Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Where to Hang Your Purse

Cafe-scene-france

Dang, if I cannot find the comment (that one of you left) asking me, "Where do the French women place their purses when out to dinner?"

My friend Charlotte answered that question better than me. You see I use to hang my purse on my knee until Charlotte whipped out a darling purse hanger from her "sac" (Purse in French) and hung her sac from the table.

Way too practical, way too cute, way too easy for me to forget to put into my purse, or better yet have left on the table for someone to snag. I am a ding dong like that.

But the purse hanger is a nifty invention.

I am giving one of them as a gift today. If you are interested leave a comment, if you feel inspired tell me a "Sac Tale" in the comment section. I'll pick a random winner tomorrow.

Comments

82 responses to “Where to Hang Your Purse”

  1. Merisi

    Having coffee at Demel’s coffee bar counter makes you feel as if you were in church: How counter, high perch, and under the counter a hook for your handbag.
    And now I need to brew myself some coffee! Your inviting picture and my invitation have my brain on caffein withdrawal of the highest order! Bonjour! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Merisi

    It should have been “high” counter ….
    See, I need coffee! 😉

    Reply
  3. Lia deKoster

    Good evening from over the sea…
    I’ve been working late,
    meetings,
    naughty teenagers = students
    behaving badly and
    I feel a
    little
    on the recieving end of
    over indulged children….
    feelingly low…
    your party stories were the last I read
    and I have just caught up on several,
    from burnt Cherry Jam…Ahhh I too burnt Jam.
    I am the girl who cannot multi task. I was cooking for parents at school doing a working bee…
    I thought If I don’t cook these Tamarillo’s soon then will waste away.
    I burnt the Jam….I had no dinner party planned…
    I donated it to the breakfast club that I help run at school for our hungry children. They too love it…yay!
    hmm bread and cheese.
    and a purse…
    I have a very large over the shoulder drag your left side to a droop looking bag, In it…
    digital camera, memory sticks, scissors, 12 different coloured pens..2 note books, buttons, recites..small children and the kitchen sink…the odd stone that just looks too amazing not to have…Heavy.
    Just as well I have several.
    Instead of cleaning bag I swap…
    then fill that one and …swap.
    I do so enjoy your company,
    ciao
    Lia

    Reply
  4. Jackie

    I too am a ding-dong, goof ball, ditzy, loopy, hence I wear an “over the shoulder, across the body “sac” so I don’t lose it. For me things like gloves, sunglasses, and yes, sacs, are disposable…and not on purpose or by plan…
    jackie
    blissfarmantiques

    Reply
  5. Julie M ~ The Little Red Shop

    Hmmm…well, knowing me…I would either end up collecting all of the gum smooshed under the table with my fancy hanger, or bump it and knock everything out onto the floor…or I would just plain forget too fetch my purse when I leave the table.
    It does sound like quite a lovely giveaway, hang in there…
    : )
    Julie M.

    Reply
  6. Debbie

    I had just seen an ad for these in one of my magazines and was thinking “what a good idea!”. Course I fail to tear it out to order the dang thing.

    Reply
  7. giftsofthejourney (Elizabeth Harper)

    I’ve given three of those cute purse hangers away as gifts to friends and family but don’t own one yet myself. My poor handbags are generally in the floor rather than on my knee.

    Reply
  8. kathy woods

    Hi Corey
    The ‘sac’ holder sound wonderful…I have never seen one of these, but it would sure beat getting the bottom of your bag getting dirty…or worse still, tripping over it and embarassing yourself every time you get up from the table!!!

    Reply
  9. michelleb.

    I do not have a “sac” story. I have seen the hangers you are talking about many, many times in stores on display for sale but I have never seen one in use. I have just always thought one would not hold my heavy bag. BUT, now that I know a chic french woman who is friends with Corey uses one….I will, too. Whether I win one or buy one, I will definitley have one and use it in the near future!

    Reply
  10. Kathryn

    The purse hanger sounds really intruiging. My bag usually ends up on the floor between my feet somewhere.

    Reply
  11. Jeanne

    Sac Tale
    I always leave mine by my feet under the table as I don’t trust it being hung on a table or back of chair with all the identity theft going on
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEm0Wki1WtE
    I love this song

    Reply
  12. Candace

    I due have a purse hook but forget to use it. One time I set my purse on top of my car and drove off. Hate when that happens.

