Don’t call it a “murse.”
I Test-Drove Four Purses During Fashion Week
New York Fashion Week is as much a time to see the latest collections as an opportunity to push your personal style to the extreme. Why not? There are street style photographers all around, not to mention impeccably dressed celebrities, so why shouldn’t showgoers experiment? I certainly took this sentiment to heart this past week, and decided to test-drive four purses while going to the shows. And don’t call them “murses,” either. Yes, they’re technically for women, but they really shouldn’t be gendered at this point at all.
I’ve always been attracted to purses, whether it be tiny shoulder bags, or big, honking totes. You can wear the simplest outfit, and a great bag instantly completes the look. However, growing up in a small, tiny town, men wearing purses wasn’t deemed “acceptable,” and I never felt comfortable enough to wear them. This lasted until my late 20s—I’d come across the most gorgeous women’s bags being worn by friends or colleagues, but the possibility of wearing them myself never crossed my mind. Until recently, when I stopped shopping by gender at all. Male, female, and non-binary street style stars are incorporating skirts, heels, and dresses into their looks, so this New York Fashion Week, I decided: I’m going to rock a purse, too.
Now, men wearing purses is certainly not a novel concept. Rappers like Lil Uzi Vert have worn them on the red carpet, and it’s been a thing on the runway for decades. But I’ve always been wary of rocking a purse, scared of being made fun of or looked at sideways. This week, however, I remembered this is New York Fashion Week—a time where anything goes, and even the most extreme of ensembles hardly get a second glance. If there’s one place where it’s safe and encouraged to rebuke gender norms, it’s here. So below, I put four new purses to the test, and gave them my first-impressions review. Spoiler alert: I’m a major purse devotee now.
Day 1
This story originally appeared on: Vogue - Author:Christian Allaire
