Who needs a purse?

I have many purses. Big ones, little ones, medium ones. Backpack purses, purses that look like briefcases, purses that look like suitcases. Crossbody purses. One-handled. Two-handled. Even a couple of waist packs (if those can be considered purses). Tiny evening bags. Giant faux diaper bags. Fashionable leather handbags. And don’t forget all the different wallets. For some reason, even though I rarely go back to a previously-used purse, I also can’t get rid of them. So, yes, there are piles and piles of purses shoved in the dark corners of my closet.

But why were purses invented to begin with? Why do women carry purses and men don’t? Without diving too deeply into history, the first known handbag actually WAS carried by–or at least buried with–a man, Otzi the Iceman, more than 5,000 years ago. I suspect that men first carried such bags because they were the ones who had stuff to carry. As time went on, men’s bags were attached to their belts, and women started carrying decorative little cloth bags (“reticules”) for their sundries. But over time, men’s bags became smaller and less common, while women’s became bigger and more stuffed. Why is that? Of course, it’s because of the lack of useable pockets in women’s clothes.

For years I have bemoaned the lack of pockets in my clothes. Perhaps if I would pay up for higher end togs I would get pockets–I don’t know if that is true given that I mostly shop at TJ Maxx and Amazon. I know that over the past 10 years or so, more women’s clothes have started to include pockets, although often they are so shallow and small, or made of such flimsy material, that I can’t carry more than a single tissue with me. But especially when I travel, I long for functional pockets, a way to carry my phone and ID and other essential items without having to dig into my handbag/backpack/purse each time I need something. I need not just serviceable chambers in my clothes, but the holy grail of travel clothes: compartments with zippers. And I finally found them!

On my last trip, I wore a pair of pants that has FOUR zippered pockets. The fabric is strong enough to hold my phone and not sag ridiculously. (It may look ridiculous that I’m wearing pants with four zippers–remember the 1980s and parachute pants with zippers that didn’t go anywhere?–but that’s a different post. At least these zippers DO something.) The pockets are big enough not just for my phone, but for my passport, a credit card, emergency tissues, and lip balm. And I only used three of them! It felt so good to have an extra pocket available, just in case I came across something else I needed to have handy.

I had a backpack during travel, so I had additional storage space if necessary. But earlier this week I decided to try another experiment–I went out to run errands WITHOUT A PURSE. I wore the travel pants. I used the fourth (previously unused) pocket for my car key. I had everything I needed (although I realized too late that I couldn’t stop for gas at Costco because I’d left the Costco card at home in my, er, purse). Wow, I felt so free! Is this how men feel all the time? I didn’t have my usual stash of snacks, but it’s really better for me if I don’t have those available anyway. It was so odd to not be carrying anything. My arms were empty! My back didn’t hurt! I didn’t accidentally set something down and leave it behind! (Although I was constantly worrying that I had.)

That experiment was so successful that I went back to the online store where I purchased my fabulous pants to get another pair. After all, if I’m going to be wearing them all the time, I probably should have more than one pair. Unfortunately, they were sold out. I’ve started a trend!