It took a year to get from 25 to 26. Ooops.
During my writing hiatus I gave three black purses to Goodwill. Two of them leather (one too big, one too small) and one canvas. All were purchased with the hope that this was going to be the purse to end my quest for purse perfection.
Why is it so hard to find a good purse? It’s not like I’m going on “Let’s Make a Deal,” or anything. I don’t need to carry a measuring cup, a kazoo, a stapler, a red kerchief, a banana, or extra speaker wire in my bag. Monty is not going ask me to search through my portable storage unit for any of these things. I’m quite the minimalist. Here’s all I need to carry with me:
- One iPHONE (I used to need a book, but the iPHONE gives me the New York Times – what more do I need?)
- One wallet. I have a really small wallet that holds some cash and a few credit cards.
-One brush, I even hacked off the handle
- Spare glasses and a contact lens case because I keep ripping lenses
- A pen and a few recipe cards to write on
- Keys to the car and the house
-A few aspirins, sudafeds, etc.
All I want is a bag that will hold these things with just a little room to spare. A bag that will hang gracefully from my shoulder and not get stuck in the car door. A bag that reeks of elegance, that will look better in ten years than it does today, a bag that looks simple yet says and says “this is a woman of great intelligence and complexity.”
Why is it so hard? I keep buying bags. I buy them at Target, and at Goodwill and at Daytons/Marshall Fields/Macy’s. It can’t be that hard. But it is. Every purse I’ve ever owned has let me down.
So now three fellow people in search of the perfect bag will find one one of mine at the University Avenue Goodwill. They’ll take it home with them thinking “this is the one!”
I hope the disappointment is not too bitter.
