How To Choose A Handbag You Will Actually Carry
Most unused bags fail on one of four things, and none of them is the price.
The bag that stays in the cupboard usually failed a practical test, not a
taste one. Four things decide whether a bag gets used.
1. The opening
A bag you cannot get a hand into flat is a bag you will unpack on a table. Zip
closures are secure and slow; magnetic and open tops are fast and not. Match
this to where you carry it, not to how it looks in a photograph.
2. The strap drop
The distance from the strap's top to the bag's top decides whether it sits
under your arm, at your hip, or across your body. A shoulder bag with a short
drop has to be held up by your shoulder all day. A long drop on a small bag
swings.
3. What it does when it is empty
Structured bags keep their shape and take up that shape whether or not there is
anything in them. Unstructured bags fold down to what you have put in them. One
is better on a chair; the other is better on a crowded train.
4. The base
A flat base with feet stands up. A rounded base does not, and everything inside
it ends up in the middle. If you put the bag on the floor, this is the whole
decision.
On colour
A bag in your most-worn neutral will be carried more than a bag in a colour you
love. This is the least interesting advice in fashion and the most reliable.
On size
Carry what you actually carry for a week — phone, wallet, keys, water,
whatever else — and measure that pile. Buy for the pile, not for the day you
might need more.