Fashion Tips- Bigger, Better, Painful

Lessening the Pain that Comes with Carrying a Big Purse

Advice Seeker: Dear April,

I always like to stay up on the hottest trends, especially when it comes to purses. Right now the bigger the bag, the hotter the bag. The only problem is that my humongous purse is causing me to have back pain, especially after a full day of shopping. Do you have any tips for me so that I can carry my extra large bag, without the extra pain?

Sincerely,

Staying in Style Hurts

April Masini's advice:

Dear Staying in Style Hurts,

The new big bag is creating a new big backache. What to do?

Lessen the back pain that comes with your big bag:

*Switch sides. Be conscious of carrying a big bag on one arm for one hour, and then the other arm, the other hour. This is the same principle used in exercise when you work on both sides of your body for the same amount of time at the same intensity in order to prevent disfigurement and pain.

*Buy more bags in more sizes. Don't always carry a big bag. Switch off. And don't just allocate one bag to work and one bag to evenings. Have several day time bags that you alternate and several evening bags that you alternate.

*Unload your bag. Do this daily instead of monthly. Do you REALLY need to carry all that stuff? The answer is no! Upgrade from a heavy date book to an electronic or digital calendar. Clean out that makeup bag and just carry the essentials. Don't bring a reading book in your bag. Instead take a book on tape on your MP3 player.