<p>mom60. Oh. THAT Ross:). Ooops. Muchkin, my deep apologies…I carry my bag everywhere, BTW, even when I’m wearing yoga pants and a fleece. Too lazy to switch. Impunity, that’s what I say, impunity. And I bet Chicky feels the same way. (Do you think if I say Chicky one more time Sybbie will hear us?</p>
<p>oh I need a new bag.</p>
<p>I am not going to go as far as DMD77 and stuff everything in my pockets like I did in jr high, but I am very conscious of my back now, and either wear a very small cross body bag, that is only big enough for my blackberry and a cigarette case I use for a wallet ( I got it at Urban Outfitters- it is shiny, so easy to keep track of), or a TNF backpack I use for notebooks and school stuff.</p>
<p>However, I used to have a Perlina small leather bag, that had straps like a backpack- but I think I loaned it out.
( it didn’t really stay closed very well anyway)</p>
<p>I like the big bags, but I don’t really need one that big very often, although it is handy in case I want to bring a sweater for later.</p>
<p>Hard to believe that I am adjusting my fashion choices not because of selection or cost but because of my body.</p>
<p>I did break down and bought a " very stylish" keeper chain for my reading glasses, which was traumatic - let me tell you!- but I grew tired of buying a new pair of reading glasses almost every week.
( a classmate who is adorable- just * loves* them, but she is only 25, younger than my oldest 
)</p>
<p>Emeraldkity -</p>
<p>I don’t know your taste or your price point, but this is a great bag for an unbelievable price:</p>
<p>[Cole</a> Haan-Village Soft Satchel-Neiman Marcus](<a href=“http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod88370043&eItemId=prod88370043&cmCat=search&searchType=SALE&parentId=cat980731&icid=&rte=%252Fsearch.jhtml%253FNtt%253Dcole%252Bhaan%2526_requestid%253D24777%2526N%253D4294967189%2526st%253Ds]Cole”>http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod88370043&eItemId=prod88370043&cmCat=search&searchType=SALE&parentId=cat980731&icid=&rte=%252Fsearch.jhtml%253FNtt%253Dcole%252Bhaan%2526_requestid%253D24777%2526N%253D4294967189%2526st%253Ds)</p>
<p>I prefer the luggage color.</p>
<p>Speaking of bags… As I was showing our vacation photos to a good friend, she commented that my old black purse was “clashing” with the rest of my nice summer outfit. This friend keeps her bags and shoes until they literally develop holes, so if she thought my bag was bad, it had to be really horrible! So as of last weekend, for the first time in my life I own a bag that is not black (bag #4 in my adult life). :)</p>
<p>You’re kidding…four bags in your entire life? I’m afraid that I’m at the other end of the spectrum. I change my bag when I change my outfit - well, maybe not every day, but a few times a week. I have quite a collection.</p>
<p>Alumother - Welcome back!!! I’ll check out your blog</p>
<p>Gourmetmom–You could be my personal shopper. I HATE to shop</p>
<p>BB- I thought I was bad, buying a purse once every 3 or 4 years. I don’t own anything but drk brown or black, and never think to change in summer. Moe important, what is with the wedding? Is it today? Will you be there?</p>
<p>Emerald–NEVER stop posting. Your voice is so pure</p>
<p>bookworm, my purses usually last up to 10 years, and I remember them all since I started carrying purses (I used to keep my stuff in my pockets, a backpack, or a diaper bag):</p>
<ol>
<li>Black shoulder bag by a local maker; lasted more than 10 years!</li>
<li>Coach shoulder purse - black leather, ziptop, totally classy, not made in China. When I went looking for a new bag, I was shocked to discover that Coach totally changed their style! I miss that simple black purse.</li>
<li>Black Calvin Klein leather hobo style bag; only 6 years old!</li>
<li>And now this: [Kooba</a> Juliet](<a href=“No results for Kooba juliet black | Zappos.com”>No results for Kooba juliet black | Zappos.com) in “berry” - lovely, and I can really stuff it! (thanks, oldfort ;)!)</li>
</ol>
<p>Oh, and the wedding - the reception will have to happen at some point in the future; I guess I will have to start a new thread on “weddings in Hawaii for people who are already officially married”, LOL.</p>
<p>BB - you are so right about Coach. I have no complain about their styles but the quality is so different than before.</p>
<p>Wow I didn’t think I was a clothes horse but I have a lot of bags.
