Do you struggle to pick the right handbag for your outfit? Are you someone who doesn’t change her bag regardless of the plans for the day? I get it, at one point I didn’t change my bag regardless of plans and at the other, I struggled to figure out how to pick the right one. Picking the right handbag can seem like a difficult task, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Today I’m sharing some of my go-to tips to help you when picking a handbag to match your outfit.
How To Pick A Handbag That Matches Your Outfit
Step 1: Consider The Occasion
The first consideration for the type of handbag you need depends on where you are going and what you are doing, maybe it’s obvious, but I thought I’d include it anyway since it is part of the process. Think about where you are going. Is it to work or school, a socially distant get-together, or out running errands? The general rule is to use larger bags are for casual occasions while small bags are more sophisticated and perfect for more classy events. For example, running errands you may want a bag that’s out of the way completely and frees up your hands, so you’d pick a crossbody type of handbag. A social distant event can mean casual or you can dress up a bit which means a cute satchel or mini backpack type of bag for a more casual event and a clutch or bag that has a chain strap so that can be worn as a shoulder or crossbody bag for an occasion where you want to dress up a little.
Step 2: Does It Fit Everything You Need As Well?
After you’ve narrowed down your choices by focusing on the occasion, the next step is focusing on what you’ll be carrying with you and your personal style. What do you need to take with you? You have the essentials such as your phone, your wallet, keys, hand sanitizer, an extra mask, etc. When looking at a bag in your closet, see if it can fit everything you need. Is the clutch too small to fit everything? If so, try a crossbody bag with a chain strap, sometimes they may be a bit bigger and you still have that look that says ready for a fun time with friends.
Step 3: The Key To Color Matching
Years ago, we matched our bags to the shoes we chose to wear with an outfit and we were good to go. Although some say that is out of style now, it’s still a look I personally love. However, if you want to match your handbag to an outfit a little differently, here are some things you need to keep in mind when deciding on colors: Color matching to accessories and patterns and textures.
Are you matching your jewelry or an accessory such as earrings or a belt to your handbag? For example, if you are wearing a monochromatic outfit, you may way want to choose a color for accessories that will complement that. Pay attention not just to colors, but to the aspects of the bag as well, specifically metallic details or a chain strap, and make sure your jewelry matches.
Wearing an outfit with a pattern and wondering how to match you bag? Well, in this case it’s pretty simple, if your outfit has multiple colors choose one and get a bag in the color or not nearly as busy. If you have a bag with multiple colors pair it with a simple or solid color outfit.
Step 4: Shopping For A Bag Instead? Does It Fit Your Personal Style?
Shopping for a new bag over hunting for one in your closet? Well, then you also need to consider your personal style. You don’t want to get a bag just get a bag regardless of the occasion. You want something that you can see yourself using over and over again especially if you paid more than $20 for it. This handbag needs to complement your outfit and have you falling in love with your favorite outfits even more. If you are shopping in-store pre-health crisis, I would have suggested picking up some of the bags and looking inside to have an idea if everything you need can fit inside, but you probably don’t want to be touching items more than you have to, so look online at the items, focusing on the inside of the bag (most have that picture as well as the measurements).
Related: 5 Easy Steps To Defining Your Personal Style
Some Last Minute Tips
Don’t Be Afraid To Try Things Out: Play around with it, try color combinations, and different textures. Your outfit should make you feel amazing and happy so if try something and don’t like it try something else. Think about the colors you love that complement each other and maybe a few that don’t. Try different things on, you may even be surprised at the color combinations that you end up falling in love with for your next outfit.
You can also take your body shape into account when picking out a bag if that works for you. I don’t pay much attention to it because I’m sitting or my bag is on my lap so it doesn’t matter all that much, but I will say that I don’t use totes or hobo handbags much because they are big and hard to manage when they are on my lap or at my side when I’m in my wheelchair.
Related: The 5 Handbags Every Wheelchair Girl Needs
Budget/ Create A Wishlist List: If you’ve been reading my blog for a while then you know that I started creating shopping wish lists when I started working on my personal style. This not only helps me narrow down what I need so I don’t get off track, but it gives me an idea of the prices of the products that I do need so that can see if I can afford to invest more in a piece I’m going to love, whether it’s an outfit, shoes, or a new handbag.
Picking a handbag to match your outfit can seem complicated but it’s supposed to be fun, not stress you out. Have fun with the process from picking out ones to match the occasion to playing around with colors and textures.
Switching up handbags and other accessories to match your outfit is part of the fun of fashion, that is until you accidentally leave something out when switching items from bag to bag. Sound familiar? Want to stop forgetting items when transferring items from handbag to handbag? Signup below to get access to my New Handbag Survival Checklist and stop forgetting items when you pack your handbag. Rock your new outfit and handbag without worrying you left something behind.
I hope my process for picking out a purse to match your outfit makes the process easier for you, remember, go with things that fit your personal style, and have fun with it.
Do you have any tips you think I should know about when it comes to picking out a handbag to match your outfit? Let me know in the comments.
