What's in Your Bag

"Why do women need so many bags?"

The question the boyfriend of the fabulous Andy Saks (The Devil Wears Prada) poses for the many guys that possess his same ideology: more than one handbag is pointless. It is from the same scene the best possible and most simple answer was derived. "Fashion is not about utility. An accessory is merely a piece of iconography, used to express individual identity." The answer works and also fails in the same ways.
The very way fashion is described for not being about utility can also be used to argue the opposed. Fashion is about utility, just not traditionally. We utilize fashion to express ourselves, to prove a point, to stand out, to blend in...and not to mention to keep us from being charged for indecent exposure. For example, a handbag (duh). You don't just "throw all your junk in it and that's it," you are not done. It's that simple but that complex at the same time. Everyone knows the "What's in Your Bag" game, right? What's in your bag is the complete make up of who you are as a person. It's your necessities; what you feel you will need to take on any situation your work day or night out brings compiled into a few square inches of your sequence clutch or stretched leather hobo. That game is played to provide insight on who the player is as a person by revealing the contents of her (or his-no judgement) bag and prompting her/him to explain why it must be at arms length at all times. Each item in your bag has a story behind it: chap-stick because your mom hates chapped lips, gum because you have a habit of eating things that requires its assistance after enjoyment, etc. So you see? handbags are more than just purses we possess in an unnecessary amount of colors and styles. It's more than just utility and it's more than just an accessory for self expression. It's all the above and it's contents is a jungle called your personality and it's worth exploring.

xo,
LBL

oh. and it's pretty ;)