Unexpected items in the handbagging area: The little things that mean so much and get carried everywhere
Peek inside any woman’s handbag and you’re likely to find a purse, keys, maybe make-up and often a few crumpled receipts – but what about a spatula or a pot of sea salt? Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain recently raised a few eyebrows when she revealed some of the more unusual items stashed inside her designer shoulder bag.
Posting to her Instagram page, the 34-year-old chef and TV presenter shared pictures of typical handbag fillers, including hand sanitizer, a cardholder, perfume and headphones, but also admitted she always carries a pot of red pepper spice mix, a tin of Maldon sea salt, and a miniature spatula.
And according to a recent study, Nadiya isn’t alone in carrying a bulging bag.
In their survey of 1,000 people, luxury handbag brand Aspinal of London found
the average UK woman carries a whopping 17 items with them on a daily basis, amounting to more than 3kg in weight – or the equivalent of three bags of sugar.
The findings also revealed Glasgow women carry an average of 1.79kg in their bags, while Edinburgh residents topped the scale at a slightly lighter 1.7kg. Carrying over-sized, heavy handbags has been linked to an increase in back pain and strained muscles, with one celebrity sports physiotherapist even saying the weight could be seriously damaging for our health.
Doug Jones, whose clients include Strictly Come Dancing star Catherine Tyldesley, said: “Today many women’s handbags are getting much heavier – 10 years ago most bags would contain the usual items of make-up, perfume, keys and hairspray.
But now with hectic lifestyles and various demands, often handbags are bigger, bulkier and we carry heavy items including keys, books, shoes, mobile phone chargers, phones and iPads.
So, are we really a nation of handbag hoarders? Carrying everything but the kitchen sink?
Here, we spoke to three women who carry some unusual items in their bags.