I hate purses. I hate them for being one more thing I have to worry about carrying, and one more thing I might forget somewhere. I hate them for dangling so much I have to put them down somewhere to take action shots, take notes (I'm a photojournalist) or do anything like dance and move. And I hate that purses are supposed to be for women only, and men can't wear them without being ridiculed, so they invented the fanny pack and lug around big backpacks instead, which presumably are so much "manlier".
What I hate most of all, however, is the absolute dearth of pockets on the vast majority of women's clothing. Without these pockets, of course, we can't do away with the purse, ultimate symbol of the albatross we bear around our necks for being female. I can't count how many additional clothing stores I've had to enter and look through in order to find clothes with pockets. My wardrobe today may be full of pocketed items, but it must have taken me four times longer to find them, let alone the extra money they cost.
Pockets are more convenient than fanny packs, which don't always match or fit properly, or the way we want them to, and can feel as heavy as purses. This said, I've caved in and bought different designs.
Why don't women's clothes have pockets? I suppose designers and manufacturers just assume we have purses, or use them. However, I wonder to what extent pockets are considered to "bulk up" pants or a dress. It may be automatically assumed women want to look slim, without any "unsightly" bulges, no matter how inconvenient the lack of pockets can be.
This may seem like a small matter, but it's one more factor in our autonomy, mobility and equality.
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You have no idea how precisely you have said what I've felt since I was little.
My mom is big on purses- she's always tried to get me interested in them.
Purses suck. They're awkwardly made, bulky, always swinging in the way, and, to me, ugly.
Sometimes I'll carry a messenger bag or backpack if I have enough things (since I write, I like having a notebook with me, and a water bottle is always nice to have), but if it fits in my pockets, it goes in my pockets.
Women's jeans have the most deplorable pockets. My phone (and it's a slim flip phone, but an iPhone or anything) barely fits in my pocket! My wallet peeks out the top of my back pocket!
MAKE BETTER POCKETS, WOMEN'S FASHION WORLD!!!
I completely agree with this post and with starryeyed.kid21. I spent most of my life hating purses. That said, when I turned 40, I finally decided, after years of looping keys around my fingers, putting my phone in a pocket, and stuffing my wallet under my arm, that I was sufficiently old enough to buy a purse. It's been nice, because now I can carry a lot more stuff. However, my life is different. I don't go out as much and I don't fall asleep at other people's houses. So, it works fine for this old lady. Now, I watch my husband fumble with the wallet, keys, work phone, personal phone, and ipod. I'd love to get him a bag, but he insists that he'd rather lose one thing at a time than everything at once.
Oh, and I just bought one that I really liked. It never matches anything. I'm okay with that. :-)
My husband told me to start carrying floss in MY purse for HIS use. I told him that my purse was for MY things and he can get his own purse if he likes.
I do agree about the pocket thing though. If women's pants came with actual pockets you could fit things in, then I wouldn't have to carry a purse. In the winter, I don't carry a purse because my (men's athletic type) coat has plenty of zippered pockets for me to stuff.
I hate that. My boyfriend has a messenger bag that he likes, but only for multiple things. And he always asks for me to put his umbrella in my purse. WTF? No. So it'll be the only thing in your bag, big deal. I don't want to lug around your heavy umbrella...or sunglasses...or phone, camera, or wallet. Thanks.
Interesting post. I've always thought of carrying a purse as a convenience rather than a burden, but I can see where you're coming from. For me a purse is great because I can carry tons of stuff around with me all the time (especially helpful cause I always like having a book on hand). I often carry around stuff for my boyfriend too cause he only has so much room in his pockets.
They really should make women's clothing with different pocket sizes. I don't know much about tailoring clothes but I'm fairly certain that it's not too hard to have pockets added to your clothing, so that's a possible solution. I also will never understand why it's unacceptable for men to carry purses...it's just a bag.
Well, I purchased a shoulder bag in order to avoid having to sue the pockets (pockets are not really designed for heavy or bulky stuff). I'm a man by the way.
Men are moving towards a useful, originally a feminine, item, and women want to get rid of it.
What is the world coming to?!
