The term "purse" was once referred to as a small bag that was to hold coins. In a lot of countries it is still used when referring to a small bag of money. In other areas the term "handbag" is when the bag is larger and holds personal items as well as money. In America we use both interchangeably. At one point the term handbag was to define a man's hand-luggage. During this period in the 1900's the women's bag became more complex. And the term pocketbook derived, The modern purse, clutch, pouch, or handbag became a popular accessory during the Industrial Revolution in England. It was not long that the "purse" was an icon of those with material assets and even the ability to make stylish clutches a part of their wardrobe.
By the time I stepped onto the spinning wheel there was a whole new world of purses, handbags, clutches, and even fanny bags. Yes, my husband wore one of these around his waist the entire time we were in Italy, Did this not put out a clear indication that we were indeed dorky tourists? And my favorite quote that hangs in my office at home to this day is "a large handbag makes your butt look smaller" That could explain why my sons and I were in the Shoe Carnival one day and the person with the heaviest purse got 30% off. My large purse weighed 10 pounds.
The reason I was compelled to write about this is because recently as the seasons shifted I did that dreaded move of changing purses. I have never been one to change my purses with my outfits although I love it when women do match this way. It just seems to put off that look of being organized and on top of things.
No, my purse is selected and dragged from one end of the South to the other until something on it breaks or the seasons change and a floral cloth bag does not blend with black pants and gold sweaters. And then I change purses believing I am leaving a lot of the accrued junk still in the bottom of the old one to go back and finish cleaning out which I seldom get around to doing.
In fact, if we are now in a coin shortage which is the reason we once designed these purses, we might need to go dig through every lady's old handbags and gather up those lost pennies and dimes and nickels. They are there, I assure you.
But here is the dilemma in this transition much like the added hour that is later lost. I scramble around for about one third of the life of that new purse trying to adjust. The old pocket that was perfect for my phone is not there. The side pockets are too small to hold what the other pockets held. Since I changed this purse which is not as large as the last one meaning now my butt looks larger than it did, I have locked myself out of the house twice, forgotten my checkbook to pay an important bill, had to skip a day without my medication, and still cannot organize my "pocketbooks" and credit cards that barely fit.
I now have a purse that holds two pocketbooks, a makeup bag, a credit card wallet, and loose coins, pens, reading glasses and sun glasses shoved into the bottom called Callie's abyss. And this new purse that is winter white and will likely not hold up more than a couple of months will eventually be abandoned with those bobby pins and hair scrunches I can never find when I need them.
And right now as I write I am driving around with my old purse in transition in the back of my car until I can find time to go in and actually clean it out completely, and that will likely happen when I am needing to clean this purse out as well. Did these men and women in the Industrial Revolution have any idea what they were creating? This new generation cannot survive without their phone, well this grandma who now has a "grandma purse" can't make it through a smooth day without her new purse broken in and fully equipped. How do men do it with just a wallet?
