Your Purse is Filthy...and full of Stories

An entire book about women's purses and their contents?

That's right. My newest client (announced shortly) sent me In Your Purse: Archaeology of the American Handbag as a backgrounder and, wow, was it interesting.

I just love where you take something that is seemingly so commonplace and mundane and put it under the microscope.

A quick read based on interviews and qualitative/quantitative analysis of the contents of 100 purses in Portland, OR and Plano, TX pulled back the layers of "the simple purse."

You get insight into what the outside of the purse tells you about the owner. What the contents tell you about their habits and their needs.

The author shows you the inherent value in going VERY deep into a subject, trying to make sense of it, and then using it to figure out the macro elements of the story.

And this take away...don't put your purse on your kitchen counter. It's got as many germs as the soles of your shoes.