A look at my purses...

In response to a question by one of my readers, here are some pictures of the purses I carry nowadays.   And to think, it all began with a fanny pack "back in the day."  And I carried purses for many years, even in drab.

It took a bit of adjusting before I retired, getting used to the fact that I no longer owned any pants with pockets.  And that meant I had to start wearing my stirrups and capri pants to work for the last few months.  Fortunately the girls loved - and encouraged - it.  But that's another story...

Breaking myself of the old habit of reaching into my non-existent pocket for my car keys, or for loose change, took a while.  But now I instinctively reach for my purse, and much prefer "my life without pockets".  Purses make a big improvement, something that women have known about for years.  It's wonderful to no longer be required to deal with that huge chunk of leather and plastic that men call a wallet.  Not do I have to worry about bulging pockets from loose change on one side and a huge keyring on the other!

The first purse shown is a Pac-Safe bag, with stainless steel reinforcement wire in the body and handle to minimize the chance of theft and pickpocketing.  I carried this every day (including to work) for years, after some quick ventures out en femme,   At times I even carried this with my briefcase.  No issues whatsoever. 

I tend to still carry this bag on longer excursions, because it has an almost infinite capacity.  (I even have a very small collapsible table tripod which can fit inside, if I'm careful!)  For those of you who "fly pretty," this bag may not be the best choice....    I choose not to fly, so I can't speak from experience,  but  it (with all its internal wires and mesh) might cause heartburn for the X-ray operators at TSA!

 

The following is a Liz Claiborne bag I picked up for $5 at a charity shop.  It was an emergency purchase, since my above bag broke just before we were leaving town, and I needed a purse since there was no time to get it fixed.  A cheap purse, and pronto.  This one's smaller, and much more feminine, but also much more fun to carry, since it previously was some woman's pride and joy.  Needless to say, it called my name from the rack, and I fell in love with it immediately.

Here is my newest, everyday purse.  It's a Relic brand, bought on sale for about $20 from Kohl's...guess I'm a Kohl girl now!   It goes with everything, and has a bit more capacity than the Liz Claiborne bag.  Here's a picture of me carrying it, from one of my summer excursions,  The clips were added to the handle attachments, to provide a convenient place to clip my key ring.

  

There's really no reason to delay - get yourself a purse and be comfortable.  Once you get used to the comfort and convenience, you won't want to be without one!