(no subject)

[rhondacrockett]

Clutch, purse or handbag: what would you call the kind of receptacle for personal items which a woman would carry at a party? And if it had a shoulder strap, would that make a difference to the terminology? Thank you!

Comments

[orca5094.livejournal.com]

It's always a purse to me, with or without shoulder strap.

[moonbug.livejournal.com]

I say clutch for things without straps, but purse for everything else feminine. Any bigger than a sheet of standard paper and it's probably a tote or messenger bag.

[daf9.livejournal.com]

Clutch if it doesn't have a shoulder strap. I tend to think of handbags as less formal than a purse but that may just be me.

[lilblueunicorn.livejournal.com]

I'd say purse, but if it had extra long straps it'd be a cross-body bag.

-§parky

[marzipan9.livejournal.com]

clutch! if it had a strap it'd probably be a...handbag?

[evildeadpony.livejournal.com]

clutch for a strapless, small handheld party bag, especially if it's sparkly and fancy.

usually a strap then makes it a purse, and uuuusually they're bigger than a clutch.

I see retailers call what I call a purse a "handbag" but I still call it a purse :)

[violetsugar]

Agreeing with Eppie. If small, strapless and fancy or sparkly it is a clutch.

Anything else is a purse to me. Unless it has an exceptionally long strap in which case it becomes a messenger bag or cross-body bag.