Today’s guest writer is Jennifer from Aspiring Fashionista, a fashion-savvy blogger whose outfit posts and fantastic finds consistently inspire us with new ideas for our own wardrobes. (Check out her post on super-easy DIY embellished flats!) Here she muses on the power of the handbag to change not only your outfit but your mood.
While I was growing up, my mom instilled in me a number of important life lessons: “Boys aren’t worth the tears,” “Pretty is as pretty does,” and, most importantly, “When in doubt, change your purse.”
She is a firm believer in the power of a good handbag and how that one l
ittle component can change your whole outfit. Whenever I’d come in her room, throw myself on her bed, and whine, “Momma, I’ve got nothing to wear,” she’d open her closet and start grabbing purses. A clutch here, a shoulder bag there — each promising to revamp whatever was in my wardrobe.
It’s amazing how one bag can instantly turn your “outfit” into a “look,” how your simple T-shirt and jeans can now be edgy, boho, or flirty. I can be whoever I want to be depending on what bag I snatch that day. The small addition of a handbag, with your cell phone and lipstick tucked inside, can carry amazing power and identity.
I bring myself back to those moments in my mom’s room when I’m standing in my closet in my own home, five hours away from Mom and her outfit-saving purses. I have two go-to handbags for when the nothing-to-wear blues strike. One is a bright yellow clutch, shaped like the Eliza Wristlet Clutch. It adds such a perfect pop of color to whatever I’m wearing, from a blouse and pencil skirt to a tunic with leggings. It’s like hand-held sunshine. The other is an over-the-shoulder studded bag similar to the Black Studded Messenger Handbag. That’s my power bag. If I’m facing unruly crowds at the supermarket or a highly-opinionated client that day, I slip that over my head like armor.
What bags do you go to when your outfit isn’t coming together like it should? What moods or personas do they carry?
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