    Reply
  13. Patricia

    I help prepare lunches for the elderly at our church (a french church). We went to a special lunch at the ambassador’s house with the elderly. One of the elderly woman sitting to my right was so upset that the woman across from us put her small purse on the table. She commented to me about 4 times that she could not believe the woman was not educated enough to know she should not put her purse on the table. Well…….now I know I will never, ever put my sac on the table!!!!!!

    Reply
  14. Annie

    My friend Linda and I were talking about those little hooks the other day at a restaurant. I need one!
    Once when I was at dinner, I placed my bag (sac) on the floor. When I stood up to leave, I accidentally stepped (why would it be on purpose?) in the bag and stumbled. All eyes were one me. When I recovered, Tall Husband loudly announced, “And for her next trick…”

    Reply
  15. Jen

    When my mom died 6 years ago I was devastated. She was the biggest influence in my life and I couldn’t imagine a world without her. That first year of “firsts” was hard, of course, but one first I didn’t expect hit me particularly hard. I realized one day, as the strap on my purse broke, that I had never EVER bought myself a work-a-day purse. I’d bought myself little evening clutches, etc. but never The Purse. Mommy had always bought them and she bought GOOD (expensive) ones for me because that was an area where quality not quantity was important, in her opinion.
    Well, I dithered over price. I dithered over style. And I bought something cheap because I couldn’t imagine paying more than $30. And they always broke and they always looked like what they were–cheap.
    Then last month I needed another bag. I looked at the cheap ones, of course. I looked at the economical and practical. But then I decided that my mom would love it if I bought quality for a change (“because YOU’RE quality” she would say). My new purse is like buttah. Soft, soft leather with a beautiful striped silky lining that is almost too pretty to be hidden by purse stuff.
    My mom would approve.

    Reply
  16. Ida from South Africa

    It’s a big hassle to keep your purse in your lap, so I sling it over the chair (if there’s a wall behind me) or carefully slide with my foot through the opening between the strap and purse, and then put the strap over my knee.
    The purse hanger sounds like a great idea to help keep your bag close to you, and of course not on the floor!!

    Reply
  17. kelly

    Im a knee girl with my purse….and looking at my purse now i need a new one…..I seem to always get a black one…wonder if other women always get the same color purse???

    Reply
  18. DanaSmith

    When I lived in NYC I always carried a purse with a long strap so that I could hang it on the back of just about anything, as well as sling it across my body in heavy people traffic. One day I ditched it for a larger purse with short straps. I took the subway home and when I got to the top of the subway steps I realized my purse was still on the subway….of course I paniced. I think I ran home in hopes of calling the transit authority but when I was opening the door the phone was ringing. A sweet old Jewish Rabbi realized I left the purse right next to him and slipped his arm through it immediately(we were chatting as we traveled uptown). He was such an example of human kindness and to this day(that was 15 years ago) I send him a holiday card and donation to this temple each year. I met him in Brooklyn within the hour and retrieved my short handled bag. I immediately retired it and went back to the long strap….drape over your body kind.

    Reply
  19. Penny

    I love all these replies. I do have a purse hangar, that sits in a drawer, easy to find and which I always forget.
    One of my favorite pursescapdes is about a dear friend who longed for a Coach purse for Christmas. Her husband gave her one, which delighted her, and she carried it everywhere, including into a rather nice restaurant one evening after work – out eating with friends. The purse, of course, followed her into the ladies’ room, newly remodeled with brand new commodes. Friend put her brand new bag atop of the lid, wiping it first with a paper towel. When she was through, she grabbed her new bag, whose long, leather handle in turn grabbed the handle, so, she yanked it up hard and off came the purse and down crashed the lid to the toilet, smashing to bits!
    She was the only one in the washroom at the time. The crash was heard throughout the restaurant, which she could tell as all eyes were on her as she quickly ran out, face red, friends grinning, her Coach companionably resting upon her slumped shoulders.

    Reply
  20. Paulita

    I always used to put my purse on the ground or the floor and not worry about it. Then last year a woman told me about the superstition. “Don’t put your purse on the floor or you’ll go broke.” Ever since then, I’ve been squeezing it into the chair with me, but I need to lose some thigh inches for it to fit comfortably.

    Reply
  21. Karinka Calhoun

    My favorite story is about eating at La Petite Maison in Cucuron and they had a very elaborately tufted, velvet-upholstered stool at the table on which I was told to place my purse. It felt a little pretentious but it did give it a place on honor and as the restaurant was not very crowded I didn’t need to worry about it during lunch. The restaurant was just next to that large [placid water reservoir (sort of a fountain with no running water) that is shown in the movie A Good Year when they eat outside and then it starts raining.The handbag hook is a good solution for everywhere and is very hygenic so that you don’t pick up things from the floor of the restaurant or worse yet the bathroom floor of establishments.

