Women's Purses 3 (Final)

GRIP AND HANDLING

The way we interact with our everyday belongings is very revealing of our personality. The way we handle other people's things is equally revealing. We covered a few aspects of handling in the previous posts, but this will focus in on behavioral cues specific to handling and grip.

1. Notice the wear on handles. Frequent application of lotion will cause a distinct lightening and wear on the middle part of the handle that wouldn't be there otherwise.
2. If a woman carries a purse on her left, it does not mean she is left-handed.
3. Note whether the scratches from rings match rings worn by the person. (An absence or presence of a wedding ring, perhaps...)
4. If the purse is casually thrown onto the seating area or table, assume that she has a high degree of aloofness and likely keeps a messy home, car and office area. The contents of thrown purses are probably more likely to be a mess as well. Factors can contribute to a 'false read' on this due to mood, person with them and the events of the day.
5. If a purse is treated carefully, she is considerate and most likely takes better care of her things, and the people in their life. In all reality, the way we do one thing is almost always the way we do everything else. Psychologists have long used this to form 'diagnoses' when viewing patient behavior in other parts of their lives.
6. Pet hair is not likely to be present on purses in late afternoon. Mornings have about twice the amount.
7. A woman who takes the time to fully close a clasp or zipper is often calmer-minded and typically more responsible.
8. Watch women who grip their purse straps regularly and you will notice their grip tightness increase when they see someone they do not like or are in a socially stressful situation.
9. I'm always amused to see the degree to which most women will open their purses when in a checkout line. When you see a woman very deliberately limiting people's view of the inside of her purse, it's always fun to guess. If she appears the type not to be shamed to display cheap makeup and hygiene products in public, you have to wonder, "What the hell is in that thing?"
10. Some women will hold their purse in the front, almost as if covering their chest and abdomen. Placing objects (or arms) is an extremely common protective gesture women use when in new social settings, during times of anxiety and when generally vulnerable. You'll also see this with books in the first days of school when girls are meeting new people and getting acclimated to their new environment. (Yes, Kathy, we will get to guys in a later post.)
11. Women who do a lot of walking with their purse will have a visible wrinkle on the shoulder it's been carried on. You can tell how much by how deep or pronounced the wrinkles are.
TRENDS

Trends will always throw off observations if not taken into consideration when making them.

The place women are from will also have sub-trends, such as hemp and 'natural' designs near warm shoreline areas and camo-print here in Texas. Keep the awareness of trends in the forefront of your mind when making generalizations.



CONTENTS

When you get the chance, the contents of a purse will speak volumes. I'll make an abbreviated bulleted list here for reference.

1. Caretaker: This woman will have everything you might need should the moment arise. Advil, bandaids, mints, gum, pens, paper, her friend's business cards, Midol and even candy for the occasional kid she runs into. She enjoys taking care of people and wants to be appreciated for her abilities to do so. She's also statistically more likely to be a pretty good cook and you might assume she had younger siblings growing up.
2. Collector: You'll find all sort of curious things here. Five-year old business cards from somewhere she'll never go again, dice from a game she couldn't find, stubby pencils, year-old Christmas cards, string, the instructions that come with things like flashlights and lots of other little 'treasures'. She likes to keep things because you never know when they might prove useful. She unconsciously collects items from all over her world and stores them for (as far as she knows) only her to see. She thrives on knowing she's prepared for things and isn't wasteful. She's the type to turn off the water while brushing teeth and will usually be far more likely to open fortune cookies and save packaged straws she didn't use in restaurants.
3. Executive: While the purse you see when a woman is working may only be a 'work purse', she still has a few clues for you. Aside from the regular notepads, pens and pocket calendars, you may find something extra. Keep an eye out for anything that sticks out here. I hate to say it, but medication bottles and receipts are likely to be the most revealing things in her purse.
4. Party Queen: This purse is usually full of bar receipts, wadded up singles, loose change, birth control pills and the occasional dash of glitter. To clarify, birth control pills don't equal a party girl. However, women that are more likely to forget to take medication, be it from waking up late, hungover or simply being forgetful are more likely to carry the pills with them so they are available when they DO remember.
5. Momma: Tissues, crayons, wipes, sanitizer, anxiety meds and kid stuff. Maxi-pads are more likely to be in there with new mommies not always due to monthly use, but that according to almost every medical website, almost 80% of new mommies and moms with several children have bladder control problems for quite some time. They also come in handy for makeshift bandages, ice-packs and emergency shoe inserts.
6. Messygirl: She is sometimes confused with the collector. The large difference is in the contents being mostly trash, lint, wrappers, old earrings, broken phone cases, etc. She cares more about enjoyment and fun than keeping a purse cleaned out. Her house is probably going to resemble the purse. Look at her shoes, if she has laces that are darker on the ends, it's from walking around with them untied. Most women's jeans will have a faint horizontal crease either from a hanger or having been folded in a drawer. Hers will not. They may even have that awesome 'fresh off the floor' look to them.