HANDBAGS

The essentials travel in a cloth, zippered makeup pouch.

For everyday, I have three larger, pouch-shaped shoulder bags the makeup pouch fits into. One denim, one black leather, one beige tapestry print. Each was under $8, new. In each of these also travels a generic, long strand of costume-jewelry-quality beads ("Oops, it's dressier here than I anticipated"), a pair of hair clips, a headband ("Oops, I need to get my hair out the way!"), and a pair if nylon knee-highs ("Oops!"). Coordinating shoes are good-quality, leather, supportive walking shoes.

For dressier occasions, I have smaller leather and woven-cord shoulder bags in colors that match coordinating dress shoes. Each was under $7, gently used.

They all have long strap handles to pull them out from under banquet tables, at which I seem to be making regular appearances at formal dinners and at conferences. Poor Hardi won't have to crawl under these anymore to pull out my clutch-style makeup pouch!

An item to keep an eye out for in thrift shops is little stationery/ card cases for leaving nice little notes behind or collecting get-well wishes for people "back home" on the prayer list. We keep a set in the car but it turned out I need a flat case in the handbag, too.


TO JEAN, OR NOT TO JEAN?

Mindful of the recent thread about uniform trousers, I found all-cotton stretch trous that fit like jeans but are stitched like trousers, for those long drives downstate to business events. Twills and denims. Toss on a business-dressy jacket in my mix-n-match separates inventory, those beads and hair clips, and viola!


Wow, "dressy" in this clergy-rich atmosphere I move in now requires a very particular "style" that is hard to describe. I finally think I have it, though!

~Susan