    Reply
  22. Ardi

    My knee is the usual hanging place for my purse. Haven’t ever heard of a purse hanger. What comes to mind occasionally while I’m eating is Danny DeVito crawling under the tables trying to get to the purse that holds the map to El Corazon (?)in Romancing The Stone.

    Reply
  23. Julie Ann Evins

    I absolutely cannot resist this one. I am a bag lady through and through, cannot resist them. Firstly it looks like your name is on that vitrine ? Anyway here is my bag storey.
    One sunny morning in Bonnieux, English husband and I woke with a hot date to attend. Lunch in Aix with a very handsome and charming Frenchman called Yann. We were very excited. In honour of the occasion I carried my softer than butter coffee coloured Chanel handbag piped in Coral leather. This is one of my most prized bags, too small really for a day out but hey English husband has pockets. A combination of our excitement, good traffic, and English husband’s freakish need for punctuality we arrived in Aix well before we met up with our hot date at the fountain. Of course we stopped for a coffee and to watch the world go by. Now clearly many French pavement cafe’s look very similar but I swear we could have been in your picture above Corey. Before we even ordered drinks I went to the bathroom, inside and upstairs. When I returned to our table, I sat down beside English husband, whose words (at least the printable ones) were “what happened to your bag”. Wet marks, on closer inspection, coffee or chocolate, I know not how. Either I brushed against a wet table or a waiter brushed against me. I will never know. The bag was a gift from English husband, he was furious, I was disappointed. All that saved the day was a wonderful lunch and company with dear Yann. My little bag has been back to the Chanel sac hospital. Nothing can be done in terms of cleaning as the leather is too soft. The marks are now a memory of a happy day and unlike the memory will fade in time. A bag hook might save any further damage however. What do you think Coco ? Jx

    Reply
  24. Patt

    N M in San Francisco also has a hook under the counter. I thought it very clever. If there is an extra chair I always put my sac on it and tuck it up close. If I am in a booth, right next to me. If no other space on my foot on the floor. I think designers need to think of this when designing.

    Reply
  25. Kate of the Rainy North

    I did not know it is considered poor etiquette to put your purse on the table! Where is that, anyway? Everywhere, or just some places?
    I generally hang mine over the back of my chair, or tuck it onto the bench beside me, or occasionally set it on the floor.
    You will have to let us know where we can buy these purse hangers, Corey. I’ve never seen one, nor heard of them except at your mention.

    Reply
  26. Deb

    My purse tale happened on my first anniversary (37 years ago!) when my darling and I went to a fancy restaurant to celebrate. It was perched atop a beautiful hotel in Boston and had the unusual attraction of being a revolving room, allowing a 360 view of this wonderful city. That said, I guess the rest of the story is predictable… I set my purse down next to my chair and the large window and became engrossed in the menu. 10 minutes later I reached down to find my purse no longer there. I had inadvertantly set it on a ledge that did not revolve with the rest of the restaurant room. My wonderful husband proceeded to get up and backtrack along the windows, finally finding the wayward purse sitting next to a quite surprised older gentleman. From that night on my purse has always remained firmly planted on my lap!

    Reply
  27. Alexis

    Oh! I have two of those things! One with a red heart shaped top given by my dad’s friend and one with a blue enamel butterfly that I use more often, given by another one of my dad’s friends.
    Apparently I’m collecting these things now. 😀 I love bags and those things are definitely genius! I’ve seen them being used not just in restaurants but in other places, like in churches (use it to hang your bag on the back of the next pew instead of risking having it trampled on when its down on the floor where people pass by during communion.)

