So my wife got me a handbag for Christmas….

[Mouse]

To the question ‘what do you want for Christmas?’ One of my answers had been a handbag. I had picked out a nice blue one on Amazon as you do, and therefore on Christmas morning I was the slightly bemused guy with the handbag.
So back up, why? I had always figured that any skirts I bought or made would have man sized pockets. This worked up to a point, but failed when I started buying more interesting skirts. The skirt I bought for Halloween was made out of gauze. No pockets, my skater skirt, no pockets, the list goes on. Then I go to the skirt cafe meet in November and a number of members are sporting handbags. So I figure why can’t Mouse rock a handbag? Having got a handbag the first thing you realise is how many compartments are in said bag. So keys, wallet and phone loaded into bag and off we go to the shops. First problem, keys to the car, normal operation, slide hand into pocket, feel for car fob, press button remove hand. This operation happens smoothly as you walk up to the car. With a bag you have to stop, open big top flap, work out which section has keys. Find keys, press fob. Close bag. Not smooth,
Get to supermarket checkout, another search for the wallet in the depths of the bag……You get the idea that Mouse is not a smooth handbag operator yet.
Problem number 2, I should have paid more attention to Jeff’s pages where he details which handbag he takes with which outfit. Remember blue bag. Mouse buys new purple skirt with no pockets. Mouse quickly realises that one blue bag is not going to work, maybe I should have started with a black bag.
This is a fun ongoing new adventure in a new area for Mouse to get a grip on. The key business has been sorted by discovering an outside pocket which can be accessed without opening the large top flap. As one walks with bag on shoulder, keys can be accessed and car opened. Of course those of you with keyless entry cars are way ahead of us.
I have also made strides in taking my handbag to a builders merchant. Discovered that a number of network wall plates can be carried in one’s handbag, even if one is wearing heels as well…..see my pics pages.
So what handbag stories do you all have? Obviously Mouse is in need of handbag tips and tricks? I have called the bag in question a handbag in this piece since searching skirtcafe I came across a number of posts against the man bag label. To be fair, a search for the word handbag brings up pages and pages for Jeff’s pages, so maybe all we need to know is already here. Sorry to be so long winded, but wanted to set the scene for a fun post.

[Bill]

It takes a while. My wife bought me a black and a tan bag and I'm not there yet with fluidity. Maybe that's why I often wear a utility kilt - plenty of useful pockets.

[Mouse]

It takes a while. My wife bought me a black and a tan bag and I'm not there yet with fluidity. Maybe that's why I often wear a utility kilt - plenty of useful pockets.

Yes, I bought my daughter two bags, one tan and one black….I just liked this blue bag and didn’t engage brain any further.

[JohnH]

I have a black cross-body bag I wear no matter what I have on - such as a man's coat, tie, and trousers outfit or a dress.
In the past I relied on pockets, which one time led to a washed cell phone. Now washed phones don't work so well.
I also got sick.and.tired of picking up bottoms and having keys.and coins fall out and clatter on the.floor, as well of having to.transfer items from garment to garment.
Black is a good universal color, in the.spirit of.Henry Ford's saying with the.later Model.T's, "You.can have any color as long as it's black".
All of.my.dress shoes except one pair are black. I have a pair of white low heels to go with my white dresses which I will wear to church during Easter season.

John

[Bertino56]

Don't exactly need a purse or handbag.
When I'm in leggings, there's an annoying lack of pockets, so I compensate by wearing a
sportsman's zip-front utility vest, which has loads of pockets.
Or, carry a book-bag. In an area frequented by students, a book-bag never looks out of place.
My favorite book-bag is one recently given to me that has, in big letters, "Read Banned Books!"

[Myopic Bookworm]

I have just acquired a small pouch with a shoulder strap so that I can lug my mobile phone around the house while wearing something without pockets (yesterday it was a jersey dress).

[crfriend]

Bags are commonly carried by men in Europe, but not exactly in the New World. I learned this some 40 years ago thanks to exposure to European counterparts in the company I was working for at the time.

Bags in the New World for guys are still uncommon, and I recall getting my balls busted at my local the time I brought my laptop in one evening to check the network there, and one wise-arse insisted in calling the bag the laptop was in my "murse" (why don't we call women's handbags "herses"?) to which I responded, "No, that's my laptop bag." -- and the insult was repeated -- to which I finally replied, "No. That's my laptop bag. This is my purse (holding up my sequinned clutch which had a shoulder strap)!" He shut up after that, and everybody else in the vicinity laughed.

It's all in how one handles the situation.

[JohnH]

I have NEVER been hassled over my use of a cross body bag. I guess I must look enough like a woman so I am not hassled.

John

[Coder]

I use one when I need one. Of the ones I have my favorite is shaped like a piece of toast with an egg on it - gotten some positive comments at the checkout at a small store, and also on the street during an art fair. When I use it I feel like I'm *really* telling the world IDGAF about fashion rules, the world probably thinks I'm crazy .

[Uncle Al]

I need a new 'bag' The style I have(I'm on my second one), isn't made anymore
I want a bag that has 'card slots' to hold ATM/Debit cards, some business cards, a place for
drivers license and health insurance cards. Also, a cavernous pocket to hold a small LED
flashlight, spare medications and a phone charger.
I've been using my 'SECOND' bag for around 20 +/- years.

Now to the 'picky part'

It must be leather. It must be black to match my shoes and belt.
Black is a neutral color that goes with anything you wear.
This keeps my 'color palette' balanced

Uncle Al

[JeffB1959]

I’ve been using handbags and purses, very femme looking handbags and purses for years and it’s no big deal to me at all. Pockets are gauche when it comes skirts (when I wear them) and dresses, so bags are important to me and the image I present. By the by, I often make sure the color of my bag matches my shoes, a must for me when it comes to fashion.

[Mouse]

By the by, I often make sure the color of my bag matches my shoes, a must for me when it comes to fashion.

I knew I should have paid more attention to your pages.....Blue bag, blue shoes......says Mouse hunting around for any blue shoes.
I think a black bag is required to get Mouse somewhat nearer to fashion.......

[JeffB1959]

By the by, I often make sure the color of my bag matches my shoes, a must for me when it comes to fashion.

I knew I should have paid more attention to your pages.....Blue bag, blue shoes......says Mouse hunting around for any blue shoes.
I think a black bag is required to get Mouse somewhat nearer to fashion.......

Well, keep at it, you'll get there! Fashion sense doesn't come overnight, sometimes, it has to be cultivated. By the by, once upon a time, I used to have navy pumps (see below), and yes, I had a bag to match too!

[rivegauche]

I use a cheap black messenger bag when wearing a skirt and presenting male. Everything goes in there - nothing in pockets in any jacket or the skirt if it has pockets. When doing the whole presenting as woman everything has to be leather and matching (but not necessarily the same colour) - handbag, shoes and gloves. Handbags are convenient and I miss having one in everyday life and ruining the line of my trousers with wallet, phone and keys. Strange that I am prepared to wear a skirt or dress as a male but not an actual handbag.

[Mouse]

Strange that I am prepared to wear a skirt or dress as a male but not an actual handbag.

I am in a similar mind frame, but I am working to correct it. I think that like everything else, most of the problem is inside my own head.