About Bags

What Shoulder Bag is right for your body size?

Should you carry bag with long straps or short?

What bag is best to camouflage your trouble spots?

Is what’s hot now, right for us? How do we know?

We all want to look good whether or not we follow trends. Sometimes making the right choice is not as easy as picking the hottest style bag off the Internet. Lets take a deeper look and get familiar with the shapes, styles, and materials out there.

Kinds of Bags

• Baguette – Long, narrow and rounded shoulder bag akin to the namesake bread.

• Cigar Box - A small, boxy, hard bag (originals are made from rare and exotic cigar boxes with luxurious linings)

• Clutch – A typically small, handheld bag (commonly used with evening wear).

• Duffle - A cylindrical bag usually top open with drawstring closure.

• Field bag - A shoulder bag with flap top is provided with heavier, sturdy & secured hardware.

• Hobo bag - A crescent-shaped shoulder bag mostly of a less defined shape.

• Jelly Kelly - No relation to the Hermes original, It belongs to tote family & made out of rubber or PVC.

• Kelly bag - A classic Hermes style named after Grace Kelly; a large, structured handbag with distinctive hardware closures

• Courier or Messenger - A soft, long strapped shoulder bag mostly worn across the body, originally designed to hold mail and parcels for delivery messengers it doubles as a convenient carry all.

• Pouch - A soft, small bag of defined & undefined shapes.

• Satchel- A large, handheld bag, (usually top-open).

• Tote - A large top open bag with handles or shoulder straps. Much like a shopping bag.

Some of the most common materials are leather, suede, leather like man made materials i.e. PVC & PU, micro fiber, rubber, and fabrics like cotton, satin, canvas, velvet, denim, polyester, silk etc.

Some Basics

What shoulder bag is right for your body size?

Choosing the right shaped bag can do more than give a place to carry essentials. It can make a body look slimmer (and not so slim if one isn’t careful!) It can also draw attention from trouble spots. Choosing a bag that is opposite of your figure is more flattering. . For example a petite woman with curves should lean towards the more structured purse, something long and slim with straight lines, while a tall slender woman should consider a formless carryall bag like the hobo or satchel.

What type of bag is best suited for hiding your trouble spots?

Should you carry bag with long straps or short?

Consider the length. A pocketbook will accentuate the area it is next to. Want to slim down your waist? Carry a tote or a Kelly style bag below the hip. To play up the bust line carry a clutch or short handled bag under your arm next to the bust. Do think about comfort you’ll not want to feel pinched by the straps. Add the illusion of more curves to the hip by using a shoulder bag that settles below the waist. Proportions of body to bag are just as important. Think scale as well as opposite shape. An oversized chunky duffle will only diminish a petite and thin woman. And likewise a taller full figured woman will appear bulkier when carrying a tiny cigar box.

What motivates selection? Personality and our desire to follow trends, plays a roll in our choices. Is the bag going to match just one or two outfits, or the majority of them? Buying a bag doesn’t have to be complicated. Shopping for purse is not unlike shopping for new clothes. Not every style works for everyone.

If a new purse for every outfit you own is not in the budget color and material becomes a major consideration. Pick a shade that compliments the majority of your wardrobe i.e. (black, brown, tan or white) and a material the best suits your life style. That pastel trendy and bold striped purse will look out of place next to your demure business suit or favorite little black dress. Like wise carrying a clutch (made from silk) or suede shoulder bag while toting around toddlers with sticky fingers is likely to spoil the bag in a hurry.

Keeping in mind that these are all suggestions and not hard and fast rules! Ultimately a bag should be selected because it makes the buyer feel good. Not only in the buying but also while using it. When that trendy bag is bought on a whim and isn’t big enough to carry a wallet, cell phone and car keys it loses its functionality. As a large bag can be literally a pain in the neck when it’s overloaded.

Best of luck and happy buying

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