    Reply
  28. meleen

    oh a sac tale…..like placing it on the floor and then having to get up…..somehow slipping my foot throught the strap….the scene turns into me…arms flailing….exhibiting abnormal mobility….and trying ever so hard to look graceful….oh yes, a sac tale……
    meleen

    Reply
  29. Tracy

    It was my son’s 30th birthday and my daughter in law had reserved a private room at a very posh Houston restaurant to celebrate. As usual my husband and I arrived earlier than the rest of the party so we pulled ourselves up to a bar table and I hung my purse on the back of the chair, and laid down all the presents and party stuff I had brought along on the table. We were sipping our glasses of wine, when the rest of the party arrived and signalled with hands in air to follow them back to private room. (Did I mention I had an umbrella because it was raining) I was so excited seeing my family I scooped up all the presents and stuff, while husband held wine glasses and we went back for a wonderful meal with a champaign toast and all the delights. Two and 1/2 hours later I could not find my purse! WHERE was my purse? It had lots of cash in it (unusual) for the dinner. Shear panic came over me as I realized I had left it on the bar stool. I ran to the front of the restaurant and NO PURSE. My heart sunk, you women know that feeling of a lost or stolen purse. I saw an employee and asked if by chance did someone turn in a purse during the course of the past 3 hours? She said, “why yes follow me..” Sure enough it was my purse in perfect order. – all cash accounted for. The waitress said they planned to call me using my ID later, if I never came back for it. To this day I wish I could thank those honest wonderful people who turned in my purse. All you hear is about the bad, but never the good people in this world. Most people are good. I did give that waitress an unexpected bear hug when she handed my purse back to me, and thanked her profoundly. Even she was honest.

    Reply
  30. Jeanne

    I too usually hang my purse around my knee or on the back of my chair especially since a stranger told me one day that it was bad luck to put your purse on the floor because all the money would run out.

    Reply
  31. Lorelei Lane

    I usually put my purse (which I have named Alice) on the chair next to me. We are usually a party of 3 and there’s an extra chair. If not, Alice has to sit on the floor next to my foot. We both are not crazy about that arrangement because Alice doesn’t like to get dirty and I don’t like her strap tickling my toes.

    Reply
  32. Marilyn

    I usually leave it in my lap, but it is so awkward. In France I was told to leave my sac in a chair next to me and not put it on the floor, as it might disappear. I found this suggestion also in Barcelona. The purse hanger would be a wonderful invention. I would like to see one.

    Reply
  33. Shelley@thiswhiteshed.blogspot.com

    My knee is too chubby – purse would wander to the ground, so I usually carry bags that will stand on their own….straw in summer, patent in winter. Emancipate the purse!!!

    Reply
  34. Carolyn Mallin

    When in a restaurant if we’re in a booth I set my “sac” next to me. If on a chair on my knee it goes.
    I do have a story that happened a few years back and my son still teases me about it.
    We were visiting a friend and had a lovely time. Wonderful dinner and a couple glasses of wine later we were on our way home. Hubby and I sitting in the back and son and daughter-in-law in front. I was dreamily staring out the window when I reached down to the floor to retrieve something from my “sac”. It WASN”T there! Panic set in. It was
    late and we were almost home an hour away.My son turned the car around to go back. Surely everyone at my friend’s was already sound asleep and we would have to wake them. But I had to have my purse. Drivers license, charge cards, money. Everything I needed for the next day. Almost there- sorry for the inconvenience.Then,Oh wait! Here it is~~~on my lap!

    Reply
  35. Gwendie

    Happily, no great purse stories but I’d love to win the hanger so I never do!

    Reply
  36. Kristin

    I was eating at an international food court.I tucked my purse behind me because the chairs are like garden chairs, like cafe chairs, rounded backs. When done, my husband and I got up to leave. As I approached the door I did my mental check list, coat, keys, purse… Purse….purse!!!!!! I let go of my husbands hand without saying a word, did a 180* turn, apparently with a extreme look on my face, because as I am running back, with tunnel vision, this man yells out to me, “are you missing your purse?” I looked at him oddly, like how do you know, but then he says he found it and turned it into one of the vendors I was sitting near. Thank god for nice honest people! We had just moved to San Francisco and I would be in major trouble without my ID etc…restored my faith in people in a city!

    Reply
  37. Rosemary

    I have heard that it’s not appropriate to put your sac on the table, but don’t know where that rule originated. I usually put mine in an empty chair if available. If not, then hung on my knee under the table. It is risky to hang on the back of the chair. I know a friend who had hers picked while hanging on the back of a chair in a bar (in France)!! I’ve not see these hooks! Great idea. I also think the hooks under the counter or table would make perfect sense!
    Bonjour!

    Reply
  38. ThroughtheMilkhouseDoor

    I was never one to use a handbag. Until, my doorbell rang. On the doorstep a box from a Monsieur Coach, New York. In the box a buttery, yummy, slouchy and large leather number. The sender unknown. Anonymous. My first thought ‘My Husband!” as he tends to be the holder of my lipstick and wallet. He was as perplexed as I and demanded to know ‘Who is this Monsieur Coach?” So, the sender remains unknown.
    True story.

