Bagged

Both Ad Age and Brandweek made mention recently of this: In Your Purse: Archaelogy of an American Handbag. Basically these researchers got 100 women to reveal and discuss the contents of their handbags. I gather these were “mall intercepts,” as they say in the trade. The site says:

“In Your Purse: Archaeology of the American Handbag” is the first exhaustive quantitative and qualitative study to delve into the contents and context of the only instrument that connects the home, where consumer needs occur, and the store, where these needs are fulfilled: in a woman’s purse.

There’s also a link to a promotional YouTube video; overtitles in the jokey intro suggest that while this all sounds kinda nutty, it’s “for science.” The project is a creation of Insightfarm, a “Market Research and Consumer Strategy Consulting firm Dedicated to Driving Business Growth through Consumer Insight.” So there’s science for you.

Maybe the results are interesting, but it’s a little hard to judge by the site or the trade coverage. Apparently it will be a book this summer. (“Innovation workshops facilitated by InsightFarm Inc.” are also available.)

Meanwhile, Fashionista has a regular “Your Bag” video feature (I’ve never watched a whole one, but I think the premise is pretty straightforward), and there’s at least one What’s In Your Bag pool on Flickr, if you want to do some research on your own while you wait for the book.