I think purses are an age thing.
When I was young I only ever carried a small pocketbook - just enough room for some cash and I.D. That evolved to a fanny pack (when they became the rage in the time of Flower Children), the a clutch purse. Now, many years later, I carry a purse the size of a duffel bag (just as most of my friends do). Now, whenever a group of us are together, we can come up with anything from an elastic band to a screwdriver LOL!
Interesting story on pickpockets ....
In my late teens a group of us used to hang out at the local general store (out in farm country), sitting on the pop coolers, chatting, and having fun. In the winter I used to wear a bulky plaid coat (farm kid you know LOL!) and carry my billfold in an inner pocket (right under my boob).
When I went to leave one day and to pay for my pop and snacks, I didn't have my pocketbook. Hum, must have left it at home. No big deal - the storekeeper knew us all so I'd pay the next time I was in. The next morning the police phoned and asked if I was missing anything ..... yea, my pocketbook! Mine and about a dozen others were dropped in a mailbox on the edge of the nearby town. The police said it was a professional pickpocket since only the cash was taken - no credit cards, no I.D.'s - and they were left where they were safe and would be found and returned.
What really puzzled me was HOW my pocketbook was taken! Strangers in a rural area watched pretty closely - they are certainly noticed - and the only stranger in the store that day had wanted a pop out of the cooler I was sitting on so I got down. Now if any man had got his hands anywhere near my boobs I would have been on high alert but somehow he got my pocketbook out of the inside pocket on my coat without me being aware my space had been violated! Ever so much more talented than today's grab-and-run criminals! LOL!