    Reply
  39. Weaverbec

    I hang my pocketbook on my knee if there isn’t an extra chair available. I have left it behind before, and that is an awful feeling. Your whole life is in there, and sometimes your husband’s stuff too! The purse hook sounds like a great idea.

    Reply
  40. Tamara Giselle

    I vote for the revolving restaurant story! I can’t imagine beating that one. Priceless.
    My mother was the queen of the “sacs” and so I have a sac story about her.
    My father had been hurredly transferred to the vets hospital in Portland OR and my mother and I hurredly traveled there to be with him during his stay there. We stayed at a nearby cheap motel(the hospital wasn’t exactly in the nicest part of town and we weren’t familiar enough to brave traffic being from podunk towns many miles and another state away.) In the rush I forgot to bring anything but the pair of socks I was wearing and not having appropriate shoes to go sockless the first night there I washed the socks in the bathroom sink and hung them to dry on the shower curtain. My mother in all her worry about my father couldn’t sleep. She also was worried that my socks wouldn’t be dry by morning (she was a worrier as a rule,) so in her imagined brilliance decided to “dry” my socks in the little motel microwave. Wallah! They were in fact dry when I awoke that morning. I proceeded to shower and dress for the day and when I went to slip the thin nylon-like trouser sock over my foot and up my leg it dissolved into a web of a million fine threads not even resembling a sock in the least. I was unaware of my mother’s microwave magic and was bewildered at what just transpired on my foot. The microwave performed some sort of magic and turned the socks into piles of lovely black thread. I stared at my mother all perplexed and wondered what had just happened and what to do now. She looked at me in her “mother knows everything” look and said “Not to worry. Where’s my purse?” She grabbed her “purse” which resembled a duffle bag more than a purse and poured it out onto the bed. There were screw drivers, and flashlights, and clean underwear in a little plastic egg, and even a pair of clean black socks. I think the kitchen sink was in there too. My mother made the boy scouts look unprepared. It was amazing her little 120 lb body could carry that monstrous thing. I always saw her slinging that thing over her shoulder but never had any idea she carried a variety store in that thing. We always got a chuckle about the microwaved sock story.
    I miss my mom as she lost the battle to cancer almost 6 years ago. So many great memories.
    I still cast my vote for the restaurant story though!

    Reply
  41. Laura

    What a wonderful idea. I hang my purse on the back of chairs, then leave the restaurant with it still hanging there. Not to worry, though. The poor waiter generally finds me in the street, bewilderdly looking for my keys . . . or talking to the store clerk who has just tracked me down because I left my bank card at their cash earlier in the day.
    Everyone except my husband seems to think this habit of mine is somewhat charming.
    He would argue strongly for a purse hanger!

    Reply
  42. J. Is a bird

    I’m with Julie M – The Little Red Shop.
    A cross body bag for me. That way I never loose it and I don’t have to hang it on anything, just me. Plus it leaves my hands free to deal with my two young children. I even have super dressy, velvet cross body sacs to wear for a nice dinner out.

    Reply
  43. Candy

    When out and about and I always carry a “sac”. I never ever leave home with out one. Its like my blackberry always with me.
    I usually set it on top of my feet when sitting at a table. Then I always know its right there.
    I think the clip idea is a great one.
    Thank you for the wonderful blog and photos. Its a wonderful way to start my day.
    Candy

    Reply
  44. Violet@CreateBeauty

    Yes, I have thought about getting a purse hanger…. but it hasn’t gone past the ‘thought’ stage yet! ~ Violet

    Reply
  45. Nancy from Mass

    2 years ago my MIL gave me a Coach knock-off. I am more of a vera bradley look-alike kind of a girl. But, I used it because she gave it to me. One day, my son said, “Mom, did Grandma give that to you?” I said “yes”. He said, “I thought so. It’s a Grandma type purse, not yours. You should go back to your old one.” I switched that day and never went back.
    I also hang it on my knee, since it is bad luck to put your purse on the floor.

    Reply
  46. Kathie B.

    Over 20 years my purse was stolen from my desk at work. Since I didn’t have time to go shopping before the weekend, I just made do with a few essential items in my pockets, plus my canvas tote bag for big stuff like books and papers. By the weekend I realized I didn’t need to carry a purse any more — and I still don’t!

    Reply
  47. Kathie B.

