A Woman And Her Bag

I can't believe what I just heard. A female fashion designer actually said, regarding carrying a large bag, "How much do you honestly need to carry?" Are you serious? She suggested if you have to carry a large purse, to keep a smaller purse inside it. What?? Okay, actually, I could see that if I had the time to stop and reload every time I left the house or got out of the car. But, without a doubt, I know that whatever I left in the larger bag would be something I needed. It's not so much that a larger purse can be painful to carry and damage our posture as it is that the fashion industry should come up with a bag that is more carrier friendly.
Sure, I have friends that carry smaller bags. Usually they're my bags I've bought and given up trying to carry so I give them away rather than see them sit on the top shelf of my closet. There are just things I need when I leave the house.
First, I've got to have THREE 'easy to get to' pockets for keys, sunglasses and my phone. I don't like to share those pockets because I don't want to scratch the glasses or my phone. And forget putting them in cases to protect them...takes too much time to get to them that way. I can't leave the house without my phone. I've got kids, for one reason...and friends who need me as much as I need them, at times, to do a favor. I don't go anywhere without sunglasses. Period. Then every woman needs personal 'touch up' items. I'm pretty simple, so all I take is some lip gloss, a compact and nail clippers. Occasionally, depending on where I'm going, maybe a tad more.
I, personally, have to carry a small notebook. I'm constantly making notes, and though my Day Planner has paper, I like keeping a notebook on me. Of course, there's my wallet, which is a part of my Day Planner. It has my phone book, my calendar, my cards (credit, insurance, DL...all that), my checkbook and pen, and my cash area. I need a big bag for my Day Planner because I can't go anywhere without it. I also have a spare set of keys to everything, some hand lotion, some perfume and I always have a bottle of water in my bag. Lastly, but very importantly, I carry a small bag for my ipod that the boys got me for my birthday. I honestly have this with me everywhere I go. I listen to it from the time I leave my house, in the car, into the store or wherever I'm going and back home. I love my ipod. These are my essentials. There is nothing here I could leave home without.
Now, sometimes I take my camera. I love to take pictures of the most ordinary things, and usually regret it if I don't have it, so sometimes I carry it too.
There have been a number of times (that I can count on one hand) that I have left my bag at home when my husband and I have gone somewhere. I've regretted it every time.
Some day when I see someone out with a small bag, I may just have to ask to look inside. My bag is like another limb that I can't do without. I use it nearly as much as I do my limbs...come to think of it. Why men don't cary bags, I have no idea. Probably takes a real man to carry a man bag, just like it takes a real woman to carry one.