I have three Michael Green bags ( he was a designer for Coach who then had his own line locally)- but as they really don’t have many pockets or fasteners, I don’t use them- nice leather though.</p>
<p>I have two bags that I love from Roots- a black leather with lots of zippers and a [Medium</a> Emily Bag in Vintage Tribe Leather](<a href=“http://usa.roots.com/HandbagInVintageTribeLeather/madeInCanadaLeather//18019443,default,pd.html?cgid=women&navid=xsellTop]Medium”>http://usa.roots.com/HandbagInVintageTribeLeather/madeInCanadaLeather//18019443,default,pd.html?cgid=women&navid=xsellTop)</p>
<p>I have several nylon bags with lots of pockets that I can wash- mountain hardwear mostly- they are small, but fit a cell- wallet etc.
I have several larger ones that I can use for a gym bag or almost a gym bag- made by REI.
( 10% dividend!)</p>
<p>I mostly use a small perlina leather pouch which has an adjustable strap so you could use it as a waist pack :p, but it barely fits my cell, a lip balm and my wallet ( which is a cigarette case from Urban Outfitters)</p>
<p>I also have a Coach/Michael Green briefcase type bag I can fit my laptop into ( i got it at a consignment store), a basket from Ghana that is open but I use as a bag in the summer, and misc fabric bags I have gotten at street fairs or D2 has gotten on her international journeys. ( not even counting the other bags I have gotten at consignment stores to go with evening outfits that I rarely use)</p>
<p>The trouble is, unlike Brenda Lee Johnson on the CLoser, I use so many bags, that I can’t keep track of what is where or remember which one I used last.</p>
<p>I used to be the person who searched for the “perfect” black purse then used it exclusively. Jeez, I wasted the best years of my life poorly accessorized. Now I have a lovely black one and a spring green one and a yellow on and a bronze one and a tan one and a fabulous shiny red one that I get loads of complements on. All from TJ Maxx or Philene’s Basement or Century 21 but they are terrfic bags and make me feel great.</p>
<p>Hi bookworm! Truth be told, I have my LV, a black Marc Jacobs, a brown Marc Jacobs, and a black Ferragamo. But I only ever carry the LV because despite my addiction to luxury goods I am too practical to change purses all the time…I’m thinking of giving the other bags away on my blog but then I get all sentimental and I haven’t yet:).</p>
<p>I have a lot of bags…but none of them are designer…one is a copy from Canal Street in New York…that is my only claim to fame in designer land…Alumother…how do I find your blog…I did not understand the subtle hints as to blogspot and privilege.</p>
<p>I’d still be using my old Dooney and Burke bag (black hobo with brown trim), or old Coach black hobo, except all too small. Carrying a cell phone and glasses make such a difference!! Now I’ve got dk brown Burberry, bought at 75% off. I do have a Gucci wallet, courtesy of my g/f, who spoils me and my S with designer gifts. (She bought DS a Burbery coat, for example.)</p>
<p>Buying cheap bags doesn’t work for me, as they seem to scratch, handles fall off, zippers break, etc. I got rid of all of them.</p>
<p>I change shoes and earrings daily, but too much trouble with bags. However, I guess I will listen to BB’s advice, and think about a “summer bag”. Lots of time yet. I’ll visit Alum’s blog for ideas in a few months.</p>
<p>Want to hear something sad? I DON’T HAVE A BAG. Not even one. Not a cheap one, not a luxury one. I received as a gift a small black Coach clutch (or is it called a wristlet?)…I’ve taken to putting my credit cards, driver’s license, and some cash in it, and that’s what I’ve been carrying. A lot of people can’t believe I can function with just that - but, it does keep me from accumulating a lot of extra “stuff”!</p>
<p>I keep threatening to get a “cool” bag, but I never can seem to pull the trigger…</p>
<p>Have any of you gotten like this? I’m 54 and during the “peanut butter and jelly years” (which I call my kids’ early childhood) I pretty much wore what I wore in college. (I don’t work “out of the house” as they say) Polo shirts and jeans, turtleneck if its cold, etc. When I turned 50 I started being more interested in how I look …guess I thought maybe I didn’t have that many years left or something, not sure! My daughter goes every Saturday to a class that’s five mins. from the mall for an hour and I dip in there…sometimes look, sometimes buy but I like clothes like never before. Wondering if maybe the clothes are more attractive than 10 years ago (more appealing) or if its me. Anyone else like this?</p>