    Oh well, I guess I just talked (er, wrote) myself out of the running for the “sac” hook 😉

    Reply
  48. Denise Solsrud

    my sac story happened years when my children were little. i got the kids in the back seat and everything was ready to go and i took off. looked in my rear view mirror and i saw loads of paper flying around on the highway. i thought why would someone litter like that on this highway? then it dawned on me, it was me. i had placed my sac on the roof of the car. so, there i am running around picking all my contents as people drove by looking and honking. some knew me. oh well, it never happened again. Bestest,Denise

    Reply
  49. Mahala

    I will wrap my purse on my knee and keep it between my feet or just leave it draped over my shoulder. My sister used to put hers at her feet till one time someone from the next booth climbed under and stole her wallet out of it and ran off.
    A purse hanger is a very clever idea.

    Reply
  50. Jenny N

    Got it. Use it. Love it. Have given some away: and most my friends don’t get it, ’cause they don’t mind their bag on the floor (yick). Thanks for spreading the good news about sack hooks. on a side note: when we went to London a while back we went to the plenty full Cafe in the Crypt at St Martins inthe Fields church and, sweet surprise, their tables had built hooks under each corner…how thoughtful!

    Reply
  51. Patti

    Funny. I had never seen or heard of a purse hanger until yesterday when my friend showed me hers…. and now today, your blog is about a purse hanger! What a terrific idea! I also had no idea how natural it is for us to hang the purse on our knee. I’ve always done that. Around the world, we are sisters everywhere!

    Reply
  52. Ariane

    I have a great purse story. It happened to me several years ago. I went to lunch with a bunch of co-workers. Before we left the restaurant, I needed to go to the restroom. When I got into the stall, I placed my purse on the back of the toilet – this was a standard porcelain toilet – not one with all the exposed pipes. When I went to leave the stall, I grabbed my purse. Well, unbeknownst to me, the strap had looped itself under the toilet rim lid. So as I pulled up on my purse, so did the porcelain toilet lid, which proceeded to crash(LOUDLY) onto the floor. One of the restaurant employees came rushing in to see what had happened. Needless to say, I was extremely embarrassed that I broke their toilet lid.

    Reply
  53. Kimberly C.

    I have three of these purse hangers and yes they are fantastic – If I could only remember to keep it in my purse and to use it! I don’t want to win your giveaway – just wanted to say I think they are a great idea!

    Reply
  54. amylia

    Ever since my colleague told me it was bad luck (no prosperity) to put your purse or wallet on the floor (like, ever) I have been paranoid about this. I do the knee trick a lot but I will not snag it on the chair for fear that someone run off with it! 😉

    Reply
  55. amylia

    Oh, and I *refuse* to wear a fanny pack! Or white tennis shoes with socks. 😉

    Reply
  56. Marcia

    These would make great stocking stuffers for Christmas.

    Reply
  57. Rhonda P.

    My best friend in the whole world is Nancy. We were shopping for “her” a purse, she wanted one so badly. I was looking at the Coach purses and she was looking at the other purses at Macy’s. I just happen to look up from gazing at the behind the counter bags and then I saw her….she had 20 purses over each shoulder, looking for the perfect one. It made me laugh so hard to see her “like the bag Lady” that she started to laugh, as well. One of my favorite girlfriend memories. Being silly and having fun.

    Reply
  58. karina westfall

    I have never heard about a purse hanger. Still do not understand how a woman can hang a purse on her knee. It sounds really funny. Here is my sac story. I tend to collect purses all different colors and style. One day my mother and I were having some lunch at Chili’s. We were talking and talking non-stop. Open my purse paid the bill, took my car keys and left the purse on the booth were I sat. I was driving and then stop to a Walmart. My mother needed to buy some detergent. Then suddenly I felt purseless. My asked to me “where is your purse.” I told her, I think I left it in the car. Went back to the car and was not able to find my purse. My mother insisted to go back to the restaurant. We went back to Chili’s and the hostess told me that she had my purse. I asked her “how come you know that I left my purse.” She replied “because I noticed your nice multi stripped Dolce & Gabbana purse when you came in.

    Reply
  59. Sharon

    I have left my purse in so many restaurant’s that, unless for some reason I want to look really cool, I just take a credit card, or cash in my pocket to a restaurant. I can throw a lipstick in my pocket as well…especially in the winter.
    I do think the purse hanger would be a clever idea and just might have to try it on those; “look really cool” days.
    hugs..

    Reply
  60. Sharon

    Corey…still working on a blog link you can get to.

