it’s time to lighten the load on your shoulders and carry a smaller handbag

lighten the load on your shoulders and carry a smaller handbag

Remember the fannie pack of the 80’s? Back then, they were belt bags worn around your waist. The actual bag was positioned on your backside and apparently that is how the name was derived. They were not a fashionable statement rather they were more for practical use. Many designs were neon and made of a light nylon fabric. Many people were actually poked fun of by wearing them. Soon the fashion trend became less than popular. It’s too bad because they really were very useful and practical.

Well that was then, and this is now. Hence the reemergence of the Belt Bag

The now “It” bag you see everywhere. Belt bags were showing up on the spring and fall runways. High-end designers all have reinvented them with logo’s and all. Some of these designer bags range in prices of up to thousands of dollars. The fabric is now fancier. Fine Italian leather for some, chains, decorative embellishments, and logos, now make them more of a fashion statement.

Here we are with an 80’s revival of the fannie pack. Once poked fun of as a cheap accessory, now looked at as a trendy fashion statement.

It’s about time we stop carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders because it’s fashionable.

I never owned a fannie pack but I should have. Running errands with four children wasn’t easy. I had to keep tract of the kids, my purse and the diaper bag. I was always leaving something behind or even on the roof of my car. Can’t even count the times I left my purse somewhere, however I was fortunate enough to always get it back. Believe me, I used to get a lot of sympathetic, or sometimes pathetic, looks as it certainly was an overwhelming time for me.

However, I never left a child or at least not while I was by myself. I will admit that when I was with my husband, we may have left a one of our twins in the car a few times. But, that was just a because we often thought the other was going to get them. No harm done. They were quickly retrieved, and all was good.

I have finally got a handle on it!

After my children had grown, I fell in love with small cross-body bags. I do have several of these and find that the convenience is non-comparable to the oversized bucket bags. First of all, I don’t experience the pain in my shoulders as I had carrying a larger bag. The bigger your bag meant the more stuff to carry. I will no longer ever carry a weighted down bag. Half of the time I really didn’t even use all of the things I had put in my purse. With the lighter cross-body bag, I sometimes have the feeling that I’ve left my purse behind. It will take some getting used to. But, I have to say less weight means no aches. Not to mention, I love my hands being free.

I’ve learned how to downsize and remove all the unnecessary things from my bag. It takes a few times but you can start minimalizing by keeping track of what is used and get rid of the “just in case I need it” stuff. I’ve even found smaller more compact wallets.

Now that I have downsized, the convenience while traveling, shopping, or just going out to dinner with a smaller lighter bag is the way to go for me. The other perk, with smaller bags is that I no longer need to dig through my purse looking for my keys!  

A few ways to wear a Belt Bag or Cross-body Purse

• Over a coat or a sweater to keep it closed
• Under a jacket or blazer
• Around your waist utilizing it as an actual belt
• With Slim or Wide legged pants
• Down lower around your hip with a dress

 

Be faithful to your own taste as nothing that fits your lifestyle, or you really like, is ever out of style