One current handbag trend, which you may not have been aware of, is purse parties. You could think (especially if you’re very young or very male) that handbags are exactly that: bags in your hand that you use to organize and take with you any necessary and important items. Keys, credit cards, cash, checks, driver’s license, hair brush, nail file, medications, tissues, are some of the things you might want to have with you when you leave the house.
But it’s not so that handbags, or purses, are strictly for the purpose of carrying your stuff. Their secondary function is to be fashion accessories. Historically, as fashion accessory, purses have been expected to closely match your shoes, and your purse and shoes together are supposed to reasonably match your outfit. These expectations don’t seem to be as strong in today’s fashion world, where so often anything seems to go. Or perhaps it’s more the ideas about matching that have changed.
Another function of handbags these days is that of status symbol. Check any recent fashion magazine for pictures of handbags priced at thousands of dollars-each! Magazines about celebrities often have photos that show actual ownership of such handbags. Online sites even give avid designer-bag collectors the ability to show off their collections.
There is likewise support for people at the opposite end of the handbag-loving spectrum-people who can build their own handbags from everything and anything, including recycled neckties, scarves, clothing labels, pockets, trash bags, wallpaper, heirlooms, memorabilia, maps, soccer balls, t-shirts, food wrappers, photos, soda-can tabs, and anything remotely vintage. Such support includes free patterns and tutorials for helping people paint, stamp, bead, stencil, embroider, knit, crochet, appliqu, dye, weave, collage, cross-stitch, hand stitch, silk-screen, and modge podge their own purse creations. It also includes instructions for making your favorite worn-out t-shirt into a keepsake handbag. There’re even directions for making such things as a semi-edible purse-shaped party centerpiece from a watermelon!
For those of us who are somewhere in between the wealthy designer-bag-collector consumer and the recycling-home-designer whiz, there are purse parties. This is when your friend, relative, or acquaintance invites you to their home for an enjoyable get-together and a display of the latest trend in purses, such as affordable, stylish bags (both small and large) that have changeable exteriors. These bags make it a breeze to change your purse to match your outfit or mood. You never have to go through the aggravation of moving your stuff from one purse to another-you just change the outer shell of your purse in a couple of seconds. Your various shells fold flat to take up almost no space in your closet. And the best thing about this kind of bag-next to the long-overdue changeable-exterior concept itself-is that you don’t have to be wealthy to have a match to any outfit and to appear like you have many beautiful handbags.
If you’ve been out-of-touch with such important handbag trends, perhaps you’re due for a purse party.