    Reply
  61. dru

    Those sound neat, but my purse usually weighs so much the table must be substantial to support it.

    Reply
  62. bramble

    I too am a ding a ling and have left my purse in strange places. Once on the tail gate of my husbands pick up where people were trying to get his attention for miles and another time I had been very flustered getting a traffic ticket. After resolving all the police business I pulled away and noticed the police car following me AGAIN. OH NO! I thought as the flashing lights, siren and this time megaphone requested that I pull over. Racking my brain trying to think of WHAT I could have done the very young, cute officer said “Ma’am it’s not illegal to drive with your purse on top of the car , but I’d advise against it” and he stood there grinning ear to ear as he handed me my “rooftop purse”!!!What relief AND embarrassment! Atleast he thought it was funny!He was also a sweetheart in court and my charges were dismissed!!!
    Obviously, I need something to corral the blasted thing, it keeps getting away from me! Thanks Corey, always fun to share!

    Reply
  63. Leslie

    You and I are of the same age, remember when it was a must to match your shoes and purse. Thank goodness those matchy matchy fashion days are far behind us!Long live fushia, aqua, flaming red, lime, lemon and orange purses!!!!

    Reply
  64. Cheryl ~ Casual Cottage Chic

    I too “hang” my tote {handbag, purse…whatever!} on my knee when at a restaurant if there is no empty chair next to me. I learned long ago to NOT hang my tote over the back of my chair…someone walked by and nabbed my wallet with cash/credit cards from inside. Ugh! I hope they choked on their food 🙁 Anyway…oh, yes, I would love to have a “purse hanger” although I have no idea what it looks like…lol! But if it’s from France it’s for me 😉

    Reply
  65. Marie

    That is a very nifty invention! How does it stick to the table though?

    Reply
  66. Cindy

    I just wanted to let you know how much I love to read your blog. The lovely photos, the candid chatter, the snippets of Frenchness. I also love the daily posting. You blog is a constant in my daily blog reading. Thanks so much

    Reply
  67. Elaine L.

    I’m afraid that if I hung my purse from the table, that I would go off and leave my purse. I like to sit in booths, so that I can leave my purse next to me. If I’m sitting at a table I take one with an extra chair for my purse, otherwise it end up in my lap.
    ~elaine~

    Reply
  68. Lucy

    What a good idea. Purses get all of the nasty stuff stuck to the bottom if you are not careful where you put it down. Then I see people setting the purses on their kitchen counter tops and dining tables. Ewwwwwwwww.

    Reply
  69. Lorrie

    Quite a number of years ago I was living in the Ecuadorian jungle with my family. We, along with two other families decided to picnic on a small sandbar in a river one sunny day. We packed our coolers and bags, and I took along my black leather purse. It was fairly large and I carried a lot of essential stuff in it.
    For shade on our sandbar we settled under a swinging bridge, used for foot traffic. The bridge was made of wooden slats. As we sat, watching the children play in the water, a donkey clip clopped across the bridge, led by his owner. Suddenly the donkey stopped, and peed – right into my open purse!
    Everyone howled with laughter as I dumped everything out and washed it all in the river.
    I haven’t thought about this for years – thank for bringing back the memory.

    Reply
  70. Brother Mathew

    O.K. What about us guys? Sac up?

    Reply
  71. Liz

    What a strange coincidence! I am a teacher, and our faculty had an end-of-the year party yesterday at a local restaurant. After sitting down, our librarian reached into her “sac” and pulled out a lovely rhinestone encrusted fleur de lis purse hanger and proceeded to dangle her purse off the edge. Everybody ooohed and aaahed….and it has been on my mind ever since that I need to get one. Where to put my purse is always an issue for me, after someone stole my purse off the back of my chair in a mall food court many years ago. Know where I can get one 😉

    Reply
  72. Sara

    My grandma always used to use one of those little hanger thingies…I always thought it was so cool! Then, I didn’t see one for probably 20 years. They seem to be coming back in style–in the states anyway!

    Reply
  73. Gwen

    My sister has been telling me for years that I need a “sac” hanger. I always forget to get one at her Christmas Open House in Mobile, AL where she sells them! She never seems to have any left over because they are so popular. I do however keep my purses away from toddlers since my best friends 2 years old dumped a chocolate milk shake in hers.

