Shopping

[ellarien]

I went out to Walmart this afternoon, in search of an 18x24" poster frame. While I was there, I also picked up a new sun hat, and a purse.

[Note to avoid confusion; this is 'purse' in the US sense; the British equivalent would be 'handbag'.]

This last is more momentous than it sounds. I've been nervous about purses ever since I was robbed in London ten years ago; I carry my cash and IDs in a waist pouch, my cellphone and keys in my pockets, don't usually carry a checkbook around, and if I carry my one and only purse to go shopping it usually contains nothing more valuable than a paperback and a water bottle. For Phoenix trips, the stuff to keep me amused on the journey rides in a battered canvas tote from Waldenbooks, and that usually goes into church with me on Sundays. But I was wandering past the accessory displays, and I saw these nice big, squishy fabric purses, and it occurred to me that one of those could quite easily take the place of the Waldenbooks bag and look slightly more elegant.

Maybe I'm becoming middle aged.

Comments

[rilina.livejournal.com]

Is "handbag" really a British term? I use it much more than I ever use "purse."

Me, I knew I was becoming my mother when I became one of those women who carry their entire life in their handbag, complete with napkins saved from fast-food places for all those just-in-case moments.

[ellarien]

I've always thought it was, but it's possible I'm overcorrecting my Britishness. (This is quite easy to do; sometimes it results in constructions that don't actually work on either side of the Atlantic, but which each side assumes belongs on the other.) This particular example will take an 8.5x11 notebook, so it's pushing the definition of either handbag or purse!

[fjm.livejournal.com]

It's more that we wouldn't use purse to describe anything larger than a money wallet.

--
er, Wallmart?

[ellarien]

Otherwise known as the Evil Discount Store, I know. I don't do it often, but it is closer to the bus than the alternatives, and in nearly 100-degree weather that's a consideration.