Women’s handbags have always been a mystery to me. As a kid, I was convinced that my mom and her friends just had to carry around all sorts of magical items, plus a couple of bricks. I thought that was the law—in case they needed to save the world or something.
As a grown man, I can’t really say I find purses any less puzzling. So, driven purely by curiosity, I decided to ask a bunch of women I know, as well as a few strangers I bumped to on the street, to let me photograph the contents of their bags.
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I spent the last couple of months wandering around St. Petersburg (where I am based), asking every woman I met to “show me what’s in your bag.” Some thought I was a mugger, some thought I was insane, and some complied. Those who consented to my request, I noticed, took great care to arrange whatever items they possessed on a black piece of cloth I carried around in my own backpack, before they allowed me to photograph their composition.
Finally, I also asked these women to let me snap their ID photos. I feel that the combination of each portrait and the subject’s personal items gives a striking first impression of who these women are.
Alena, 17 years old, student
Alena, 17 years old, student
Alexandra, 26 years old, freelance designer
Alexandra, 26 years old, freelance designer
Elena, 56 years old, businesswoman
Elena, 56 years old, businesswoman
Katya, 37 years old, journalist
Katya, 37 years old, journalist
Kristina, 19 years old, art student
Kristina, 19 years old, art student
Kseniya, 31 years old, photographer
Kseniya, 31 years old, photographer
Liza, 21 years old, currently unemployed
Liza, 21 years old, currently unemployed
Lubov, 31 years old, gallerist
Lubov, 31 years old, gallerist
Masha, 56 years old, jeweler
Masha, 56 years old, jeweler
Natalia, 58 years old, security guard
Natalia, 58 years old, security guard
Olga, 33 years old, unemployed
Olga, 33 years old, unemployed
Olya, 42 years old, professional urban explorer and mother of two
Olya, 42 years old, professional urban explorer and mother of two
Polina, 29 years old, seamstress
Polina, 29 years old, seamstress
Svetlana, 24 years old, administrator
Svetlana, 24 years old, administrator
Tatiana, 51 years old, public sector employee
Tatiana, 51 years old, public sector employee
Ulyana, 22 years old, philosophy teacher
Ulyana, 22 years old, philosophy teacher
Vera, 62 years old, kindergarten teacher
Vera, 62 years old, kindergarten teacher