    Reply
  74. Paula S In New Mexico

    I never thought about my purse being on the floor before. When I’m in my office I just toss it in the corner. Well this am I came in to work and there was a HUGE ugly bug expiring on the floor of my office. EWWWWWWWWW Makes me think I need to keep my purse zipped and hang it somewhere. It creeps me out to think something so icky would/could crawl into my bag. And we are in a really nice and fancy office !!!! Yikes. Oh I am creeped out just typing this!! (shiver)

    Reply
  75. MissColibri

    Bonjour, Hello,
    My first comment although I’ve been following your blog for a long time…
    Having had my first baby after years of trying and the doctors telling me it just would not happen, I find myself facing all sorts of new experiences, including my large purse suddenly being filled to overflow with all those baby essentials (diapers, wipes, breast pads, tissues, rattles, extra onesies, etc…and the occasional dirty diaper wrapped up like a package when no trash can was available…) I’m afraid my “sac de main” would tip over just about any french bistro table! Now if you have a “baby hanger” to go along with the purse hanger, I could balance it all out ;).
    Merci et Thanks for the wonderful daily glimpse of French life,
    Anne et baby Clément

    Reply
  76. Victoria Cullen

    My engineer husband would love such a device – not for HIS purse but for mine. Brilliant little gizmo! Love it!

    Reply
  77. pat

    An excerpt (and link) from a CBS program about purses and germs.
    I love the purse hangers and keep one in every purse. To balance the small bistro table, you must have a friend on the other side with an equally heavy sac a main on a purse hanger!
    Like shoes, I have been told by someone who lived in Japan, that many Japanese do not allow purses to come into the house beyond the front door. And if they do, they are hung up.
    Quote from CBS program
    “It turns out the purses we use are so surprisingly dirty that even the microbiologist that tested them was shocked.
    “No Idea it would be absolutely that much bacteria,” said Amy Karren.
    Most of the bacteria found was dangerous.
    “We found pseudomonas, staphylococcus aureus, e-coli family and we also found salmonella,” Karren said.
    http://cbs3.com/specialreports/Dirty.Purses.Bacteria.2.300727.html

    Reply
  78. Pat K

    Alas, I too have inadvertently left my sac de main behind when leaving a restaurant. The last time, the restaurant was one at which we had longed to dine for months.
    Two hours after returning home, when I discovered that I had left my sac behind, my husband called the restaurant. They said yes, indeed, they had found it. We returned to pick it up.
    What we did not know was that, after we left, an amorous couple had been seated at our table. When the lady visited the powder room, her gentleman, believing that it was his beloved’s sac he found on the floor, slipped a rather lovely surprise (an elaborately boxed engagement ring) into my
    bag. After dinner they had another engagement at which he had planned to ask to borrow something from her purse(at which time she would, of course, discover his gift).
    So, while he was waiting for his beloved to discover the gift in her purse, my husband and I were reclaiming the purse I had left behind. It was only when we returned home that I found the gift. We called the restaurant to report the finding at approximately the same time as the distraught gentleman. His lady is now proudly wearing his ring.

    Reply
  79. Julie Fredericksen

    Corey – This is way late, but anyway…I have a purse hanger (very plain – round, silver-colored with a green stone in the middle). I got it as a gift at one of our book club Christmas parties. At first I thought it was not such a great gift but now…
    The secret is to KEEP IT IN YOUR PURSE AT ALL TIMES!
    I really have no purse/sac story to tell except that at the one birthday party I had as a child, my crush drove up on his bike and threw his present at me – one of those Indian purses of “leather” and beading with a drawstring top and flat bottom. Oh, how I treasured it.

    Reply
  80. Julie Fredericksen

    Corey, me again,
    I posted my previous comment before reading all the other posts. I had no idea it was bad luck to leave your purse on the floor. And I realize I do have a “forgotten purse” story: Some years ago my family and I were in the lovely town of Stillwater, MN. I used the “facilities” in one of the old brick buildings holding many cool shops. As I left to cross the street to rejoin my family, I realized I had left my purse on the top of the toilet in the restroom. I turned around, so, so panicky, back into the building. I was met by a trio of people, one of whom was holding up my (as it turned out)untouched purse. I was so grateful. It didn’t occur to dumb old me to offer a reward. So, many years later, thanks so much to three employees in Stillwater, MN, who saved my vacation (and prevented me from having to reveal to my husband and daughter how dreadfully forgetful I had been.)

    Reply
  81. MaryElle

    I’m with the “purse too heavy for a hanger” crowd! though I’ve been trying to migrate to a smaller model for years. someday…

    Reply
  82. Puma Shoes

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