HANDBAG
h
eaven
I
t is hard to make that final decision when stood amidst the soft leather hand-
bags, beaded clutches and bohemian fringed satchels. Forget bamboo splints
eased under your fingernails: attempting to settle on
the
handbag is a form of
torture far more excruciating, for you can only leave with one until payday
rolls around once more. Four whole weeks which could either be spent on a bliss-
ful high, knowing you chose the right one or a miserable low as you resent that new
glossy handbag swinging idly from your arm. It is often the last thought for many
rushed women when dashing out their front door, but it’s that one singular item
which can pull an outfit together or leave it a tangled mess of uncoordinated clut-
ter that not even the most eclectic Hipster could pull off.
The decision is a tough one and it’s not just about the colour or the size or the
strap or the interior.Yes, that snazzy pocket just perfect for a Blackberry or iPhone
is adorable, but what about the rest of it? The elaborate and intricate beadwork on
the front is beautiful, but how long will it stay in one piece with all of the daily
abuse you put it through? Of course it’s adorable and hangs so beautifully
from your shoulder on its dainty strap, but it won’t be suitable for work
and do you really want the constant hassle of trans-
ferring your life on a daily basis from one bag to
the next?
Choices, although they can be bliss at times
can be a burdensome task. From window
shopping to department stores to the bright
market stalls with their walls of handcraft-
ed and unique handbags, there are
numerous options. There is no excuse
not to have a handbag suitable for every
occasion and every curve life throws
and that one compact accessory can
GETTING THE RIGHT HANDBAG FOR THAT
SPECIAL OCCASION CAN BE A HEAVEN OR
HELL SITUATION. REBECCA FERRIER GIVES US
AN INSIGHT INTO HER EVENTFUL SHOPPING
TRIP FOR THAT PERFECT HANDBAG.
Hell!
OR
make all the difference. It can transform
a girl into a woman or a frazzled mess
into a sleek and organised individual. For
every occasion, there linger within the
depths of a girl’s handbag those essential
tools they need to be themselves. The
wind, never a friend to casually coifed
hair which has taken hours of styling,
holds no worry when one knows their
hairbrush and compact straighteners are
lingering in the depths of their handbag.
A handbag offers completion, a back-up,
the safe knowledge that if something
goes awry, there is a Plan B. What that
Plan B is presented in, be it a satchel or
compact clutch with matching shoes, is
also a key consideration.
Each different woman wants some-
thing different from her handbag. The
usual journalists are noticeable by their
hulking sacks of fabric, often littered with
pockets for the Blackberry, the iPhone,
the Dictaphone, the notebook, and the
Caffe Nero loyalty card only half-full and
bearing the evidence of a severe caffeine
addiction. A handbag is not only a vessel
for crinkled receipts, used bus tickets and
the odd fiver, but is a personal statement
about the owner both inside and out.
Still, there is nothing better than a
new handbag. It has that newly bought
scent, the handles yet to be worn in and
creaking like tree branches.The interior is
soft and clean and swathed in protective
tissue paper, yet to be cluttered and
tainted with spilt make-up and business
cards with hastily scrawled phone num-
bers and the usual clutter. Like shoes, like
chocolate, like sex, the next attention-
grabbing vice always has something new,
something different, something unique to
offer.
A woman’s life is in her handbag, it is
a microcosm of the life she has forged
for herself. It can bestow glamour and
sophistication and more impor tantly,
security. They say diamonds are a girl’s
best friend, but a handbag knows more
about the heaven or hell you have to go
through than any diamond ever could!
BITE
HAND
BAGS