... you name it and you’ll find it in a woman’s handbag, she says.

She loves to carry a branded handbag and lavishes utmost care on her collection of luxury bags. “I don’t  deposit my bag on a couch when I go to a party. I hang it on a special, decorative pin fixed to a stand thoughfully provided by the hostess,” she says.
A woman’s handbag should also match the clothes she wears. A mismatched bag is an eyesore and the shape of the bag should go with the body structure of the woman flaunting the bag.  

The handbag bug has even bit my mother. When she was much younger, my mother never carried a bag, she confesses. But, now, she finds it impossible to travel without a handbag as she has to carry spectacles for herself and for my dad, the indispensable mobile phone, medicines and a small bottle of water.  She believes her handbag gives her a sense of security when she is out and about on her own!