The Perfect Purse

It's really a weird phenomenon. The relationship between a woman and her purse. It's precious cargo. It's a lifeline. The relationship between a woman and her purse is one of the most complex, thought-provoking, mysterious infatuation you can probably come up with. Shoes and jewelry following closely, of course.

My mom's purse was always mysterious. We were never allowed to rummage through Mom's purse. If we needed something, we had to bring her purse to her. What was in the purse that was in need of such protection? What was it that made her purse so territorial?

I recently bought a new purse. A new distraction of infatuation. I love it. And it is BIG. I've noticed with my new real estate that I can carry lots of things in it. Things I chose to not carry all the times I have had a small purse. But my world is changed; my eyes have been opened.

Now, I can carry around such important things like lotion and three kinds of lipstick. Water bottles fit nicely, as does lunch. My camera and keys and wallet do not need to be arranged in a perfect order before the zipper closes. Instead, they fall into the deep, black abyss that is my purse and disappear, making finding things much harder. I also find I can store other things, like papers, documents, gum, hairpins, clothespins, earrings, change, my phone, my phone charger, my camera, my camera's battery charger and my camera's cord. Magazines, mail, sunglasses, toothbrush- anything I want, I can now carry around with me.

I feel like in some way I have graduated to a place of womanhood where the place of the purse becomes a staple- a statement- and a necessity.

When you talk to people about purses, everyone has an opinion. And mostly, the opinion includes how much they spent on a purse. I do not like spending money on purses- especially ones that substitute for a walking advertisement. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about advertising, but big flashy letters on my purse just isn't my style.

But there's something about purses that makes every woman feel confident, prepared, armored. There's something about that ownership that makes every woman connect on a certain level that only women can relate to. The perfection accessory. The perfect purse.