It is not uncommon for men to carry a purse today and the term used for the man purse is a “murse”.   After all, pockets alone, can’t hold all you need to carry at times, such as electronic equipment, books and documents.  A purse, it’s not just a “Girl” thing.

The purse is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin. In 1981, Hermès chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas was seated next to Jane Birkin on a flight from Paris to London. She placed her straw bag in the overhead compartment of her seat, but the contents fell out, leaving her to scramble to replace everything back in her purse. Birkin explained to Dumas that it had been difficult to find a leather weekend bag she liked. In 1984, he created a black supple leather purse for her, based on an 1892 design. And, thus it became known as the Birkin bag.

Birkin bags are sold in a range of sizes. Each purse may be made to order with different hardware options and customer-chosen hides such as calf leather, ostrich, crocodile, and lizard. A variety of color options are available such as pink, red, brown, baby blue, navy blue, olive green, orange, white, black, and golden tan. The lining is made of goat skin and the interior color matches the exterior color. There are other individual options, such as diamond-encrusting. The purses are handmade in France by expert artisans. Each purse is hand-sewn, buffed, painted, and polished, taking several days to finish. An average purse is created in 48 hours.

The Birkin Bag, with it’s meticulous quality, is very desirable to us girls and has a high price tag. If you can’t afford the real thing, don’t buy a knock off purse. Buying a fake makes you a fake and it is illegal to sell them.

Resource: Wikipedia

One feature of a Sharon Barber purse is the patented attach pad.  It provides a convenient place to attach items, such as your pen or your lipstick in full view when you open your purse. The attach pad is located inside the top of the interchangeable wrap, or some would call it an interchangeable cover, an interchangeable skin or even an interchangeable shell.

With the attach pad there’s no digging to find your pen, your lipstick or whatever you choose to keep there is right there ready to pull off, use and then stick back on the pad.  Attachment pieces are provided with the purchase of a Sharon Barber purse and used to attach to items that you choose to keep there.  Every girl is unique and so are the contents of her purse, your choice.

The author is unknown, but this is a perfect quote: “Grandmothers are just antique little girls.”   That would mean she still wants to have fun and likes tasteful, whimsical toys and things.  So, if you really want to purchase a gift for her think,  puzzles, fun, whimsy.  You may even consider toys or books from the baby boomer generation childhood years, something that she can relate to when she was a little girl.

Consider a zigsaw puzzle, crossword puzzle or word search puzzles.  There are many different puzzles, in many different forms, even purses and jewelry, that are fun and provide many hours of entertainment or enjoyment accessorizing herself.

According to The Susan B. Anthony House, Ms. Anthony worked for many reforms, including suffrage, temperance, and abolition, but found that women were hampered by their lack of power – their lack of money.  In the early nineteenth century, very few occupations were open to women.  Once married, a woman could not open a bank account, enter into a contract, rent a place to live, or sue someone against whom she had a grievance.  Any income that she earned was considered to be the property of her husband.  For Anthony, the purse was not a fashion statement.  The “purse of her own” became the symbol of a woman’s financial independence.

“Woman must have a purse of her own, and how can this be, so long as the wife is denied the right to her individual and joint earnings.  Reflections like these, caused me to see and really feel that there was no true freedom for woman without the possession of all her property rights.” ~ Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony, was recognized by two trademarks:  her alligator purse and a red shawl. Visit the Susan B. Anthony House and Museum to see the famous alligator purse she carried across the United States and to Europe.  It is located at 17 Madison Street, Rochester, New York.  Anthony used her alligator bag more like a briefcase than like a purse.  In it, she carried her speeches and pamphlets, a copy of the transcript from her 1873 trial in which she was found guilty for having voted “illegally” in the 1872 federal election. What would be the most important item you carry in your purse?

The Susan B. Anthony House introduced “Ms. Anthony: a Purse with a Purpose” designed by the Abigail Riggs Collection in 2010. The contemporary handbag has two purposes: to share the story of Susan B. Anthony, champion of woman’s independence, and to generate income to sustain her llegacy through the Susan B. Anthony House.  For more information and to purchase the purse visit The Susan B. Anthony House here.

Little girls are able to dress “head to toe” in bright sunshine yellow and look adorable, but it’s a little tricky for us big girls.  You don’t want to look like Big Bird. Not everyone feels as though they look good in yellow clothing, but it’s all about choosing the right shade that looks good on you.  Finding that right shade makes all the difference.

Yellow accessories work well for all girls and women and they still give you the trend with just a touch of the color.  Try some fun yellow shoes, glowing jewelry or even a bright sassy purse to brighten up your day.  Chill out with a little yellow fashion fever this season.

It’s a never ending source of ideas for all kinds of clothing and fashion accessories, such as little girl’s dresses, men’s shoes and women’s purses.  For example, the purse shown here is a beautiful rich brown color.  The color can be found in much of earth’s soil, but also in the cocoa bean.  The texture is that of water ripples and the natural beauty of wood grain is used for the hardwood details.   The purse’s rectangular shape can be found in naturally formed stones.

Look for earth friendly fashion finds that are easy on the environment to help keep the creative Mother Earth inspiration alive for future generations.

The dress is extremely important, but choosing the accessories to accentuate that fabulous dress is important too. There are many options for you to find the special prom purse including designer stores, specialty shops or online stores. Many choices of styles are available also. Styles include plain or embellished bags; wristlet, clutch, swinging pouches. The smart choice and the earth friendly choice is a quality transformable purse with a fancy interchangeable cover. You will be able to use it for the prom and use it later in a more casual or fun interchangeable look just by changing the purses accessories. You could even choose to customize your very own to make it uniquely yours and to match your dress.

The ideal prom purse should be a small evening bag, large enough to carry the bare essentials, yet small enough not to take away from the look of your dress. It should be color coordinated with dress color. Stay in the same color family to prevent a big contrast. If your dress has excessive beading, embroidery or sequins, stay away from heavily embellished purses. Simple style is best.

You will be making some long lasting memories on your special night. Have fun ladies! It’s your time to shine.

The original zipper was improved on with Gideon Sundback‘s invention of the modern zipper, in 1913.  He added teeth per square inch and scoop-dimpled the teeth to give the closure more strength.  Google, the search engine giant, honors his birthday today with a clever interactive zipper doodle and stitched logo.  You can actually click this fun Google doodle here to unzip it for search results of Sundback and the zipper.

Are the contents of your purse secure? Is your purse zipped up?

Enough cash to take a taxi home, just in case you need to.  Girl’s should always be prepared.

Cell Phone, but please keep it turned off unless you need it for an emergency.  Enjoy your prom, you can chat anytime.

A small Mirror, unless it is built into the purse, as in a Sharon Barber purse.

Your Identification

Prom Tickets

House and Car Keys

Breath Mints

Lipstick

Nail File

Tissues

That’s about all you really need.  Keep it simple, less to keep up with and then enjoy your evening.  Have fun!