Women used to carry a small version of their entire day inside their purses. Open one in the 1950s, 1960s, or 1970s, and there might be lipstick beside a handwritten shopping list, loose change at the bottom, a compact mirror covered in fingerprints, and a few things that had been riding around in there for years.
There was a familiar little ritual to digging through it, too. The snap of the clasp, the rustle of tissues and receipts, the search for a coin while someone waited at the counter. Some of these things haven’t completely disappeared, but seeing them together inside an old handbag can instantly bring back a very different kind of everyday life.
1. A Metal Compact With Face Powder
A compact wasn’t just makeup. It was also the mirror pulled out at a restaurant table, in the passenger seat, or just before walking through a front door. The little metal case usually showed plenty of wear from spending years beside keys and coins, and opening one often released that unmistakable powdery scent.
2. A Tube of Lipstick in a Metal Case
Before makeup bags became stuffed with products, one good lipstick could do most of the work. The tube was often metal, heavier than today’s packaging, and worn around the edges from being opened throughout the day. A quick look in the compact mirror, a fresh swipe of color, and it went right back into the purse.
3. A Folded Handkerchief
A neatly folded cloth handkerchief was something many women simply didn’t leave home without. Some were plain, others had embroidered initials or tiny flowers around the edges, and they were washed, ironed, folded, and returned to the purse instead of being thrown away after one use.
4. A Coin Purse
There was usually a smaller purse living inside the bigger one. Its little metal clasp snapped open to reveal nickels, dimes, quarters, and pennies needed for parking meters, pay phones, vending machines, bus fare, and countless small purchases that couldn’t be handled with a tap of a card.
5. A Paper Address Book
Phone numbers weren’t stored anywhere automatically. A tiny address book might contain years of handwritten names, crossed-out numbers, new addresses squeezed into margins, and relatives whose information everyone assumed Mom or Grandma would have.
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6. A Comb in a Little Case
After wind, rain, or simply a long afternoon, out came the purse comb. Many had their own slim plastic or leather cases so loose strands of hair wouldn’t get caught in everything else. It was the kind of ordinary object that seemed to live permanently at the bottom of a handbag.
7. A Pack of Cigarettes and Matches
For generations of women who smoked, cigarettes were as ordinary a purse item as keys. A pack might sit beside a lipstick and wallet, usually accompanied by a book of matches picked up at a restaurant, hotel, beauty salon, or local bar.
8. A Small Bottle of Perfume
Those little bottles were perfect for freshening up away from home. Sometimes it was a miniature version of a favorite fragrance, sometimes a refillable atomizer, and there was always the risk that the scent would eventually find its way onto everything else in the purse.
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9. Bobby Pins
They rarely stayed neatly contained for long. A few might begin the day tucked into a paper card or small compartment, but eventually they ended up loose at the bottom of the purse. When a curl came loose or a hairstyle needed rescuing, somebody usually had an extra pin.
10. A Grocery List Written on Scrap Paper
Shopping lists weren’t kept on phones. They were scribbled on envelopes, notepads, the backs of receipts, and whatever piece of paper happened to be near the kitchen. By the time the list reached the supermarket, it might already be folded several times and covered with additions.
11. A Checkbook
A checkbook could follow a woman from the grocery store to the department store and then home again. Standing at the register meant pulling it out, writing the amount, signing the bottom, recording the purchase, and waiting while the cashier handled the rest.
12. Aspirin in a Little Tin
Long before blister packs filled medicine cabinets, aspirin often came in small tins or bottles that were easy to carry. One could spend months rattling around in a purse beside coins, makeup, and receipts, ready whenever a headache appeared.
13. A Nail File
A broken or rough nail could be dealt with immediately because there was usually a file somewhere in the purse. The old metal versions seemed almost indestructible, while little emery boards slipped easily into side pockets alongside combs and pens.
14. Printed Photographs
Before a phone held thousands of pictures, the photographs that mattered traveled around physically. A school portrait of the children, a wedding picture, or a snapshot of a new grandchild might stay tucked inside a wallet for years, slowly becoming creased and softened around the edges from being shown to people.
15. A Ballpoint Pen
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Someone always needed a pen. Checks had to be signed, forms filled out, phone numbers written down, and notes scribbled onto whatever scrap of paper was available. Finding one often meant reaching into the purse and feeling around beneath everything else until one finally appeared.
16. A Little Packet of Tissues
The tissue packet was there for everything: a runny nose, smeared lipstick, watery eyes, a spill at a restaurant, or a child who suddenly needed one. The plastic package usually became wrinkled and half-empty long before anyone remembered to replace it.
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