I’ll start by prefacing this – I was pretty strange as a child. In grade three I convinced my adult mother to cut her hair short ‘because Victoria Beckham’ did it… and she listened. I regularly sited Perez Hilton as a worthy news source in grade school. I even tried to name my dog after Paris Hilton’s until my much more intelligent father intervened. But the mecca of everything – celebrity in the early 2000s was People magazine. Once in a while they would do a segment called ‘Whats in my Purse’ (PLEASE tell me I’m not the only one who remembers these). The premise was simple – some celebrity would dump out the contents of her pretty designer purse and show what she carries around every day. At that naive time, I thought it made celebrities seem more relatable (“Celebrities … They’re Just Like Us!”) and quirky. Now I realize that they were actually riddled with product placement, and Lindsay Lohan, or whoever the 2000s star was, probably had her poor assistant remove all of their crumpled receipts, old pieces of gum and straight up garbage, that I strongly believe every grown woman has in the bottom of her bag.
Young Amanda was obsessed with these articles, and aspired to be important enough to (a) one day own a purse (b) have People magazine write about said purse (note – at this point, I was still under the assumption that my voice would change drastically as I got older, and would improve until I became a pop star. Fun fact – it did not.) Ten years later, I’m abusing the power I hold as a Her Campus writer to interview myself, along with some of the other girls, about what’s in our purses.
Amanda Jones
Contents: a million glittery pens, an embarrassing large amount of restaurant candy, Sweet & Low sweetener (just in case!), children’s advil – because I can’t swallow pills! , an (empty?) flask, a Valentine’s day my boyfriend gave me last year, a Lilly Pultizer journal that I would definitely die without, an American Apparel sweater & treats for my puppy, Beats Wireless Headphones that regularly make others think I’m talking to myself, Miss. Dior mini perfume, glasses (otherwise I’m blind as a bat), a calculator – my stats prof would be so proud, a Pinch mini emergency kit, and too many Gerard Cosmetic’s liquid lipsticks
Elisa Yoo
Contents: glasses (same as Amanda’s – obviously great mind think alike!), an adorable hot pink Kate Spade wallet, keys, MAC lipsticks, sunglasses, a phone charger, Trident gum and R2D2 (Her Campus girls ❤️ Star Wars)
Kellie Anderson
Contents: EOS lipbalm, a Western lanyard that I’m sure 99% of students lost after the orientation week in first year, a super cute Her Campus keychain, a Vera Bradely wallet that came in our latest HC Survival Kit, an empty wine bottle (I won’t ask!), a smaller Michael Kors shoulder bag, and, most – importantly Banks, the cat.
Ella Purtill
Contents: crumpled receipts (keep it real girl!), loose change, Ikea pencils, loose English pounds, a stylish black wallet, a Chapter coupon, and a single tic tac.
Ariel Vaisbort
Contents: a computer, a planner, a waterbottle, assorted vanilla lotions, 500 pens, a headband, a combo lock (she don’t know the code to!), and a calculator even though she’s not in a math class!
Livie Lin
Contents: a Louis Vuitton wallet, a stylish black bow clip, a phone charger, vitamin c packets, lip balm, real (adult!) Advil, glasses, lollipops I took from Jack Astors, rollerball perfume of Elizabeth and James Nirvana white.