Remember when I posted about all the things I keep in my handbag?
Well I got a lot of comments from you guys, basically telling me that I’m crazy for carrying that much stuff around.
Apparently carrying around 6 chargers and 8 lipsticks (among other things) isn’t “normal”.
(Who knew? I certainly didn’t.)
So when Debenhams offered to send me a teeny-tiny bag and challenged me to use it every day for a week, I decided to accept the challenge.
I chose this B-E-A-yooootiful pale blue Jasper Conran number* and was very smug with myself cos I thought I’d picked a bag that wasn’t too small…
I was wrong.
“OHMYGOD IT’S SO TINY” was my initial reaction.
Swiftly followed by: “OOOH PURRRRDY”.
So yeah. This challenge thing…
MONDAY: Took me twenty minutes to pack my Extremely Small Bag in the morning. Kept having to rearrange and re-prioritise items. Had to leave my iPad and notebooks at work which made me feel really light and naked and not happy. Luckily I managed to get my diary in so not all bad!
TUESDAY: Threw a tantrum in Pret at lunchtime, cos I couldn’t get the bag to close after putting my purse back in. Man behind the counter laughed at me. Then went to a blogger event and got mad cos I had to unpack the whole thing just to get my phone charger out. Blogger friends laughed at me.
WEDNESDAY: Kept the Extremely Small Bag for essentials, but had to also carry three extra canvas tote bags stuffed with all my things from work. Looked like a pack horse. Shoulders hurt much more than they ever did when I was using a ginormous backpack. Sent Debenhams a tweet to tell them that I wasn’t doing very well at this challenge thing and thank you very much for the bag but OH GOD IT’S SO SMALL. They laughed at me.
THURSDAY: Off sick from work. The Extremely Small Bag came in very handy for just throwing my keys, phone and purse in when I needed to run to the shops for food. Can see how small bags would come in handy if you didn’t have to cart a uniform, full makeup bag and DSLR camera around London.
FRIDAY: Think I’m finally getting the hang of this small bag malarkey. Actually took one of my (three) lipsticks out of it this morning. LOOK AT ME BEING ALL MINIMALIST WITH JUST MY TWO LIPSTICKS.
SUNDAY: Bag game is strong. I AM QUEEN OF SMALL BAGS. I wore it completely on it’s own to Dalston Food Market. Look how happy I am with it! So light! So easy to carry! So perfect for running around a food market with! I’m a tiny bag convert!
…
Well. Maybe.
See, here’s the thing: by the end of the week I was in love with my bag. It’s blue, purrdy and smells of leather and unicorn dreams.
But… it’s just SO small.
When you’re having to run around town with all your stuff for work (of which I contractually have a lot of) and for blogging (cameras are BULKY beasts), then it’s just not feasible to use such a tiny, tiny bag on it’s own.
For weekends? Sure. It’s great. Perfect even!
And, if nothing else, this has definitely shown me that I used to carry a helluva lot of unnecessary stuff in my backpack.
But I think that, for me personally, and for where I’m at in life at the moment, I need a bigger bag for weekdays.
I do love ol’ Blue though, and it will definitely be getting a lot of use over the Summer weekends!
Leather jacket: New Look // Tshirt: Primark (similar) // Jeans: George at ASDA* //
Trainers: George at ASDA* // Necklace: Primark. I think.
PS. Take a peek at 3 more ways I styled these jeans!
*This post was written in collaboration with Debenhams.
