When presenting yourself as a woman, every detail counts. The right handbag pulls your outfit together and is the finishing touch to your feminine look.
The wrong bag, however, can spoil an otherwise perfect outfit and even call attention to body flaws. Who needs that?
Here are 6 things to consider when choosing a handbag:
1. Length
Length is an important and often overlooked detail. Your handbag accentuates the part of your body it falls next to, so keep these tips in mind:
- To make your hips look wider, choose a bag that falls at hip level.
- To make your waist look more shapely, choose a waist-length bag.
2. Shape
Handbags can range in shape from square and structured to soft and rounded. To provide balance, look for a bag with features that are the opposite of your body. For example:
- If you have a straight body shape, look for a slouchy or rounded bag to create the illusion of curves.
- If you’re on the rounded side, a more structured bag will flatter your features.
3. Size
Your handbag should compliment your overall body proportions. If you’re tall and/or stocky, a tiny bag will look out of place. If you’re small, a big that’s too big will overwhelm you. Choose a bag that’s in sync with your proportions.
4. Style
A bag that’s too casual or too formal for the rest of your outfit is a common fashion “don’t.” Study fashion magazines and blogs to learn which bags looks best with specific outfits. Pinterest is also a great place to look for bag+outfit ideas.
5. Function
While your purse should look good, it also needs to serve its purpose. There’s nothing more annoying than a tiny bag that doesn’t fit your essentials… or constantly losing things in a bag that’s too big or has too many compartments. Make sure the size and various compartments of the bag work for you.
6. Color
Color is one of the most important handbag considerations. Here are two tips to keep in mind:
- Forget about the old rule to match your bag to your shoes. While your bag and shoes should coordinate, they don’t have to be an exact match.
- A black or brown bag will give you the most mileage, but don’t be afraid to try something different. Red, burgundy, forest green, and dark blue are surprisingly versatile handbag colors.
Let’s talk bags!
As much as I love shoes, I might be even more obsessed with bags. That’s why my collection is constantly growing. (Thank you, Ebay!)
What about you? How many bags do YOU own?
Take my poll and tell me about your favorite bag in the comments below! Even better, share a photo of it with us!
Love,
Lucille
P.S. If you liked this article, you will love my FREE Male to Female Transformation Mini Course.
Loading ...
transformation tips?
It didn’t save. Ugh!
This is my favorite one.
I like my little leopard print purse too
My favorite one.
My wife’s idea of a good handbag is one that hangs at arms length and has an easy access for the charge card “quick draw”. She learned that from watching old westerns on tv and once I thought I heard her whispering, “make my day” while practicing in front of the mirror.
Thank you for the tips. Many times I’ve been in the handbag department and I’m just blown over by the variety of colors, designs and styles. So hard to decide and being unsure of what I want, I’ve ended up leaving empty handed. I like the hobo style bags, but I haven’t found, ‘the one’. Prices can be mind blowing too. So I’ll wait. I’m not happy carrying lots of junk in my pockets either and lately my pants feel like their falling down. Like my grammy used to say,”That’s why hard”.
I love to carry a pocketbook with lots of things in it. It puts the finishing touches on feeling feminine. I have a casual and practical over the shoulder for daytime purposes and a small fancy black one that just carries my keys, money, and lipstick when I go out at night wearing heels and a sexy dress.
I have 5000+ Purses and handbags as I’m rich totaly girly
WOW! That’s a lot of dust and cobwebs!
I just pick a hand bag that I like, that I think will go with everything I own. that way I don’t have to change purses every time I go out. that is what Cis-women in my area do
Imagine a person’s height and build has a bearing on what style of purse is best. For a smaller person a large and longer handbag would seem out of proportion; a heavier person would probably look better with a larger handbag.