The lady’s purse has come a long way as it takes its place besides the hand bags. Since its easily carried around, it has steadily become a woman’s  favourite bag.

Purses take on different forms and shapes, the first kind being a wallet like purse. This one unlike money purses, can accommodate more items.

Its small and attractive appearance greatly contrasts with the hand bag and this is what makes it continuously draw the   attention of onlookers. Purses have now become trendy as they take on  the duty of carrying  of crucial items.

Donah Mukansanga, in charge of the bags section in Nakumatt supermarket in Kigali city, explained that the purse is mostly preferred for organisational purposes.

"It is used to organise money. With it, you can also keep your handkerchief and phone and it easily fits into a hand bag. One can easily find  it within the handbag when you need money and other things,” she explained. This kind of purse can either be put into the hand bag or carried alone.

"It also helps in the storage of important documents for example the identity cards and ATM cards. Our bags have a lot of things and purse saves time, if you want to make a payment,” explains Hope Umutoni . This type of purse will cost Rwf2500.

The second kind is the evening purse. This is women’s favourite as it is easy to carry to occasions.

"I also have an evening purse. It can be used during cocktails where you have to stand for long periods. In my evening purse I put my lip gloss, eye pencil and other things,” said Umutoni .

Shadrack Ngenzi of the Chaps Collection Shop located in Kigali city deals in women’s merchandise.

Pointing at colourful evening bags, Ngenzi explained that, "it’s small and good to carry around late in the evening when going out. This reduces the burden of  carrying  something heavy.

"They come in different colours and shapes, but its size remains small. So it’s about size and portability,” he added. He also pointed out that evening purses are best matched with the evening dresses.

As compared to the first type of purse, the evening purse is much more expensive.

Ngenzi further explained that, despite the purse’s popularity, the handbag is still on market.

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