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In American English, a 'purse' is a small bag, also called a 'handbag'.
In British English, a purse is a small money container similar to a wallet, but typically used by women and including a compartment for coins, with a handbag being considerably larger.
A purse or handbag is often fashionably-designed, and is used to hold a number of items such as a wallet, keys, tissues, makeup, a hairbrush, feminine products, or other items.

Contents

Variations

Types of handbags

Trivia

See also

References

Variations

The word ''purse'' is originally derived from the Latin ''bursa'', from the Greek ''βυρσα'', meaning oxhide.^[1]
Purses are usually carried by women, though men sometimes carry one as a smaller alternative to a backpack; such a purse is sometimes self-consciously termed a 'murse' or 'manbag' (portmanteaus "man" with "purse" and "handbag" respectively). It can also be called a 'man-purse'. Such bags are often similar or identical to messenger bags.
'Coin purses' are small purses, just large enough to hold money and cards.
A medium-to-small-sized purse with a short handle, designed to be carried (clutched) in one's hand is often called a 'clutch'.
A larger purse with two handles is often called a 'tote'.
A 'pocketbook' is similar to a purse (in the British English sense), but allows the carrying of sheets of paper as well.
A 'security bag' protects the carrier from travel theft. The purse includes an invisible stainless steel strap sewn into the fabric and a protectant on the main zipper.

Types of handbags

★ Clutch: Small, usually evening bag without a handle.

★ Satchel: large bag with small handle that is carried on the arm rather than on the shoulder

★ Duffle: A large bag usually used for travel or sports

★ Tote: A medium to large bag with two straps

★ Messenger bag : A bag with a long strap to be worn across the body.

Trivia

★ In the Oscar Wilde play, ''The Importance of Being Ernest'', as a baby the protagonist, Jack Worthing, was found in a handbag in the cloakroom at Victoria Station, prompting Lady Bracknell's famous exclamation "A handbag?"

★ A survey of shoppers at Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex found that the average 30-year-old woman owns 21 handbags and buys a new one every three months, adding up to 111 over the course of a lifetime.^[2]

See also

★ Birkin Bag

★ It Bag

★ Louis Vuitton

★ Coach (company)

★ Vera Bradley

References

1. Definition of purse
2. Sienna Miller syndrome: Why a woman owns 111 handbags in her lifetime