More than a Purse

My usual summer uniform is black slacks with a black tee shirt. Black sandals. Black purse. Today, however, I did something wild and crazy!



A new summer bag.

As I was buying it, I had a flashback to the last time I bought a blue purse. Early 1960s--I was 12 or 13 years old and, like today, it was a few days before Easter.

My family lived in Albany, NY. But, for some reason, I was shipped down to Brooklyn to spend Easter with my Aunt Marie, Uncle Mike and cousins.

That spring, I had read in Seventeen Magazine that “neutral colors with flashes of blue accessories” was what all the girls were wearing. OK, my Easter outfit was neutral--gray coat, a white hat with a gray ribbon, black patent leather shoes, black patent bag. However, being the spoiled brat I was, I just had to carry a blue purse that Easter or I would simply die!

Couldn't find a blue purse in downtown Albany. So helping me find one when I arrived in Brooklyn, then fell to my Aunt Marie. She took my cousin Margaret and me into "the city" -- Manhattan! Macy's Herald Square! Macy's--a store bigger than all of downtown Albany!

It's funny how I have no memory of why I spent Easter in Brooklyn that year or how I got to and from Albany and Brooklyn--but, I can still remember walking around and around and around the purse department of Macy's with Aunt Marie and Margaret. Aunt Marie was one of the kindest, sweetest people I've ever known and I just hate to think how I must have tried her patience that day.

That bag wasn't blue enough, this one is the wrong blue, the clasp is ugly, clunky, glittery, the straps were too long, too short. On and on I complained.

But I found one. A baby blue shoulder bag. And I thought myself to be oh-so-sophisticated and fashionable that Easter.

Today, I once again found myself in Macy's purse department a few days before Easter. Did I buy this blue purse to break up the black monotony of my summer clothes? Or were the past memories tugging at my subconscious?

In the Bag

One of my rites of summer is the quest for the perfect summer bag. It usually takes me till late July to find a somewhat suitable bag. The perfect one is out there--but I've never found it.

One summer, I saw a woman carrying an orange bag. It was perfect! The color was just right. The size was just right. There were plenty of pockets. I stopped her and asked where she'd gotten the bag. She gave me a sad smile and told me she had bought it at a sample sale the previous year. It had been the only one in the showroom and it was her understanding the only one made. She agreed that it was perfect. And, no, she wouldn't sell it to me.

And so the search continued. I knew the perfect bag was out there and that someday I would find it.

I think I finally might have found it.



My checklist:
Must be light to carry. Yes! The fabric is a waterproof vinyl.
Shoulder bag. Yes! And the straps are neither too long nor too short.
Must have plenty of pockets. Yes! There's just enough for my stuff.
Must not be black. Yes! Every bag I own is black. I want something different for summer.
Right size. Yes! It's roomy without being bulky.
Must be tailored looking. Yes! I don't like the hobo bag look.

A couple of more views:





I hate schlepping both a purse and tote, so everything has to fit into my handbag.

In the front pockets: cell phone in one; camera in the other.
My metrocard is in the back pocket.
One side pocket holds a Purell bottle; the other is for a water bottle.
Inside, there's a zippered compartment for my wallet. And there's enough room in the main section for the Kindle, my date book, a knitting project, make up bag, small notebook and pen.

That's all my necessities to get through the day.

The other afternoon, I was walking along Madison Avenue and a woman stopped me. She wanted to know where my bag was from because she thought it looked, "just perfect."

Yes, it is!

Except. . . well, except I wish it came in beige with red trim.

(For those interested, it's a the small cargo bag from Delfino.)