I get it; women are superheroes. Not in the sense of Superwoman or Wonder Woman, but more in the sense of Batgirl. They have purses. Purses are the equivalent of a utility belt. Batgirl might pull out some gadget to combat an evil villain; women are more practical. They carry things that they, or you, might actually need. I’ll never forget the time that I was sitting across from my sister-in-law when a screw popped out of my eyeglasses, rendering them useless. She reached in her purse and pulled out an eyeglass repair kit. Now, I have pockets, and I carry stuff in my pockets: wallet, napkin, money, identification, utility tool; all the stuff a guy normally carries. I wasn’t carrying an eyeglass repair kit. She was. She saved the day. That’s what superheroes do, they save the day. Women with purses are superheroes, not in a dramatic, overacting way, but in a subdued, I ‘can take care of that’ way. And if you haven’t noticed, that’s the way they think. They carry stuff that will be needed to save the day. Need your day saved? Find a woman with a purse.
Women also set a priority on looking good. The clothes they wear help make them look good. Their clothes generally don’t have pockets. They carry pocketbooks instead, to help them look good. (I suspect that if they did have pockets they wouldn’t be nearly as resourceful as they are.) Now, can you imagine a woman dressed to the nines, carrying a stiff tanned leather, one size fits all, saddlebag as a purse? Me neither. Women choose the purse they carry to match the outfit they’re wearing, same as they choose shoes. Looking for a good gift for a woman? Get her a purse. A woman can never have too many purses. (If you happen to be an architect, start designing master bedrooms with extra closets just for purses and shoes.)
Shopping for a special, designer purse for that special lady? Something Robin might say comes to mind here, “Holy joke, Batman. Did you see the price tag on that Birkin? Maybe you should just get her a Gucci, or even a Prada.” Of course, Bruce Wayne wouldn’t have to worry about that. Handbags are a status symbol to some women just as cars are to some men. It’s not about the utility of the thing; it’s about the un-attainability of it. Fortunately, most women are practical. Don’t buy her a designer handbag; buy her something that she can use, something that will go with a particular outfit or set of outfits. Best bet: take her purse shopping with you. She knows what she needs; she knows what she wants. Oh yeah, be prepared to hold her purse while she looks through the displays.