Not too many crooks

This all began with a conversation that Alfie and I had a few days ago. We saw a lady carrying her bag, and she started talking about the "proper" (read: sosyal) way to carry a handbag.

According to style books, style blogs and style icons, handbags should be carried on the crook of the arm. No matter how big or how heavy it is (and besides, it isn't chic to carry the kitchen sink in your handbag), the bag should rest nicely on the crook of your arm. Like so:

(After all, Victoria B. is chic.)

And once your elbow starts to ache, the bag should be carried by hand. Just like what Eva Mendes does in the first photo.



Apparently, the No-No in bag carrying is putting it over your shoulder and tucked under the arm. As Alfie says, it's "hindi sosyal" to do it this way. The only exemption is if you really a carrying a shoulder bag.

Because of this conversation, I began to be mindful of how women carry their handbags. While walking through Greenbelt and Glorietta, I noticed that majority of women do the "hindi sosyal" thing and carry it under their arms. Maybe it's because it's what they're used to, or maybe it's because a bag resting on the crook of your arm is easier to snatch. (Which reminds me of how Tita Evelyn carries her bag when we're in Barcelona. She embraces it in front of her, largely due to fear of the notorious pickpockets and snatchers in Spain.)

Not surprisingly, majority of the "crook carriers" are found in Greenbelt 5 - the swankier part of the locale. Maybe they start carrying it this way because of the environment. Harhar.

Gosh, so that means you can be judged just by looking at how you carry your bag! And I thought that being judged by what you wear is difficult enough.

Good thing guys like us just carry backpacks and computer bags. That makes things a lot simpler. (And less judgemental. Harhar.)