What Does Your Handbag Say About You?

I love watching people out and about in cities. That eclectic mix of urban city dwellers that are energetic, adventurous and headstrong in their sense of style and expression.

I also love looking at what handbag is bestowed upon the arm of the city's bright young things. So here is my brief psycho babble on interpretations of the handbag wearer.

The Leopard Print Fake Fur Bag

This particular genre of lady can be split into two subsets:

1) The young wannabe rock chick who likes to wear plenty of skull attire, line her eyes with the thickest blackest kohl eyeliner and loves that pirate look. She welcomes neon plastic accessories and strange hairdos from Toni & Guy.

2) This is the woman in her late 30s who wants to feel youthful, carefree and reckless. She loves wearing black dresses meant for 20 somethings and leather or PVC. She has bleach blonde or bright auburn hair that is a little dry and frizzy. She loves the legend rock bands: Rolling Stones, Guns n Roses and Metallica, Motorcycle Head. She still goes clubbing and to gigs.

The Juicy Couture Bag

Big, bright bold and in-your-face, one word sums it all up: Bling.

The Gucci Bag

A classic brand. Well I personally find it difficult to relate to Gucci because it always seems just out of my reach. Like if I was to do the whole 'Gucci thing' it wouldn't fit in the same way that a gameshow contestant who has won a trip staying in a 5 star hotel would stick out to the rich people. Gucci oozes class and sophistication. A Gucci handbag isn't about trendy fashion. It's about old fashioned Italian glamour. It tells you that's it's big, expensive and Italian and loves hanging out in chic little European hotspots like Portafino, Puglio and St Tropez.

I think that I am just too laid back in my style and prefer things that are a bit quirky and deconstructed round the edges to pull off Gucci the uniform. Unless in the rare occasion I was going for the whole paradox of quirky bared down meets structured and formal.

I am not referring to the Gucci canvas logo bags, I am only referring to proper Gucci leather and collection bags. Logo canvas is a sensitive spot. Enough said.

The Burberry Bag

Actually surprisingly enough, I'm gonna give Burberry high acclaim despite the more obvious Chav connection. At least the Burberry tartan is a proper pattern and fits in with the whole horserider/English country charm thing. Even though Burberry has roots of being a very British brand, it still stays on the right edge of reinvention and has a really strong brand image. The classic Burberry check, taken far away from Chavdom and given a modern twist is actually rather Brit chic.

So classic Brit with a twist of modern cheeky charm brimming underneath is what I think Burberry handbags are about.

The Orla Kiely Bag

Quite a grown up hippy brand, this bag is generally loved by women over 30 who are sophisticated in a more cultural way. An underdog of the style stakes, this woman loves the fact that the quirky sixties chintz looking pattern is retro chic. She longs to relive past decades especially the 60s and 70s. She also loves the great outdoors once in a while.

The Chanel Quilted 2.55 Bag

Ooh la lac The Chanel quilted handbag is classic Parisian chic, it just oozes class and sophistication and no matter what the current trends are, had timeless design that has lived through many a fashion era. There's something about that soft stitched leather and gold metal chain that has created a signature style icon for women all over the world.

The Chloe Paddington Bag

This handbag offers function, femininity and casual comfort. Now a cult classic, the Chloe Paddington bag is fast becoming like the Mulberry Roxanne. It is made from soft but durable calfskin leather that is practical but beautiful, it is functional with a pocket or two to tuck away things like your ipod and mobile phone, and it has cute little short straps to wear and show off on your arm. There isn't anything particularly exciting about this bag however. It doesn't sit on the edge of innovation in terms of handbag shapes but that doesn't matter. I think the wearer of this bag is feminine but practical, primarily wants a bag to hold everything in for daytime outings and wants a low maintenance bag that can be worn with almost any outfit to avoid the fuss of having to change handbags regularly.

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