Fashion Influence — how style shapes, and is shaped by, the people who wear it
A purse is a small bag used to carry everyday personal items, and the word means different things on opposite sides of the Atlantic. This short guide is expanded below with the handbag family the American meaning covers, and the closures, straps and materials a shopper compares.
Purse
A purse is a small bag used especially by a woman to carry everyday personal items. It can also refer to a small pouch of leather or plastic used for carrying money, typically by a woman. Obviously a purse can be utilized by a man as well.
Is there a difference between handbags and purses? The answer to this question depends entirely on where you live. The British English meaning of “purse” is a coin purse, wallet, or pocketbook. If you’re from England, you might carry a purse inside of a handbag. The American English meaning of “purse” has become synonymous with “handbag” which means the term can describe all types of handbags including clutches, satchels, totes, hobos, and more.
There are many popular brands of purses, and some of the most popular ones include Coach, Baggallini, Longchamp, Telfar, Saint Laurent, Cuyana, HVISK, Edie Parker, and Mansur Gavriel1. Other popular brands include Hammitt, Fendi, and Tory Burch. Some of the most timeless designer bags are from Gucci and Celine, while Tory Burch and Longchamp are great for everyday use.
If you want to know the truth, I am born & raised in America but always thought that the purse was a women's wallet (maybe I am British and my parents lied to me that I am American).
Please visit the handbags page to learn about purses.
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Because the American meaning of purse covers the whole handbag family, the useful shopping distinctions are the bag types themselves. A clutch is carried in the hand or under the arm and holds the minimum for an evening: phone, cards, keys, cosmetics for touch-ups. A satchel is a structured bag with a top handle and often a longer strap, built to hold its shape. A tote is the open, roomy carrier, sized for a day's worth of goods and often a laptop or book. A hobo is a soft, slouchy shoulder bag with a crescent profile that collapses as it empties. Crossbody bags, the modern addition to the list, trade capacity for hands-free security, while the coin purse of the British meaning survives inside most of them as the small pouch for cash and cards.
Materials and hardware decide how a bag ages. Full leather softens and marks with use, coated canvas and nylon resist rain and weigh less, and fabric bags are the lightest and the least protective. Closures divide by security: a zip top secures everything, a magnetic snap is faster and less complete, and an open tote secures nothing but a separate pouch inside it. Straps deserve a test in the shop — a handle drop that clears the elbow, a shoulder strap that does not slide, and stitching at the strap joins that is even and tight, since those joins carry the bag's whole load every day it is used.
The reliable way to size a purse is to lay out what it must hold and measure the pile: everyday bags need to swallow a wallet, phone, keys, sunglasses case and a cosmetics pouch without forcing the closure, while an evening clutch that holds those same items flat is doing its full job. Weight when empty predicts weight in use, and a heavy empty bag is the one most often left at home. For the fuller treatment of the family — shapes, designer history and choosing between them — the handbags guide linked from this page is the next step.
It depends where you live. In British English a purse is a coin purse, wallet or pocketbook, small enough to be carried inside a handbag. In American English purse has become synonymous with handbag and can describe clutches, satchels, totes, hobos and more.
A small bag used especially by a woman to carry everyday personal items, a meaning that covers all types of handbags. A purse can also refer to a small pouch of leather or plastic used for carrying money, and a purse can be used by a man as well.
Coach, Baggallini, Longchamp, Telfar, Saint Laurent, Cuyana, HVISK, Edie Parker and Mansur Gavriel, with Hammitt, Fendi and Tory Burch also named. Gucci and Celine are cited for timeless designer bags, and Tory Burch and Longchamp for everyday use.