What Your Handbag Says About You

Handbags are more than a place to carry your wallet and car keys. As most women will tell you, a vast majority of our life is lugged around in our bag which includes everything from tissues for our toddlers to pictures of those toddlers that we share with peers. From girls to grandmothers, females everywhere want to feel good about the purse they carry because they know that it says something about them.

In many ways, our handbag is, almost literally, an extension of ourselves and a reflection of our sense of taste. It carries all of the essential, personal, even private items that represent our truest self. Finding the perfect handbag for all occasions is nearly impossible, which is why we have so many of them!

Backpack wearers are adventure seekers.

Women who use backpacks as their primary handbags want their hands free, without compromising fashion or utility. These are women who live an active lifestyle, embrace healthy living, and value reliability. Backpacks may be used and worn by women who dream of traveling the world, essentials stored safely in their backpack which is often viewed as a close companion on their adventure-filled lifestyle. More than a simple replica of the bookbag you carried during your school days, the backpack is something comfortable and lightweight enough to carry around all day but something stylish enough to make a statement. If you’re planning an upcoming backpack purchase, you may want to consider one of the most stylish and versatile travel backpacks available this year.

Tote lovers are opinionated and goal-oriented.

Canvas totes are suddenly everywhere, and as a result, have become the ultimate status symbol. Once used by college students or lunch-carrying commuters, companies now use consumers as marketing ambassadors by providing branded totes as replacements for paper or plastic shopping bags. By lugging the totes around, customers tell the world where they shop, what music they listen to, what their political perspectives are, and what they read simply by choosing which bags they will carry. If you’re someone who is going to voice your opinion and who has a goal-setting mentality, it can be assumed that you will carry a tote. Even a logo-free canvas tote says a lot about you, and it’s likely that people are watching and judging you right now based on the tote you are currently carrying.

Clutch users are the life of the party who focus on the here and now.

Clutches force the user to pare their life down to the must-haves of the moment. In a very practical way, they encourage the carrier to adopt a certain minimalist attitude and to purposeful and mindful in the moment. Maybe that means laughing, socializing, and dancing on a Friday night in a little black dress. No worries about the excess baggage associated with the work week in this woman’s hard shell clutch! But other clutch devotees find the controversial accessory an opportunity to engage in an “exercise in how to be low(er) maintenance while still managing classic impeccability.” For these women, it means using a clutch exclusively, and not just as part of their weekend wardrobe.

Shoulder bag wearers love to turn heads.

Maybe your intent is to impress people with your Australian designer fashion bag. Or maybe it is to wow your colleagues with your bold choice in handbag color. But for most shoulder bag wearers, the purse itself is a marker of status and success, and you will spend time, effort, and energy to expand your collection. There is interest in utility, but it is often about displaying all of the embellishments and unique characteristics of the handbag. Because there are many shapes, sizes, and designs from which to choose, you have unlimited potential in awing your audience.

Briefcase users have a sense of purpose and direction.

Once considered a staple for the male businessman, a briefcase is seen as a professional practicality. Whether you use a hard shell or soft cover briefcase, you rely on it to keep yourself in order. Most women who carry a briefcase are determined and have a strong sense of self. With people to meet, places to go, and things to do, you have a sense of direction and productivity. While some professional women are asking themselves if a tote can replace their briefcase, many are finding it difficult to find one that is both elegant and functional making the briefcase a staple in the wardrobe of many women.

What is your favorite kind of handbag? Tell us why you carry your preferred style and what you think it says about you.