Ah, the secret lives of handbags! From offbeat contents ("one chopstick") to the everyday ("one Chapstick"), we convinced a bunch of Canadian women across the country to divulge what's in their handbags right now. No cheating!
Some contents we loved (and laughed at). Sound familiar?
• "…Souvenir of my solo trip to San Francisco and Sonoma, California, two years ago (big event in my life as a mom/Siamese twin to my five-year-old)"
• "One pair of red shoes, one with broken strap…."
• "Two loser lottery picks"
• "'George [Seinfeld] Costanza' wallet"
Handbags from Montreal
Who: Oorbee Roy, textile designer, OM home
Bag: Black Oakine Shoulder Bag
In my bag:
• 1 28-day-old dry-cleaning receipt (oops!)
• Pair of sunglasses
• Pair of eyeglasses
• Small change purse
• Wallet
• Two packs of Dentyne Fire
• Small mirror
• Lotion
• Hand sanitizer
• Lip balm
• One energy bar
• One lip gloss
• One piece mail from real estate agent
• Paper clip
• Hairband
• Cellphone
Who: Shanna Gervais, interior design student
Bag: Gucci summer collection fannypack light beige logo with blue flaps and belt
In my bag:
• Keys
• Gift certificates to Bleu Marine
• Cash, maybe $70 and change
• USB Key
• Tide-to-go
• Driver's license, other ID and Point cards (Shoppers Drug Mart,
Hallmark, Costco)
• Some business cards
• Pen
• Two loser lottery picks
• One extrathin pad for emergencies
• Unpaid parking ticket..oops!
Who: Rachna Vohra, writer, editor, artist (www.rachnavohra.com, www.sapostrophe.org)
In my bag:
• Card wallet
• Collection of small inspirational cards by paramahansa yogananda
• Badge from aikido school I have never been to
• Keychains with keys (including two LED lights!)
• ID card for work
• Loose cash
• Loose change
• Two matchbooks
• Old receipts
• Business cards (mine and other people's)
• Nail cutter
• Voice recorder
• Change purse
• USB key
• Pen
• Chapstick
• Second change purse to hold various good luck charms/spiritual symbols
• Tiny hair clippy
• Rubber band for hair
• Scraps of paper with notes/reminders
• Pill box (odd for someone who doesn't take any pills!)
• Bus ticket
• Subway tickets
• Nail file
Note: I have a surprisingly small purse for the amount of stuff I have in it!
Handbags from Halifax
Who: Deanna Wilmshurst, communications manager with Destination Halifax
Handbag: Red backpack knockoff from Canal Street in NYC
In my bag:
• Sunglasses holder with a pair of sunglasses and clip-ons for my glasses
• Cellphone & headset
• Wallet
• Small bottle of hand cream
• Half a package of Ricola cough drops
• Half a package of Kleenex
• Two pens
• A Valentine from my four-year-old
• Office keys
• A half-used Chapters gift card
• A multitude of papers, including a flight itinerary, tax information, Dr. appointment notice, bus schedule, cheque stub receipts and coupons for the casino
• Small cosmetics bag for making the transition from day at work to evening on the town containing: small bottle of body spray; hair spray; mirror; solid Mirage perfume stick; Berry Bold Lancôme Juicy Tube; hair brush; folding toothbrush; toothpaste; Tylenol; safety pins; dental floss; nail clippers; 2 barrettes; 5 lipsticks (I had no idea there were five in there!) and a button.
• Lip balm
• A maple leaf pin
• Business card holder with business cards
• A pass for the Museum of Natural History and a bunch of frequent buyer punch/stamp cards
Who: Kristi Wenaus, director, sales & partnerships, Tourism Nova Scotia
Bag: Black Coach handbag (birthday present to me when I was in NYC)
In my bag:
• 10 LifeSavers in wrappers stolen from the restaurant last night
• Burgundy leather wallet -- Birthday present from my mom :)
• BlackBerry (life line...)
• Sunglasses case (no sunglasses)
• One chopstick (my three-year-old thinks it's a drum stick)
• Teether toy for my 10-month-old son
• Ziploc bag of Cheerios for the kids (who knows how old the cereal is...)
• Fruit to go fruit stick (also for the kids)
• Half a package of Jolly Ranchers (for me!)
• Four different lip glosses -- I'm addicted
• Three pens
• Two hair clips
• Spa gift certificate that expires in three weeks (I know , I know)
• Various loose business cards, including my own
• Parking ticket (Thanks for making me look -- I need to pay this)
• Keys
• An uncashed cheque from my mom (I never cash them...)
Handbag from Hamilton, Ont.
Who: Yuki Hayashi, freelance writer/editor
Bag: Purple leather Marc by Marc Jacobs bag from Saks Fifth Ave., souvenir of my solo trip to San Francisco and Sonoma, California two years ago (big event in my life as a mom/Siamese twin to my five-year-old)
In my bag:
• Crappy three-year-old Nokia cellphone
• Six Hamilton cab receipts, four Toronto cab receipts
• Three Go Transit receipts
• Restaurant receipt from local pho restaurant
• Business card from store I bought sofa from last week
• Plastic straw sleeves from juice boxes
• Empty Extra bubblemint gum double pack
• Gum wrappers
• Bulldog clip
• Empty baggie
• House and car keys
• Isaac Mizrahi for Target black leather wallet with hot pink lining (no money
in it)
• PC Mini Chefs Smooshies apple and fruit sauce tube
• Three black pens
• Ray-Ban aviators, brown lens with gold frame, in eyeglass case
• Junior kindergarten progress report
• Three crayons
• A couple of my old business cards, none of my new ones
• Video iPod
• Old hard candy
• Two Kleenex packs (one empty, one half-full)
• Kiehl's lip balm (no colour)
• Quo face blotting tissues in aluminum case
• Vincent Longo lip stain
• Lola lip gloss mini
• Black Goody hair elastic
ª Post-its with numbers written on them
• Hot pink Post-it mini pad
• Empty hand wipes packet
• Yarn and straw necklace made by my daughter
• Piece of paper where she wrote: TOBIKO (her favorite sushi)
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