Women's handbags a weighty matter

THE TIMARU HERALD

BAG LADY: Which handbag Pleasant Point's Jess Lindsay takes out depends on the occasion, but she believes her general daily bag is heavier than it used to be.

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 The weight has been taken off the shoulders of the nation's women – or has it?

According to a report in Britain's Daily Mail, women's handbags are now 57 per cent lighter than they used to be thanks to new generation, multi-purpose gadgets.

The research, done by British retailer Debenhams, shows that "ladies are lugging less" because gadgets such as the iPhone and Blackberry have taken the place of Filofaxes, brick-like phones and hefty laptops.

The average bag now weighs 1.5kg – 57 per cent less than the average two years ago when women were carrying 3.5kg.

But Pleasant Point woman Jess Lindsay, 24, said her day-to-day handbag would have increased in size and weight over time rather than get any lighter.

Essentials in her bag include wallet, hair ties, phone, lip balm, iPod, sanitary items, documents and a drink bottle.

"When I add in my cardy and umbrella it becomes a little bit like an overnight bag really."

People stopped in Stafford St yesterday had varying handbag weights. Timaru's Fay Cameron had the heaviest bag at 1.6kg, while several people's bags were just 800g. While some agreed their bags had become lighter, most said they had stayed much the same weight.

Debenhams' handbag buyer Sue Tebbitts said in the mid-1990s, mobile phones added an extra 250g to bags. Weight continued to rise as more women began to carry laptop computers, peaking at 3.5kg in 2006 and 2007.

Smartphones render these devices largely obsolete as they can access email, surf the internet, play music and be used as an organiser.

Most weight in a woman's bag is still from makeup, mirror, purse, tissues, perfumes, sanitary products, brushes, toothpaste, receipts, address books and headache pills. Books, magazines, brushes, perfume, keys, maps, deodorants, contraceptives and lipbalm also feature.

- © Fairfax NZ News