JANE BY DESIGN Style Challenge #3: My Personality in a Bag - a Tale of Charles Jourdan, Guy Bourdin & Me - Fashion Blog

"For years I have been fascinated by the relationship women have with their handbags," says Debbie Percy, the UK's only handbag "therapist". "Why is the handbag off-limits to our husbands and children," she contineus. "Why we carry the 'kitchen sink' around inside them: and can we really leave home without them?" (image: source)

Few items are as intimate and yet as public as a woman's bag. Whether it's a pricey bit of "it" arm candy or a thriftstore "whatever", it tells the world what you think about your image and sense of style. "A sloppy bag shows the world that you are a disheveled mess, very likely in need of group therapy," adds JBD's Gray Chandler Murray. "A matronly purse says you are uptight, humorless and quite possibly spending your nights alone, with only your cat for company. But the right bag represents you better than any other accessory can. The right bag reveals the best aspects of your personality, winning you affection and admiration wherever you go."

TELL US: WHICH OF YOUR BAGS IS MOST "YOU"?

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For the 3rd JBD style challenge (for Style Challenge #1 CLICK HERE & HERE for #2) the marching orders were go to my closet and find the bag that best represents the "essence" of me. "An expensive purse might reveal that you are really just a shallow tart," continues GCM. "A cheap purse might reveal that you are a miserly malcontent." In order to make a convincing case I'm an interesting person with a unique point of view, the bag I chose had to be as well. And if not? "If you’re just another sheep following the masses, you’ll stay in the barnyard where you belong."

The bag in my collection that best represents me is the striking vintage hologram clutch - above - with detachable cuff by Charles Jourdan.

Charles Jourdan was a French shoemaker who was one of the first to place ads in high fashion magazines in the 1930s, which began the house's long association with la mode. However, it was in the late 1960s and through the 70s when the brand collaborated with photographer Guy Bourdin, a one-time protege of Man Ray, that their image was cemented as one part style, one part edge and a healthy dollop of kink.

First, there is the practical side of my cuff-clutch which mirrors (in the case of this hologram fabric, literally) my practical side: it's roomy enough to carry the essentials and because it attaches to your wrist, you don't have to worry about leaving it someplace, which is always an issue with clutches. And after the shine of the bag catches people's eye, what keeps their attention is the cuff on the tough looking chain with its cheeky S&M vibe. Guys especially tend to do a double take, first considering the handcuff element, their eyes then slowly following the chain and cuff up the arm it's strapped to and on to my face in order to see the "who" part wearing this contraption.

And if they have taste and/or a sense of humor, they start flirting outrageously!