Vesper’s Handbag
I did something I have never done before – I watched a Bond film. I caught Casino Royale on a recent rainy Sunday. Violent, bloody and for me, hard to completely follow, I was still able to enjoy the luxurious locations, gorgeous sets and wardrobes. I was especially taken with Bond Girl Vesper Lynd, played by Eva Green. And as I read after watching the movie, this was the only film where James Bond (Daniel Craig) actually falls in love with his leading lady.
I was struck by a poignant scene when Bond’s large masculine hand plucked a tiny seashell among a tumble of belongings from Vesper’s handbag. By this time, Vesper had been killed and Bond had been unable to save her. The items in her purse formed a lovely and wistful composition on top of her black embroidered purse. The shell represented the untroubled but fleeting days of their love affair when they tarried on sandy Italian beaches embracing and kissing. Along with the shell was Vesper’s sleek camera and chic white cell phone, a linen handkerchief, a book of poetry, a fine black wallet, and a rather large bottle of scent. A quick internet search netted the name of Vesper’s perfume: Santa Maria Novella’s Melograno, which by all accounts is a worldly fragrance with a trailing feminine heart – much like the way I would describe her strong yet fragile nature which was endlessly fascinating. It’s no wonder that she stole and then softened the heart of the cruel and callous Bond.
I am certain the contents of Vesper’s handbag were selected very carefully by filmmakers to represent her unique personality and to trigger Bond’s grief – his sad face as he examines the lone shell says it all. The scene is very brief but Vesper’s belongings are a delightful allegory into her psyche and a clever visual haiku for romantic types like me.
The innards of a female handbag remain a secret garden – it’s quite rare to be privy to what women carry, even the handbags of close friends. Certainly most men seem immune or at the least, confused by what’s in them. A hungry boyfriend once asked me hopefully, “Do you have any food in there?” But to see what a woman carries is to gain a most private perspective. I remember how I felt when I saw a strange man holding my open handbag and rifling through it looking for my ID after he found it in the parking lot of a hotel. I had foolishly left it on top of my car after I loaded my suitcase and blithely drove away. When I returned a few minutes later, the kind man was holding it with one hand while his other hand groped inside for my license. I remember noticing how small my bag seemed in his possession. And it was strangely intimate.
French artist Nathalie LeCroc has made a career creating watercolors of the items found in women’s handbags. She prefers an un-edited handbag – no removing gum wrappers or baby pacifiers in the taxi on the way to her studio. Her works of art will one day be a book of 1,001 handbags and their secrets. The prints are as charming and varied as the women they belong too.
I have a friend who stores her deceased mother’s handbag wrapped in layers of plastic. She says that when opened, it still retains the smell of her mother and she wants to preserve that sacred imprint as long as she can. Could it not be said that a piece of our very souls are found within the jumble of our handbags?
Below, is mine. Unedited. Like Vesper, I too, carry a large bottle of scent.
And Vesper’s:
If you carry a talisman that is special or want to disclose what your handbag holds, I’ld love to hear.
11 Comments
Breneea
Handbag preference changes with outfit, mood, weather…
A scarf of silk a chatelaine of notebook and pen on chain an embroidered linen handkerchief a bottle of perfume(changes just as the handbag does) lip balm slightly ever so tinted mascara sunglasses a secret compartment for money and credit cards tiny antibacterial gel tiny bottle of hand cream and cell; the handbags range from tiny to tote, silk to weaved reed…
All a sincerely feminine escape for just my knowledge.
Adieu
Breneea
P.S.
Watching old movies, they do not make clothes or nightgowns or robes(either day or night)(write upon that) the same as they used to…
An old soul in a younger body.
Adieu
donna macdonald
Thank you readers! I just love the special tokens some of you carry. And isn't it nice? They are almost always emblems of love…
Hermesmerized™ the duchessofH
Hi Donna,what a lovely thought provoking post.
I found your blog via Hostessofhehumblebungalow.
Handbags are my passion, and I change them almost daily, as I'm one of those women who like to match my purse my outfit.
I carry my essentials; lipstick, mirror, brush, comb, breath spray, phone, pen, hairspray, and hand sanitizer, in a le Mobile purse organiser. It allows me to switch handbags in a second.
The only unusual thing I carry (in my wallet) is an old fortune cookie, fortune, from the first Chinese restaurant that my husband and I went to when we were dating.
Cheers,
Donna
donna macdonald
Thank you so much for visiting Donna!
cherre henderson
Hi Donna, I love this post. A woman's handbag is very intimate. I feel like I'm doing something wrong whena friend says, "just get it out of my purse". I do like to keep a fragrance of some kind in my purse. Right now its Bath & Body Love & Sunshine. A little make up bag with powder compact, lipstick and gloss and face blotters. Also anti bact gel. 🙂
Kay
Well, Donna, as you know, my handbag was painted by Nathalie LeCroc and it's among my treasures. She painted my huge Coach sachel…I named that bag Aunt Dorothy after my globetrotting auntie, and it accompanied me around the world, as befits a bag with that namesake. Nathalie said "She already has a name. C'est parfait!" I adore my purses…right now, I'm carrying just a purse, but my vintage hankie, sketchbook, vintage Big Red fountain-style pen, and my Chanel No. 5 are always with me. Time to go buy another Aunt Dorothy…she retired 2 years ago, and now holds the care kit for my other bags…leather soap, mink oil, and a soft cloth for polishing. GREAT post, Donna…now I have to go watch that film again! Love, Karen
Pondside
My handbag of choice is always the sort I like to take traveling – small, thin and with lots of pockets. I can carry it cross-body or on my shoulder. Credit cards, license, lipstick, keys, tissue, change purse and an office pass. It's not at all glamorous, but it suits me!
Anonymous
I like to travel light. Most of the time I carry only a tiny bag that is little more than a wallet with an adjustable strap. It contains ID, cash, credit and debit card, lipgloss, my cell phone, and the tiniest, prettiest miniature ballpoint pen I've ever seen.
I remember when I was maybe 14, reading an Ellery Queen mystery novel wherein the victim was a beautiful woman, exquisitely dressed, carrying an evening bag that contained a powder compact, a lipstick, and a delicate handkerchief. That simple, elegant image made a huge impact on my awkward early-teens self — as you can tell, since I still remember it more than 50 years later!
Donna
Since I was a tow-headed tike, I have loved handbags. This post made me smile. Nothing more feminine and personal than the contents of one's purse. One thing in my handbag is a card from a bouquet of flowers my husband sent when we were dating.
Gail, northern California
Nothing nearly as romantic or revealing as yours or Vesper's handbags but I would be very sad to lose photos taken long ago and never updated. They are transferred bag to bag, always the same set of photos. One photo features my 18 year old daughter accepting her high school diploma…she's 49 now.
This always brings a smile to my face…if I asked my husband to bring me something from my purse, he'd bring the entire purse as though the contents were taboo or off limits. So cute.