Wanted: A Workin' Bag for a Workin' Girl
There are some tenets of life that I strictly abide by. “Beer before liquor, never been sicker,” for example. Avoid stretch pants, cell phones are NOT an accessory (so do not hang them from your belt!) and do not drink and dye (your hair).
One of my favorite little ditties (ok, so I sort of made it up myself) is “New job, new bag.” And ladies (and gentlemen?) I am proud to announce that I’m officially starting anew the Hunt for the Black Everyday Purse.
Now, I’ve already picked out a cute Spring purse made by Nine West. (As an aside, I like Nine West bags because the few I’ve had have been very sturdy (important for something you’re using each day) and they are reasonably priced (less than $100) and easy to find (in addition to Nine West stores, most department stores around me carry them with nice sale prices). But now I’m rambling.)
I’ve been wanting a grass green purse and when I saw this one, I said, “If I get that job, I’m buying this purse,” as a fondled it at the mall last weekend. And lo and behold!
So, I was looking for a picture of the purse at NineWest.com (go visit and register, they send out notifications of sales and free shipping offers!) and I couldn’t find one of the particular bag I wanted (for a punchy little post called “Where the Green Bags Grow”) but I did see one tote-style bag that is in the running to be Charming’s Next Black Everyday Purse.
It’s the Hipster Tote and I like it because it looks big (14 inches wide by 10 tall) so I could fit a dayplanner and possibly even a legal pad in it. And, if you read the description, you’ll see that it has one of my FAVORITE feature of almost every Nine West bag I’ve ever owned – two compartments divided by a top-zip pouch.
Now, you might be saying, “Dear, of all of the things to love about a bag, you’re picking the interior pocket?”
Yes, I am. In this case, at least.
Look, I carry around a lot of stuff. Make-up, medicine, healthy snacks, keys, pens, marketing materials, my wallet, hand lotion, Band-Aids, etc. And trust me when I say that without a well-compartmentalized bag, I will pull out a tampon instead of a pen to take notes at a meeting. I will. Scout’s honor.
So, I throw all of the stuff that you don’t want to accidentally pull out in an inopportune time into the big middle pouch that zips. And then one half of the bag is “personal” items like my wallet and make-up case and the other half is “work,” where I stash the aforementioned pens and legal pads and dayplanners. This system does work for me, but it also does require that I clean out my purse often so to avoid accidentally pulling out last night’s tab from the bar when I’m looking for stuff for an expense report. So not cool.
So, I also like this tumbled leather bag from The Gap. Nice bucket shape and long drop, which is good. Probably doesn’t have as many pockets, but a simple, uncluttered look all around. (Unlike the Nine West Hipster Tote, which is a flurry of rivets and buckles and external pockets I’ll probably never use.)
And, while online at the Gap, I kind of started crushing on this Large Leather Hobo, even though I doubt I could fit a legal pad in it. (And, no, I don’t want to carry a separate brief case. Booo.)
And, of course, we have the bag I won’t spend that much money on from Banana Republic, called the Tangiers tote. It is cute, but not $198 cute, in my opinion.
I like leather braiding, but I don’t LOVE leather braiding. (I’ll go on a date with it, but I’m not going to have its babies.)
Sigh, the search must go on.
One of my favorite little ditties (ok, so I sort of made it up myself) is “New job, new bag.” And ladies (and gentlemen?) I am proud to announce that I’m officially starting anew the Hunt for the Black Everyday Purse.
Now, I’ve already picked out a cute Spring purse made by Nine West. (As an aside, I like Nine West bags because the few I’ve had have been very sturdy (important for something you’re using each day) and they are reasonably priced (less than $100) and easy to find (in addition to Nine West stores, most department stores around me carry them with nice sale prices). But now I’m rambling.)
I’ve been wanting a grass green purse and when I saw this one, I said, “If I get that job, I’m buying this purse,” as a fondled it at the mall last weekend. And lo and behold!
