NOT The One With Joey's Bag

God forbid you are in an accident; the enduring fear is that you are not wearing clean underwear.

Seriously, is this really a consideration? If laundry has gotten that out of hand I’m going commando before I dig in to the dirty clothes pile.

And I guess that puts a whole different spin on things.

But really it is not what I am wearing but rather what is in my purse that I have always thought mattered more should perfect strangers need to identify me.

I tip toward the morbid in my inner monologue. So much so that in my twenties, a time when I took a lot of long walks by myself, I ordered a Road ID velcro info tag that attached to my sneaker.

I chose that brand primarily because in addition to emergency contact information, you could add a brief motivational statement. In case I was a missing person I wanted to have something that the media could share that helped give some insight about me.

I know.

Anyway, as you know by now I love fashion and have been pouring over the lists of spring must haves. For all of my fashion passion I have never grasped the “It Bag” concept.

Why does a bag define /chronicle who you want to project?

For a woman, it is what lies in the depths of her purse that speaks more to the life she leads than just a trendy vehicle for carrying her wallet.

The truth is our purses and their contents are an intimate, all access pass snapshot of who we are, what we prioritize and how we live.

In the 90’s many of the beauty and fashion magazines regularly had a “What’s in Your Purse / Make-up Bag?” piece featuring a model or celebrity. Inevitably a famous mother of twins carried her beauty essentials of *just* Chanel lipstick and argon oil, gum, keys to her Saab and her Crunch Fitness membership ID.

Um, yeah.

I used to try to create a perfect purse and its contents in my mind that would convey the person I was aspiring to be – a buttery, saddle colored, leather Chloe hobo bag containing a deep amythest python clutch style wallet, my passport (just in case), a decorative lipstick case (okay, seriously, who has time to snap open a case, remove tube and swipe on your lipstick?!), a book I am halfway through reading and my old Blackberry (I loathe my iPhone but please don’t tell the love of my life!).

And here is my purse in real life as of this moment – a JPK Paris cocoa, nylon and leather bucket bag (washes off anything, this is more for me than the 20 month old) containing:
- a stretched out red leather Levenger wallet with receipts from my exciting business trip to Philly,
- a pepperspray dispenser bedazzled with Swarvoski crystals and a skull and bones motif,
- four finger crayons in blue, purple, red and green,
- a small black nylon bag with two bobby pins, three bandaids and two different kinds of chapstick,
- a book I haven’t started but have been toting around for a month,
- a key chain with a stuffed lobster in a mini MHC tshirt,
- two cheerios,
- a receipt from my Bliss facial,
- my iPhone *sigh*,
- my federal government id with the broken key to my file cabinets (rob this cubicle!),
- two miniature 1000 Grand chocolate bars, and
- a skin brightening serum for which I paid too much.

I would like to think that if anyone found my purse they would think I was a pretty decent person. I am fairly down to earth (chapstick & Philly) and care about safety (pepperspray & bandaids). I am a mom (crayons & cheerios) but I am also a woman (facial receipt & serum). I have dreams (the unread book) and reality (the work ID).

Not sure what the stuffed lobster says.

I think though that I am okay with what the contents of my purse say about me. I like the jumble of chaos and splurge and real that accompanies me every day in my purse. It is a comforting reminder of who I am and the life I am building.

RECESSION FASHION P.S.
I own four different kinds of mascara. I adore mascara. I never *ever* leave the house without mascara. On a recent trip I FORGOT mascara. Crisis. I ran to the nearest mascara supply - Rite Aid - to get mascara. Now I am not totally ridiculous - knowing I had a supply at home I grabbed the Wet n Wild econo-brand mascara and called it done. Well hello bright eyes! For $1.99 I have found my new go to mascara -- Wet n Wild MegaProtein Mascara in black. One swipe (post eyelash curler) and I had glossy, long lashes. No kidding. $1.99. Run. Now.