HOW TO DOWNSIZE YOUR BAG

For the longest time, I had been a huge fan of large, oversized bags. I love the way they can make you look smaller and in general, I find them to be so sophisticated. However recently my style preferences have thrown a spanner in the works and I have taken a liking to small, dainty bags. One of the perks of having a big bag is that you can throw your entire life into it, however when you want to swap your large Mary Poppins bag into a bag only big enough for the bare necessities, there are a few things that you need to do beforehand.

START WITH THE BAG

This is the one of the most important things when it comes to downsizing your bag. There are so many variations of small bags to suit different preferences, whether you want lots of compartments or no structure at all. My favourite places to get trendy pieces are Zara and Kurt Geiger as they have beautiful bags, which are great quality at an affordable price. My current go to bag is the Carvela Mel Lock Tote bag, which is also a small bag, however irrespective of the size, it can hold a fair amount of my necessities as well as a few extras!

GET RID OF ANY CRAP

Getting rid of any rubbish, for most people can be very therapeutic. I don’t tend to keep lots of rubbish in my bag, as I don’t like the thought of putting my hand in a bag with crap floating around the bottom. Therefore if you are someone who has a tendency of filling your bag with empty chocolate wrappers, old receipts and tissues etc. a small bag is probably a good idea as it will most likely be filled with more important items which won’t leave you with much space for rubbish.

DITCH THE PURSE / WALLET

Ditching my purse is something that I done ages ago. Always carrying a huge purse can sometimes be annoying and irritable and I've been completely converted to cardholders and card purses. Cardholders are a great way to house your most used and important cards. If you are someone who likes to carry cash and coins, a card purse is a good option for you as there’s a little section to put your cash in. At the moment, I’m using my beloved Saint Laurent cardholder in conjunction with my rose gold Accessorize card purse. I tend to take my Saint Laurent cardholder on it’s own when I use a small bag and I use both when I use larger bags or need any cash or loyalty cards.

DISTINGUISH THE NECESSITIES

As much as we would all like to carry a laptop and our kitchen sink, for the most part, it’s just not necessary – after all, none of us are Mary Poppins. I often have to remove my Whistles clutch when using a small bag, despite how much I love it, as there is just not enough room for it! I know this can be a pain, but on the plus side your bag will be a hell of a lot lighter!

NO LARGE ACCESSORIES – E.G. KEYRINGS

One of my favourite handbag essentials is my faux fur pom pom, however most small bags do not cater for such a huge key ring. In all honesty, I don’t take off the pom pom, but I just let it hang outside my bag to look like an accessory on my bag. Although, having said that this isn’t necessarily something that you can do if you have lots of other key rings that dangle, as they will probably get caught on everything.

SHOP THE POST

What do you prefer? Small and dainty or large, oversized bags?