I was just reflecting yesterday on how the way I carry my waist pouch under my arm looks exactly like carrying a purse (and no one cares). I do not wear my waist pouch around my waist, because it is too large, and its colors and style clash with basically everything I wear. I also used to carry little man clutches that looked like flat shaving bags without handles.
When I need just a wallet, keys and a phone, I can put those in my pockets or the phone on a belt clip. And my wallet is the smallest I can find which carries cards and has a coin pocket, because I hate it imprinting through my pants. When I was still in my teens, my father brought back an eelskin wallet from South Korea, when eelskin was almost unknown in my community. (My father was an early adopter. He immediately bought a digital watch when they first came out. An early electronic calculator. The first wave of home computers. The Atari 2600. The 50 mpg VW Rabbit diesel.) Unfortunately, it eventually got too worn out, and I haven't found anything better.
There was a time I wore military or cargo pants (no more pants too tight around the thighs or my butt, no pinching across my hips when I sit), but all the extra fabric or weight of objects hanging off my waist and legs was a bother.
I HATE purses. Its extremely inconvenient to have to buy yet another item, and then you can't just buy one because you won't ever be able to find one that matches everything (a black one won't match with brown clothing, a brown one won't match black, a white won't match khaki, and a khaki colored one won't match white). An idea I was given my another person on here said to go get a pair of guys cargo pants( the ones with a ton of huge pockets and that zip-off into shorts) and make them into a skirt. Completely functional, and it fits a woman's body without looking strange. Also, I carry my laptop case with me wherever I go, even if I don't have my computer with me. They are much bigger than most purses even, and because college students usually need to carry their laptops around with them to class, you can find really inexpensive ones that have special places for notebooks as well as writing utensils. Mine is also designed to shift the weight so that it doesn't hurt one arm to carry it around all day. It also would be a better idea for you because the padding would protect your cameras and recorders that you need for you job. Oh and as a side benefit of it, if you get attacked you can always hit your attacker with it, and he may be more likely to leave you alone, knowing that you aren't going to go down without a major fight
Hah! Yes! My cargo-to-skirt idea is catching on! Soon it will take over the world!
Although skirts can sometimes be impractical when it comes to the career mentioned (photojournalism). Us reporters have a habit of doing weird things to get a great shot - climbing, crawling, crouching and other maneuvers that could ... uh... give the world a show if yer in a skirt.
My camera bag is my 'purse' at work - But even then, I still have to eventually put it down and try to juggle camera/pens/recorder/notebook with few adequate pockets, all while hoping no one steals my wallet/keys/cellphone while the bag isn't glued to my person.
Journalists don't just need pockets - we need multiple arms!
okay, I just thought I'd offer it as an option. I don't really know what photojournalism entails as far as what you guys really do. I know the feeling of needing more arms. I was homeschooled all the way through middle school and my mom would leave me with my brother and sister who were toddlers at the time. Two arms are just not enough when you have so many things that you need to carry, pick up, and do at the same time.
Though I can't say I have the same problem I understand where you're coming from. If you don't want to carry a purse you don't have to. It's a shame they don't make women's clothing with more pockets. I know I have cargo pants that are great with lots of pockets.
Personally I don't think I could live without my purse. It has room for the things I need and couldn't possibly fit into my pockets no matter how many I had. I can't tell you how many guys have told me they wish they could carry purses.
I've always seen that as one of the ways sexism hurts men because they can't carry as much stuff with them even if they need to without having a large back-pack or something. Even with all the extra pockets guys tend to have there's no way they could fit the amount of stuff my mom (a fan of having really huge purses crammed with stuff) can carry around. Personally I think there should be a campaign to make it more acceptable for guys to carry purses because I think it's something really practical that men would love to do if they knew they wouldn't be disrespected for carrying one. Of course some men carry "man purses" as they're sometimes called now, but they're the minority especially in more conservative areas where people might mock them for having something traditionally regarded as feminine.
Do Americans use the term Purse to mean Handbag?
I've always thought of a purse as a larger version of a wallet, and more for women. Ie. women carry purses, which are normally larger, rounder, than men's wallets, which was flat and squarish.
But from these posts, it seems to me more in line when I think of ladies' handbags.
And it's not only women who think that the outline of their clothes will be spoiled if they have a phone or wallet in the pockets. I really don't like the look of a wallet or phone in the pants, especially when sitting down, and most of my clothes are fitted, rather than baggy.
