1. A good purse lets you carry round the everyday essentials with ease: your wallet, house and car keys, cellphone, make-up, headphones and so on, all neatly stored so you can find them whenever you need them.
2. Neat and clean: If your bag is a jungle of receipts, junk and random items, maybe what you need to do first is some thorough decluttering.
3. The right size: What size of bag you need can vary throughout the day. You could say that the size of the bag decreases as the day progresses: from bulky morning shoppers and tote bags, perfect in the morning to carry whatever you need during the day, to smaller clutch and pochette bags for the evening at parties, special dinners or similar occasions.
4. A place for everything and everything in its place: It’s important to keep all the items inside your purse separate and prevent them from getting jumbled, with your keys always ending up at the bottom. Keys should be kept separate in an internal pocket; your cellphone should also have its own pocket (preferably with a zipper) separate from the keys, to stop it getting scratched. Make up should be in a closed bag or case, to keep the bag’s lining and contents clean.
5. Eating out: In a restaurant or coffee shop, it’s best to hang your purse on the back of the chair, if it’s safe to do so. If the bag doesn’t have a shoulder strap, or you are worried about theft, you can keep it on your lap or placed on your seat behind your back. Putting your bag on the floor means it will get dirty, and placing it on the table looks rude and can get in the way of the food.