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Show 4 ( f Also in this section: Weddings E4 ArisEntertainment Thursday 15. Man h Lifestyle E3-- 8 w Ei Woman's handbag provides a home away from home 'Who steals my purse Handbag tells a lot about a woman's life steals trash' Karan did some in primary color buckskin. For spring, Karl Lagerfeld did little quilled belt bags for Chanel, and Rifat Ozbek showed a knapsack done in solid rhinestones with basketball shoes to match. By PATRICIA McLAUGHLIN -- Universal Press Syndicate Except that she hadn't been yet, my mother eould've been whom Shakespeare was thinking of when he wrote, "Who steals my purse steals trash." born There are also plenty of versions all of a sudden in tropical prints, folksy mirror embroideries, and colors like hot pink, neun green and orange as well as the usual boring Eddie Bauer browns and LL. Bean greens. er Hers was always full of candy wrappers, ancient Kleenex, wads of gum wrapped in tinfoil, loose raisins, Oreo crumbs, crumpled envelopes, broken crayons, old grocery lists, used train tickets, useless receipts. Any piece of trash that came into her possession when she was out of reach of a trash can automatically went into the purse where it competed for space with The advantages of both kinds of packs are obvious: They leave your hand free to wipe runny the usual necessities: lipstick, eyebrow pencil, money, driver's license, charge cards, keys. dog-eare- ft Of7--- noses, pay for things, fumble around for your keys, riffle in through stacks of search of the elusive right size all things that otherwise require system: calendars, rt . ft you to put down your briefcase satchel tote, whatever, thus creating an opportunity for you to walk off without it, or for somebody else to walk off with it. Also, unlike big shoulder bags, backpacks don't keep trying to pull you over sideways. Carol, who sometimes ends up walking home with a gym bag, a briefcase, a purse and a shopping bag full of fresh fish and vegetables for dinner "I feel like a pack anithinks a backmal," she says pack might get her down to three bags instead of four. Janet's not interested. She thinks backpacks look wrong when you're dressed for work like wearing running shoes with a skirt. More than that, she says, she needs instant access to her stuff, and you have to take a backpack off to get into it. Which, she points out, the people behind you don't. Once when she was in college, she remembers, coming up out of the subway, she found somebody else's hand exploring the contents of her backpack. Fanny packs have the same problem, unless you want them in front thus creating the unflattering illusion of a pot belly. No thank you. Janet's happy If she has broken graham crackers, a squeeze toy, diapers and handi-wiposhe undoubtedly Ikis an infant. 1 know one ou;ig mother who kit. alwas carries a mmi first-ai"You never know when one of the kids will need a little mending,' " she says. Then there is the woman who keeps 12 kinds of medication in her handbag, just in case." Cosmetics can sometimes take over a handbag, supporting the theory that "vanity, thy name is woman." Time was when all a woman needed was a tube of lipstick and a hankie. Some women are practical. When I needed a screwdriver to fix my glasses recently, a friend just happened to have one in her handbag. And even J sometimes carry needle nose pliers and super glue to repair broken earrings. The business w oman is usu iy quite easy to identify because she wouldn't be without her planner. One young woman from our office recently returned for her plaiuier after going out to her car because "without it 1 don't know where to go next," she said. Books are common to many handbags. "I always carry a book," a colleague reported, "just in case I get stuck somewhere." Another observed that her daughter carries a crossword puzzle book. "And since 1 am a grandmother I carry a brag book," she added. d After a Fashion Even so, she traveled light compared to my friends Carol and Janet. Everybody knows working mothers do more work than other all that housework on people top of their office work. Ixss attention has been paid to the fact that they also have to carry more stuff around. Because they have kids, working moms get stuck with the traditional candy wrappers, dusty raisins and mateless mittens; because they have jobs, they carry more necessities. Not just lipstick and keys, but a whole address books, extra shoes, hairbrush, hand lotion, sunglasses, reading glasses, contact lens cases, umbrellas, lunch, snacks, weights and towels and workout clothes for lunchtime aerobics, things to get Xeroxed, diaper coupons and sometimes even work proofs and manuscripts for Carol, film and negatives and layouts for Janet. And then theie's the stuff that finds itself into their bags on its own fugitive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, odd blocks, enigmatic puzzle pieces, headless d copy of Barbies, a "Goodnight, Moon." At least the fashion business offers them plenty of things to carry it all in: humongous tote bags with shoulder straps, attaches and briefcases, and the designer knapsacks, fanny packs and belt bags that are among fashion's latest passions. Marc Jacobs started it last fall with bright-colore- d satin backpacks for Perry Ellis, and Donna By KFNF.K C. MLV) Herald Litest vie Ldilor It has been said that you can toll a lot about a woman by w hat she can tos m hor handbag. Another acquaintance wouldn't leave home without her knitting. "I always knit during football and basketball games," she said. 'f4 Photo courtesy Michael S. Wirtz, The Philadelphia Inquirer Handbags have expanded to humongous tote bags that carry a large part of a woman's We with her humongous black satchel except for one thing: Everybody she works with carries one. They figure that sooner or later somebody's going to go home with the wrong one. And what happens then? If you take somebody's bag home, do you have to finish her work? Do you have to pick her kids up at day care? Cook them dinner? Keep them overnight? Where does it end? females inMany students cluded carry briefcases. And it has become apparent that these briefcases are becoming larger. The evolution of the small purse to the large tote has come over several years. The fact that most of us need more and more space to carry our goods says sometlung about our complicated lifestyle. As one woman explained, "I could live a year out of this handbag!" Autumn winter shows preview shorter skirts, longer jackets By RENEE C. NELSON Herald Lifestyle Editor Even before all the SpringSummer fashions are available in local stores, the European fashion houses are showing their AutumnWinter lines. In many cases these will be a carryover of popular summer styles, though in darker colors. Things to look for include shorter, straighter skirts, many of them pleated but others straight. But the main interest is in long, curvy jackets, many of them fitted and double breasted. Some houses in several also showed cape-coatvariations. And others presented a return to the short bolero jacket over pants. d dresses have also made a comeback as well as the d skirts. Good news for those who don't go for high fashion is that the skirts in local shops are often longer than the runway versions in Paris. Just because something is shown in the European market doesn't necessarily mean it will be a hit in this country. s, Wrap-aroun- wrap-aroun- If the shorter skirts don't suit your fancy, there are plenty of pants to choose from. However, trousers, too will be shorter and also tighter at the ankle. The zoo is still alive and well for fall, particularly in coats and trims, like that of French couturier Jean Louis Scherrer's panther-printe- d grey trenchcoat shown over a short woolen jacket and wrap-aroun- d skirt. II Nautical styles also continue into autumn as part of the bounding fashion mam, with pea jackets, officers' or mess jackets among the most popular. Ai Easy action is one big message of the fall season, so no matter what y you choose it should represent fabric and a cut that works for you. high-qualit- - -- - gs$ JJl " ' "Sn) AP I jsorphulo Models present day-we- ar outfits from Paul Costello's AutumaW inter collection last week in London. " Now that luxury wear has gone on display at the Autumn Winter shows in Europe, the outfits will be copied for the masses which look to these early shows for a forecast of what is to come on the fashion market. I AP I jsi rphoto made satin cocktail dress printed with Abyan presents a gold-meta violet, copper and bronze motif from Givenchy. al ) |
