What Does Your Purse Say About You?
-- The contents of a woman's purse can certainly reveal a lot about her personality -- is she organized and always prepared for the unexpected, or is she a disorganized free spirit?
According to Allyson Waterman, Lucky magazine special projects editor, a purse can say a great deal about a person. She put "Good Morning America's" studio audience to the test to see whether they could determine which of the four purses belonged to anchor Diane Sawyer.
Below is a description of the bags that were presented to the audience:
Straw bag that stands by itself
This bag is very structured with lots of compartments. It is easy to peer inside. The purse contains:
Wallet
Stamps
Treo
Compartmentalized makeup case
Purell
Photo album
Peppermint gum
Photo iPod
Toilet-seat covers
Wet Ones
Face blotter
Pat & go lipstick OR Gloss on a key ring
Brush-ups
Pill case
Waterman: This bag owner is organized and detail-oriented, with a place and purpose for everything. This over-organized person has probably updated to the technology age, which helps cut down on the clutter and allows your bag to be more streamlined. Consider it a timesaver -- you never need to spend a night digging through a month's worth of bills and candy wrappers to make sure that your bag has only what you need.
The hobo bag
This bag has no structure; it falls flat when placed on the ground or a table. It is a bottomless pit because it has no pockets, and everything is swimming inside. The purse contains:
Overstuffed Filofax
Papers and bills (more than a month's worth of receipts)
Overstuffed wallet
Gum wrappers
Fruit gum
Makeup scattered all over -- lipsticks, compacts
Pens
Post-it notes
Nail file
Palm Pilot
Cell phone
iPod with loose earphones
Loose photos
Sunglasses
Rabbit's foot
Lottery tickets
Kleenex
Train schedule
Toothpaste and toothbrush
Catalogs
Waterman: An oversize, pocketless bag can easily turn into a bottomless pit with an unsuspecting owner not even knowing what lurks in its depths. To an outsider, this bag is a disaster area. To the owner, it is probably organized chaos. The person who carries this bag perhaps has a hippie-vagabond self-image. She may think she's rebelling against conformity. But is carrying the "in" bag of the moment perhaps trying too hard?
Anybody who chews a fruit gum is a great friend and eager to please.
Lucky charms and a profusion of lottery tickets indicate a feeling that luck needs a helping hand. Men hardly ever have these things because many of them believe that they make their own.
She's a woman who wants to do it all. She's working on a system of organization but hasn't quite mastered it. But you can't judge a book by its cover. Disorganization can be a sign of creativity. I would never recommend redoing someone's purse -- it's far too personal -- but a few binder clips, rubber bands and Ziploc bags could open up a whole new world to someone whose handbag is in such a state.
Small, gold, metallic clutch:
This bag is not too small of a clutch but small enough to fit inside another bag for an easy "day to night" transition. This bag contains:
Small credit card case with key fob
Lip stain/gloss all in one
Compact
Business card case with cards
Cell phone
Breath mints
Waterman: This bag is for the party pro. She knows how to consolidate and be minimal, and she is always on the run. This is definitely not the bag of a girl with a 9-to-5 job. Her needs are pared down, and she doesn't feel compelled to carry around a lot of useless junk. The emptier the bag, the more confident the girl.
The "grab and go" bag
This bag has everything a woman needs to go anywhere in the world at a moment's notice. It contains:
Passport
Perfume
Cinnamon gum
Usually a Ziploc bag of lunch
"mini pharmacy"
The mouth to mouth "condom" (CPR device)
Waterman: Those who have very large bags filled with things like magazines, sweets, headache tablets and so on are catering for an enormous number of possible events during the day. They're thinking about whether they might get hungry, bored or ill. It indicates a more methodical personality.
Cinnamon gum is for the person who is interested in adventure, somebody who is outgoing and looking for new and novel activities.
The "grab and go" bag belongs to Sawyer.