My Favorite Purse

[UKRay]

I think one of the problems women face (and I generalise horribly here) is that bags tend to be designed and made by men... To be honest, it wouldn't do male leatherworkers any harm to listen (no, really listen) to what women actually want before they make any more purses!

I'd personally like a copy of that Tandy Pattern too, because it looks like a good foundation for some creativity - but what could be really useful are some kind of 'female focused' guidelines on bag design. What works and what doesn't.

I accept that this would be extremely subjective but that never stopped a good survey!

Ray

[tonyc1]

In January the zipper on the purse I've been carrying for a few years completely broke.

I went to Penneys and bought a new purse with faux leather trim and it's now June and it's junk.

That's what it looked like new.

It is now a disaster- except the zipper still works. The cheap leather's finish is rubbed off, the inside liner (cloth) is ripped, and I can never find anything in there anyway. This is a pic of the junk that has to fit, plus my book or whatever:

Ed Santoro's thread today of the designer handbags has got me thinking- I WANT A PURSE I LIKE! I want a purse that I can take to the opera or the beach, and I want it to be sturdy and not some imported cobbled-together expensive crap. If I'm going to pay designer handbag prices, I want a purse designed for me! I don't want a purse from a warehouse, and I'd be more impressed with a makers mark than a fancy designer label. Why? I don't want to have to worry about my purse- just grab and go. Because I don't want a purse that is going to dump out all the contents when my son learns how to drive a car. I don't want a purse I have to keep on my lap instead of tucking on the floor in a restaurant. I don't want zipper failure, and I want to be able to find things in it immediately without rooting aaround like a baglady at the checkout. That $1500 purse Ed posted wouldn't last 6 months, and neither did my Penneys special. But I carried my old purse (the one at the top of this thread) for 10 years? or so, and I'd fix it and carry it again if it didn't have a big "A" on it. There has to be a market for women like me who can appreciate the quality of a real purse and are willing to pay for it. Oh yeah, and I want a real leather laptop case too, but that's another rant for another day.

Johanna

You're a handy girl to know with 3 lighters in your bag!

Tony.

[Johanna]

You're a handy girl to know with 3 lighters in your bag!

Tony.

Hmmmm I count 4 in the pic, plus I know there is one in my cigarette case.

I think one of the problems women face (and I generalise horribly here) is that bags tend to be designed and made by men... To be honest, it wouldn't do male leatherworkers any harm to listen (no, really listen) to what women actually want before they make any more purses!

YES YES and YES!!

I think that's what I was trying to say. I could understand women paying designer label prices if they were getting what they wanted, but we DON'T! (However, I have seen some "man purses" that are a little closer to the mark than most womens bags.) I could justify that kind of money on quality, but not a label.

Johanna

[Crystal]

I think one of the problems women face (and I generalise horribly here) is that bags tend to be designed and made by men... To be honest, it wouldn't do male leatherworkers any harm to listen (no, really listen) to what women actually want before they make any more purses!

I'd personally like a copy of that Tandy Pattern too, because it looks like a good foundation for some creativity - but what could be really useful are some kind of 'female focused' guidelines on bag design. What works and what doesn't.

I accept that this would be extremely subjective but that never stopped a good survey!

Ray

I think that there will probably be as many different needs/wants for a bag as there are women who use them. I have been mulling this for quite some time -I need a new bag and am refusing to buy another one when I can make my own.

I bought a Coach bag at a "purse party" last September. I am sure that it was either a knock off or a line reject. There were a few construction flaws in the bag, missing a matching decorative piece, etc. It has fallen apart in less than a year. Zipper pull tab- gone. 2 construction rivets - gone. Inside fabric pockets - torn at seams (I stapled them back together). Bag straps- fraying at the edges. Strap keepers- coming apart where they were glued. All kinds of little things going bad, and I am not a bag abuser. If I had paid retail for a "genuine" bag (I don't know for sure that this one is genuine) I would be very dissapointed with them as a brand altogether.

I have never met my "perfect bag" anywhere. I like a larger "tote" style, but cannot tolerate the "pit purses" that seem to be everywhere. (Those bags that have handles too long to carry in your hand and too short for over the shoulder without having them tucked clear into your arm pit. Forget having enough room for over the shoulder with a winter coat on.) I want over the shoulder straps, with enough room for winterwear, but not so long that it becomes a knee banger. I want those straps to be adjustable.

It needs compartments and pockets. Outside and inside. Outside pockets for cell phone, pens, notes, shopping lists, sunglasses, keys.... Inside compartments to segregate all the little this and that's that I think I need. Everything from wallet to perfume. For me- this has to be a 3 compartment setup. There needs to be enough room inside for a bottle of water (I want a bottle holder in there) and everything else from a book to a file folder for documents.

I don't care for zippers, especially zippers for the main closure on the bag itself. I want magnetic closures. Easy access - quick access. A zippered compartment on the inside, would do.

I don't want it to weigh a ton - because I will pack enough stuff with me to give it some weight. So I will probably go with a leather outside and fabric inside. A detached fabric inside, so it can be turned inside out for cleaning.

I want it to look like a million dollars, feel like a dream, and wear like Samsonite luggage.

Now - if you were to ask my best friend what she wants in a bag, we're gonna get an entirely different list. She likes small.... very small - with zippers and built-ins for cash and cards and checkbook - no seperate wallet for her. She always puts her coins in a zippered pocket, she clips her cell phone and keys to her belt. She has a different purse for all occasions and changes out on a regualr basis. I don't like to fuss this much. I dump my change into the bottom of my bag and when it gets too heavy, I know it is time to dump out all those nickles and pennies.

So - the quest to build the perfect bag is on. Don't think I will get it right frist time around, but I will get there someday.

Crystal

[Ole South]

I know this is a "mature" post but I've been intrigued by this concept of Women and their Purses. Over the past year I've been asking various wimmen types... you know... gurls and female human beings about purses. (and yepper... I am a guy) I get the same reply every time.

"Oh I'm not really picky" Until you ask the next question...

Doesn't matter what the next question is....

An avalanche of preference proceeds.

"Pockets, Zippers, inside Zippers, inside pockets, dividers, more inside compartments...." were the most common answers to question #2; no wonder girls can't find anything in their purses in a hurry

I did a custom mold for a boutique designer for a wet form purse some time ago and that got me started on the quest for "The Perfect Purse". I drew four basic shapes and began asking women their preference. Not one person picked the most commercially sold shape. That was interesting.

Handles vs Straps vs Clutch? Never.

Color, material, size? Nope, never the same.

I think I do best when I just look at the girl and her style and don't ask too many questions. (we men confuse easily)

BUT... I have determined one thing

There Is No Perfect Purse!.... except for....

"The one I just wore out" and "The one I'm going to buy next"