<p>I just don’t understand the importance of the pocketbook/purse/bag. I don’t think I’ve spent more than $20 on a bag my entire life. I care about color and pockets and how big it is. I buy lightweight bags, because lugging around a bag that is heavy hurts my shoulder – so most of my bags are cloth or synthetic fiber. I never notice other women’s bags, or covet other women’s bags.</p>
<p>Granted, I don’t have and never did have a high-powered job in an urban area. </p>
<p>Please enlighten me – why are bags so important that you spend hundreds of dollars on them?</p>
<p>I think there are two types of women, those that have no love affair with their purses and wallets and those that do. I happen to buy very good bags and use and keep them forever. One for spring/summer and one for fall/winter and a couple that I use when I travel that are bigger or for “fancy dress” that are small. I have to have a grab handle plus a shoulder strap for cross body. Not happy with any purse that doesn’t have both. I’ve only had a couple wallets my entire adult life and I morn them when I have to acclimate to a new wallet. I have to buy a new spring/summer purse this year and it’s a struggle. I’m just not seeing anything I like. I used to be a Coach only girl, but when they got away from their classics I fell out of love with Coach. I still have a brown Coach “flap” bag that my husband gave me when we were dating and it’s still in excellent condition, but sitting in my closet because it doesn’t have a grab handle LOL. My mom could care less about her purses and doesn’t spend any money on them, so it isn’t a genetic thing. It’s an interesting topic.</p>
<p>natmicstef, I’m trying to abide by the CC rules about self-promotion. Hmm. The URL of my blog is aitchteeteepee://amidlifeofprivilegedotblogspotdotcom. I write and think a lot about style for the over 50. I think if we become more interested, and not everyone does, or needs to, it’s for a couple of reasons. First, when we’re younger, all that natural youthful beauty goes a long way:). Getting older, if you want to have the same sense of sense, you have to add in clothing style to compensate for, well, you know, getting older. Second, by the time we hit 50 we frequently know what looks good on us. So we can shop and dress more efficiently. Third, in the day of the Internet, knowing what’s out there is so much easier. Fourth, what the heck. If we fail in the attempt at this point, who cares? </p>
<p>BTW, I don’t want to misrepresent anything. I haven’t written all that much about bags per se. But, when people ask for something, I will always make the effort. More of what I write has been classic style with an edge, and etiquette around what to wear at events, in or the office, etc. The social anthropology of style, if you will.</p>
<p>Gosh. I’ve missed you guys.</p>
<p>While my car was often like my purse (extra shoes, jackets, snacks- even blankets could be found in there, for adults and kids), my purse was smaller version of necessities.</p>
<p>Pain reliever, tampons- kleenex- my palm pilot/ipod, with books and games for entertainment & addressbook, ear plugs for concentrating, shopping /must do lists, paper, pencils/felt pens for spur of the moment drafting, camera/cell phone, lip gloss, contact case & solution, eye drops, hand cream, reading glasses…</p>
<p>I have had some of my bags for 35 years, a fabric bag from Target isn’t likely to last that long ( and you wouldn’t want it to, lol)</p>
<p>If a bag is well designed, it is easier to find things, is more comfortable on your arm & IMO esthetic considerations are not negligible. I get alot of pleasure out of using something that fits well, is nice to look at and touch & by being able to hold onto something for decades makes it easier when I misplace it at someone’s house because everyone says " thats emeraldkitys bag!</p>
<p>Well there you go…purses…something to muse about in your next blog post!</p>