Most women cannot leave the house without bringing a purse or a handbag with them. After all, carrying a purse along is a convenient way of lugging loose change, a cellphone, a compact, a comb, a lipstick, keys, a vial of perfume, reading material, and all the other stuff that women cannot leave home without. Toting a purse or a handbag saves women from having stuffed and bulky pockets, if they have pockets at all.

However, as convenient as a handbag is in helping us carry stuff around, what many women fail to realize is that a handbag or a purse is a fashion accessory. So, because it is a fashion accessory, it should work with the rest of the outfit.

But more importantly than that, when you choose a purse or a handbag to go with your outfit, you should pick one that should match the type of body that you have. You may not be aware of it, but when someone looks at you, the first thing about your outfit that this someone would be likely to notice is your handbag. Depending on what kind of handbag you are carrying, you may be drawing attention to the curves of your body that you may prefer to de-emphasize.

It is all about balance. Just like any piece of clothing or accessory that you have on you, your purse should make your figure appear balanced. It should hide what you may want to hide and emphasize what you may want to emphasize.

One of the principles that you should be following when picking out a purse to match your outfit is that large handbags go with amply padded bodies, while small purses go with smaller bodies. If you are a petite person, the type of purse that you should be using is small. If you wear plus sizes, you should go for bigger handbags. That is one of the basic principles that you should observe when choosing a handbag.

So, which type of purse should go with which type of curves? Going with the principle on size on choosing handbags, if you are short with only a slight figure, you should go for a handbag that is small and is something that you can hold close to your body. Never ever buy a big purse because you will drown in it. Holding a big purse if your body is small would make you look as if the purse is carrying you, and not the other way around.

If you are the tall and lanky type, with not much on you in terms of curves, your challenge is to create the illusion of having a curvy figure and to hide the straight leanness of your body. You can achieve this by wearing a purse that is medium-sized and with a long shoulder strap that will allow you to hold the purse close to your waist. Holding the purse against the waist will make you seem that you have a slender waist that gently slopes to your hips.

Now, if your hips are wide and heavy, the handbag you need is something that will draw the eyes away from your hips and lower body. The perfect handbag for you is something with a shoulder strap that will allow the handbag to hang just above your hips. In this way, anyone who looks at you will have his or her eyes drawn to your upper body, rather than to your hips.

Girls with top-heavy figures, on the other hand, would want to call attention away from their upper bodies. If your figure is top-heavy, the handbag that you need is something that has long straps, something that you can hold close to your hips. Remember to get a large purse to balance out your top-heavy body.

Never ever use a small handbag if you have a plus size figure. As we said above, toting a small purse will only call attention to your size. Always go for a wide handbag that will lend a balanced look to your figure.

If you have the perfect hourglass figure, with your bust line in proportion to your hips and with a definite waist, you are to be envied. You can lug along just about any type of purse or handbag there is. But then again, you should still be conscious about the way your purse balances out your figure. Always get a handbag that is just the right size compared to your body. So, if you are on the short and lean side, go for a small bag. If you are big and really curvy, a big bag will work for you.

Always remember that your purse or handbag is a fashion accessory. You should make it work to balance out your figure.