5 types of bags and what it says about the woman carrying them
I have a theory about bags. The kind you develop after years of sitting across from women in boardrooms, cafés, airport lounges, and Tuesday morning yoga classes. It comes from watching women heave, sling, clutch, and cradle whatever bag follows them through the day.
I am convinced that the bag is the most honest thing a woman carries. More honest than her LinkedIn headline and even more revealing than her skincare routine. Because she chose her handbag not just for how it looked, but for how it made her feel about herself.
And before you roll your eyes at me: yes, I know women are not reducible to their accessories. But also, have you ever met a woman who carries a compact wristlet who is not, in some fundamental way, a woman who has her life organised? Have you ever met a backpack-tote carrying woman who doesn't operate at a pace that makes the rest of us tired just watching? I rest my case. The bag is a tell. And once you learn to read it, you can’t unlearn it.
Below, five types of handbags for five unique kinds of women. All of them, honestly, are a little bit like me on different days of the week.
The Verra Handbag for the woman who’s arrived - and knows it
Verra handbag in Espresso brown
This woman walks into a room as if she has been expected all along. She orders the wine without consulting the menu and has an opinion on the right length for a blazer. She carries the Verra.
Opaline's sculptural shoulder bag, crafted in espresso brown full-grain pebbled leather with gold-toned hardware, is not trying to be anything other than exactly what it is: quietly extraordinary.
The silhouette is fluid but has a structured form. There's a back pocket for her essentials, because she is the kind of woman who knows that scrambling for her metro card at a turnstile is a personality flaw she refuses to tolerate.
The strap converts from shoulder to crossbody, which is the kind of considered versatility she extends to her whole life. She can be polished or relaxed with equal ease, and she decides which one the day deserves.
The Verra woman is not rigid. She just has standards.
The OP Mini Wristlet Pouch for the minimalist woman
She used to carry a big bag, then a medium handbag. One day she stood in her kitchen, stared at the pile of receipts, lip balms and miscellaneous cords she was hauling around daily, and thought: why?
Now she carries the OP Mini Wristlet Pouch, and she cannot explain the peace it has given her.
Compact and crafted in Opaline's signature full grain leather, the Mini Wristlet is the physical embodiment of "if it doesn't serve me, it doesn't go in" Internal card slots for the essentials: ID, card, maybe a second card if she's feeling decadent, and a wrist strap that lets her move around hands-free (and, frankly, a little smug about it).
OP mini wristlet in moss green
The mini wristlet pouch is the bag of a capsule wardrobe.
The minimalist woman carries her OP mini wristlet to gallery openings, dinner, and the kind of birthday parties where you know three people and are absolutely fine with that. She is the friend who gets everywhere on time, remembers the name of your dentist, who sends the follow-up text two days later because she actually absorbed what you said. Her phone battery is at 80% at 10pm. She has a separate drawer for chargers and they are all labelled.
She is not minimalist in the cold, austere sense. It’s in the “ I know exactly who I am and I don't need to carry the evidence of my anxiety on my shoulder “sense. There is a difference.
The Emore Tote for the woman running the whole show
Let me tell you about this woman. She is in four meetings today, two of which she called. She has a running list in her Notes app that is frightening in its comprehensiveness. She remembered your birthday and your mother's. She sent something thoughtful for both, from her phone, while on a train, without breaking conversational stride.
The Emore Tote is her bag because it is, essentially, a mobile command centre with excellent taste. It has full-zip security, because she can't have things falling out in a meeting. Its organised interior fits a laptop up to 16 inches. Design follows purpose and she was part of the months of testing that Opaline put this tote through with working women.
There is a version of this woman that people underestimate, because she’s so good at making the difficult look seamless that others assume it is not difficult. When she finally sits down with a glass of something cold, she unzips the Emore and pulls out whatever she needs with the ease of a woman who put things exactly where they belong.
That, in itself, is a kind of genius.
The Lumen Daypack for the woman always on the move
Some women orbit a desk. This woman carrying a daypack is in orbit herself.
She’s the one who gets to Thursday having already been to two different cities, a standing morning run, and a working lunch that turned into something useful. She’s in purposeful, energetic motion at most times. She books the window seat and has a preferred airport terminal snack.
The Lumen Daypack is the bag that was designed for her. You can tell it was designed so she doesn't look like she’s going camping just because she needs to carry a laptop.
It converts between tote and backpack without losing its structure or composure. The Lumen dayback is constructed in full-grain pebbled leather that ages beautifully, developing character with every mile it accumulates. A 14-inch laptop fits.
She does not talk about hustle culture because she’s too busy actually doing things to discuss the concept. She reads on planes instead of watching films. She has strong opinions about packing cubes. To put it plainly, she’s an inspiration to everyone around her, and if she knows it, she would never say so.
The Woman Who Wears All Four
She is, perhaps, the most interesting woman of all, and also the one I suspect most of us are.
On Monday she is the Emore Tote woman: laptop out, sleeves rolled, operating at full capacity. By Wednesday evening she is the Verra woman carrying her shoulder bag with elegance. Her dinner reservation is in place, she’s wearing her favorite shade of lipstick and there’s absolutely nothing else she needs.
Come the weekend, her backpack is on, moving through a Saturday that takes her somewhere unexpected and entirely worth the detour. And on the nights when she sheds everything superfluous and shows up for herself, the wristlet lets her finally unwind and just be free.
The Opaline range built from 100% premium full-grain pebbled leather with a water-resistant lining and the gold-toned hardware survives daily life without tarnishing. It’s built for every mood and moment and every version of you, which in the end, is the only handbag worth carrying.
