I have to say I wasn’t wild about the idea of Martha including fashion in each issue of Living, but I liked the handbag feature. The issue arrived just as I was searching for a new spring purse, so I read it with excitement. I am extremely picky about purses. I have a few hard and fast rules:
1. There must be a cell phone pocket.
2. There must be a pocket for keys
3. There must be a zippered area for chapstick and lipstick
4. The handles must fit comfortably over my shoulder with a coat on
5. There must be enough room to fit all my stuff
6. The purse must zip or snap closed so things don’t fall out.
7. The purse must be cute.

Now those requirements do not seem to be outrageous to me, but since it took me weeks and weeks to find the right purse, maybe they are!

I ended up with this fabulous Liz Claiborne madras (I am mad about madras) purse, which I got at TJ Maxx for $29.99 . I love how it has an outside pocket so I can stick receipts in it without opening up the whole purse. The straps are long enough to fit over my shoulder. I prefer a purse with one strap, not two, but I can make do with two (it seems as though if you have two,  one is always falling off your shoulder).

This is the main section of the purse which has a cell phone pocket, a keys pocket and an extra pocket where I keep all my store reward cards. It also, as an added bonus, has a cute little zippered section that is for a pen (it’s the oblong brown section on the bottom part of the photo). That is mighty handy, since pens always get lots in the bottom of a bag.

This section has the zippered pocket for lipstick, etc. Don’t you just love the fab pink polka dot interior?

This section of the purse has some built-in features I don’t use. I don’t know why you would put your credit cards, money, license, etc directly in the purse. Not only is it hard to find things, but if you want to switch purses it is much more difficult to take it all out than it is to just remove a wallet. In this photo you’ll see two wallet type things in the bag. The brown one is my medical wallet – I have bandages, Advil, Tylenol, etc in that. The striped one is my coupon/punch card wallet.

Did you catch Martha’s show yesterday where she showed the purse her mom inscribed to her? I thought it was a bit odd in a way. Can you imagine having so many bags that your staff just opens them up and puts them away somewhere without even showing you?

What are your handbag requirements?

I have to say I wasn’t wild about the idea of Martha including fashion in each issue of Living, but I liked the handbag feature. The issue arrived just as I was searching for a new spring purse, so I read it with excitement. I am extremely picky about purses. I have a few hard … Read more →