Are American men STILL not allowed to carry messenger bags? I guess I find it weird because men everywhere else are already using them. They are usually a bit bigger than a woman's handbag, and usually made from nylon for the lighter and cheaper ones, or leather for the slightly heavier (but more durable, I find) and more expensive ones. A lot of the brand names, ie. Dunhill, Fossil, Oroton (well known here in Australia), Armani Exchange, Bally, etc actually have messenger bags made for men. They usually come in different shades of black, grey, tan, dark tan, brown, beige, even white, with the more sporty ones (by Nike, Adidas, etc) having more bright colours like red, yellow, lime green, etc.
Since they're bigger than women's handbags, you can keep a lot of stuff in them: wallets, phones, keys, hand-cream, water for drinking when you're out, books, sun-screen etc. The only problem, like women's handbags, is that it can a bit cumbersome to place when you're having a meal at a restaurant, going to the cinemas, going to the toilet, etc. And if someone steals your bag, that's it...everything's gone.
No one wants to carry around coins in their pockets.
I don't speak for all Americans or areas in America, but in the midwest, men can carry messenger bags. However, those men will often have people tease them or laugh at them behind their backs for having a "manpurse". Fanny packs are also made fun of as "only" older people with no sense of style would use them. Basically, where I am, a lot of people still view men's bags and fanny packs socially unacceptable accessories. Computer bags are perfectly acceptable however.
yes handbag and purse are synonomous terms here in the US. And no, men are not allowed to carry a bag around. If they need to carry more than what they can fit in their pockets then they should carry a briefcase. Or a backpack is acceptable if you are a male student, but never a messenger bag.That is just unacceptable as far as what society deems gender qualified. So as a result men's pants have giant pockets, while womens have tiny pockets if any at all.
I wouldn't say "men aren't allowed to carry a bag around" as a general rule, thats an assumption. That seems to be the case in Mytrr's comment, so it could be a regional thing. In the Eastern US, I've seen tons of guys carrying messenger bags and it is completely accepted. My boyfriend has carried one since high school and has never gotten any ridicule from it.
But yes, timothy, purse is a more widely used term in the U.S--at least my part of it--and seems synonymous with your handbag. What you would likely call a woman's purse, I just call my wallet.
okay. Where I live (in the southwest) men get called "gay" or "fag" if the carry around any type of bag. It has gotten to the point where since my male friends are sick of being called names by completely random strangers that they ask my friends who are girls and I to carry around their extra stuff that is either too big or too heavy to fit in their pockets. Because I carry around the biggest bag, I usually get most of the stuff. I don't like having to lift my own bag everywhere I go let alone all of their stuff too, but when you are getting food thrown at you (this has happened multiple times especially if we are walking around the mall and they are carrying them) then its better to just carry their stuff
Right...which is why I specified Eastern US. I didn't say it doesn't happen in your area, just that its not a blanket statement for all of the country.
There have been a lot more skirts/dresses being made with pockets in the last few years. I've grabbed up as many as I could for fear that the trend wouldn't last long! It's great wearing a skirt and just being able to grab my wallet, phone, and go. The more casual the clothing, the more generous the pockets. They're pretty popular at stores like Urban Outfitter, The Gap, Target, etc.
Heh. That sounded like a commercial...apparently I am a now spokeswoman for "Urban Outfitters, The Gap, Target, etc." Oh jeez
I'm a type 1 Diabetic with an insulin pump, and it's a pain wearing woman's pants. I always have bulges in my pockets. I tend to wear guys shorts in the summer and you can't tell at all. Hell, I can fit my keys, phone, iPod and pump in my pocket and you can't tell. It's ridiculous.
I don't usually try to carry a purse unless I don't need my backpack.
Go to Goodwill and get yourself some parachute pants.
I certainly understand the sentiment. With regard to pockets, however, I wonder whether the demand is driving the supply, or if there may be another cause. Typically, if there is money to be made off of a product, someone will produce it.
So, does our clothing lack pockets because most women won't buy clothes with bulky pockets (i.e. the demand doesn't justify a supply) -- or is there another cause? I tend to think the former ... but I could be convinced otherwise.
kbz