We women have it tough when it comes to lugging stuff around. Sure, men have to sit on overstuffed wallets that may well make their buns fall asleep, but one time I actually weighed my purse and found it took second place only to a bowling ball. That explains why I walk with one shoulder lower than the other. Beats bun pain by a mile, though.
Women are usually armed for anything, which is why a purse is necessary. We need to carry tissues, hand sanitizer gel, car cell phone chargers, schedules, bills to mail, prescriptions to fill, travel size products of every description and enough change to fill a slot at the casino to choking.
I miss the purses of yesteryear. Back in the day, my favorite all-time purse was the Ambassador II, an organizer handbag like no other and the undisputed king of bags. Each bag came with a wallet, change purse, cosmetic bag, mini address book, notepad, two key rings (which fit into snaps inside the bag) and even a pen with its own sheath. Now those were the days when mail order gave you value (plus shipping and handling).
Of course we fill the freebies with stuff; keys by the dozen go on the key rings, a model’s dream supply of makeup in the cosmetic bag, plus pocket change, hand cream, spare batteries, a book for the commute, mail and such, and that bag becomes quite a load to carry.
The company that manufactured the bag seems to have vanished, or they just went out of production without notice, which infuriated legions of the bag’s fans. There was a video on YouTube about the bag (http://www.uniquehandbags.info/1978-ambassador-handbag-ultimate-bag-commercial.html) which was recently pulled because of some legal problems about its appearance. The bag has been out of production for some time, so somebody must have an issue with nostalgia advertising (unless, by some miracle, somebody is bringing the bag back).
Today’s so-called organizer bags are bottomless caverns of inefficient design. I have yet to find a bag I truly like to replace the Ambassador. The best I’ve come up with is a Gianni Bernini with two zip closures (I preferred the large flap of the Ambassador), wide bottom (close enough) and some serviceable pockets. I bought a black one and a beige one, never having been one to be out of season with my purse. I hope they last two seasons apiece before I’ll need to replace them with something new. Have you ever noticed that, when you find something that works for you, it goes out of production?
As long as I carry a purse, I’ll continue my quest for the holy grail of bags. A suitable heir to the Ambassador is sure to come along in my lifetime, right?
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