Fashion Rant – The Essential Handbag

Most women share a passion for fashion.  Some crave shoes, others hoard dresses and many like me have a thing for handbags.  I didn’t intend to start a collection; it is the result of searching for the perfect bag.

I have always envied women who could carry tiny handbags, but it eludes me how they could fit everything they need into such pocket-sized purses.  Still, they were cheap and, for a trip to a bar or out on a date, they would hold the essentials.  But when a designer asks me to pay $300-$400 for one of these tiny totes, I have to laugh.  They have to be joking to think their name is worth that much.

I have tried the average size handbag as well with varying results. although comfortably large enough to carry the essentials, they lack extra space to carry the unexpected.  I am starting to get past the age of needing room for stray toys and whatnot, but it is nice to have room to accomodate the occasional small purchase.

This leaves me searching through the large handbag group for that rare beast, the single-handle shoulder bag.  My biggest challenge is handle length.  They are either too short to shoulder or are too long and bang against my hip.

I have found two handbags that do not disappoint me in my collection.  Both are Stone Mountain bags.  One I bought on clearance at a local department store.  It was greatly reduced because the zipper was misbehaving.  I kept my mouth shut, smiled, paid for it and went home and fixed the zipper.  I’ve had no problems with it since.  Because it is black, it serves as my winter bag.

The second bag is a new purchase, also purchased on clearance at an online outlet.  It is a nice shade of blue and serves as my summer bag.  The strap is just right, long enough to shoulder and short enough to miss the hip.

I own several Etienne Aigner bags.  I love the stiff leather and the multiple usable pockets on the bags, but the small bag is too small and the rest of the bags are all double handle.  Try as I might, I can’t get comfortable carrying a double handle bag.  One strap is always falling off my shoulder, if I can shoulder the bag at all.

Someday, I will find my perfect bag, but until then, I will just have to keep looking!

Fashion Rant – High Boots

As the cold weather slowly wafts down from the frozen north of Canada, my mind drifts back to a time when I could wear high boots.  I had a wonderful pair of knee-high black patent leather boots with two-inch heels.  They zipped up snuggly over my calves and kept the winter’s cold away.  They are long gone, but the memory lingers on.

Now that I have calves large enough to feed a family of four, high boots are not likely to become part of my wardrobe this winter.  It’s not that there aren’t wide calf boots out there, it just that most of them are still too skinny for my calves.  Besides, I’m having enough trouble with the instep and the ankle to even think about the calves.

I’d love a pair of black patent leather high boots; I’ll settle for a pair of low boots that fit.  What I have now are a pair of boots that freeze my toes and refuse to zip shut.  I also have a pair (or two) of fur-lined clogs that have gotten me through most of the past winters.  The prediction is for a lot of snow for this winter and that means I need high boots to trod through it all.

I’m thinking of settling for a pair of men’s galoshes to wear over my jeans and sneakers.  What are your plans for sloshing through the winter?