So, I was looking for a picture of the purse at NineWest.com (go visit and register, they send out notifications of sales and free shipping offers!) and I couldn’t find one of the particular bag I wanted (for a punchy little post called “Where the Green Bags Grow”) but I did see one tote-style bag that is in the running to be Charming’s Next Black Everyday Purse.
It’s the Hipster Tote and I like it because it looks big (14 inches wide by 10 tall) so I could fit a dayplanner and possibly even a legal pad in it. And, if you read the description, you’ll see that it has one of my FAVORITE feature of almost every Nine West bag I’ve ever owned – two compartments divided by a top-zip pouch.
Now, you might be saying, “Dear, of all of the things to love about a bag, you’re picking the interior pocket?”
Yes, I am. In this case, at least.
Look, I carry around a lot of stuff. Make-up, medicine, healthy snacks, keys, pens, marketing materials, my wallet, hand lotion, Band-Aids, etc. And trust me when I say that without a well-compartmentalized bag, I will pull out a tampon instead of a pen to take notes at a meeting. I will. Scout’s honor.
So, I throw all of the stuff that you don’t want to accidentally pull out in an inopportune time into the big middle pouch that zips. And then one half of the bag is “personal” items like my wallet and make-up case and the other half is “work,” where I stash the aforementioned pens and legal pads and dayplanners. This system does work for me, but it also does require that I clean out my purse often so to avoid accidentally pulling out last night’s tab from the bar when I’m looking for stuff for an expense report. So not cool.
So, I also like this tumbled leather bag from The Gap. Nice bucket shape and long drop, which is good. Probably doesn’t have as many pockets, but a simple, uncluttered look all around. (Unlike the Nine West Hipster Tote, which is a flurry of rivets and buckles and external pockets I’ll probably never use.)
And, while online at the Gap, I kind of started crushing on this Large Leather Hobo, even though I doubt I could fit a legal pad in it. (And, no, I don’t want to carry a separate brief case. Booo.)
And, of course, we have the bag I won’t spend that much money on from Banana Republic, called the Tangiers tote. It is cute, but not $198 cute, in my opinion.
I like leather braiding, but I don’t LOVE leather braiding. (I’ll go on a date with it, but I’m not going to have its babies.)
Sigh, the search must go on.
posted by charming, but single at 8:31 AM
4 Comments:
Is the Nine West bag heavy? Cos it looks quite heavy with all the pockets and buckles. A shame if it is, it's the best looking one out of your selection.
Too bad the braided bag costs so much. I hate when that happens.
i love that nine west bag. pockets and different compartments get me excited. and the buckles are hot. i have a bit of that rock chick in me that loves black and buckles and studs. it looks big though. i don't really need something that big... the gap one is cute too. might be a tad small though... damn i'm hard to please haha!
"cell phones are not an accessory (so do not hang them from your belt)!"
you crack me up! i've been wondering if anyone else agreed w/me on that one...excellent call. please tell all those men who do just that.
i like the gap bucket one the best. i'm not much for exterior pockets. one of those things i like on other people, not on me. (i hope that makes sense...)
i don't like braiding, either. not even enough to date it.
i recently got a new work purse. i found a style i really liked (liz claiborne, metallic champagne crock, tassels, over-the-shoulder straps, large enough to smuggle a 4th grader in if you are into that kind of thing, on sale for....drumroll please....$27.). i really wanted it in black, but couldn't find it and decided that champagne is neutral enough.
it looks GREAT with black. plus, it goes with most of my summer clothes, unlike a black bag would.
my point is, don't knock other neutral colored work bags.
i too carry an obscene amt of stuff in my purse: dental floss, brush, nailfile, tampons, magazines, etc. my roommate refers to my work purse as "the suitcase". :) but i am always prepared!
Charming, a lot of those BR handbags are on sale now...Cheap and gorgeous.
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