I went to the mall today and came to a screeching halt in the accessories department. My mouth fell open when I was faced with a wall of leg warmers and neon pink stirrup leggings.

Uh, what decade are we in? And didn’t we learn our lesson the first time around?

Then again, who am I to say anything? The other day I watched a re-run of Remington Steele (circa 1982) and totally wanted a dress Stephanie Zimbalist wore.

I may still be stuck in the 80s, but I won’t be wearing leg warmers again.

©2010 Susanna Carr Blog. All Rights Reserved.

What I really hate about carrying a purse is when I’m with someone who doesn’t have one. Inevitably they ask me to put their stuff in my purse.

What do I look like? A pack mule?

Don’t answer that.

The zipper on my last purse broke, probably because I put too much junk in it. Right now I’m running around town carrying nothing but my wallet. I got it for my 21st birthday during a shopping spree at the Marshall Field’s in downtown Chicago. (Love that store!)  The wallet is old and a little worn in some areas, but it’s still in great condition. Strangely, it’s the size of some clutch purses these days!

While I’m still looking for a good purse to buy, I’m hesitating. There’s a freedom in not being loaded down with a purse. I was actually considering not getting another one when I came across this tidbit in Nina Garcia’s The Little Black Book of Style:

“The handbag only became a female accessory at the beginning of the 1900s. Before that only men carried a purse, and if a woman wanted something, she had to ask him for it.”

So all this time I’ve seen carrying a purse a burden, when instead the handbag is a symbol of independence.

I am so getting a purse. The bigger, the better.

©2010 Susanna Carr Blog. All Rights Reserved.