It's in the bag

Paris Hilton is the quintessential Logo Lady. Photo / AP

A peek inside a woman's bag is a peek inside her soul, writes Australian author Kathryn Eisman in her new book How To Tell a Woman By Her Handbag ($28, Penguin).

From the streamlined, with just a lipstick and a credit card, to those overflowing with old receipts and bus tickets, our handbags play an essential part in our daily life.

But, as Eisman points out, you needn't go as far as looking at the contents, just one glance at the bag itself will tell you everything you need to know.

In this extract from her tongue-in-cheek book, we share her take on the link between a woman's favourite bag and the woman herself.

Hermes Kelly Bag lady

"I'm rich, I'm powerful, and I sure did marry well." This is what the Kelly bag says, elegantly dangling from a manicured fist. When Kelly Lady walks into a room, people make way. At a party everyone knows Kelly Lady has "arrived" even if she's a no-show.

While she might have been born into privilege, she secured the corner office by out-styling and out-slimming her competition.

She's the uber-chic urban hustler with the grooming of an heiress, who's more fearful of white bread than white supremacy. She's a perfectionist who fearlessly and masterfully deals with confrontation and office politics - and that's just her ordering a trim flat white.

Pity the fool who ever tries mugging Kelly Lady. From her lethally spiked Manolo Blahnik heels to her razor-sharp ghd-straightened bob, this woman is as much fatale as she is femme. She is focused and knows exactly who to do over to get the job done. She's the ultimate power-player in the perfect Bill Blass suit, who is permanently dressed for lunch but never eats any.

You'll recognise Kelly Lady because she'll be immaculately groomed and will rarely carry any other bag, even if her leather trophy is an an ugly shade of plum. Since she's spent six months on a waiting list and six months to pay on it, she'll be holding this old bag until she becomes one.
PROS: A walking icon.
CONS: She can be about as warm as a New York winter. She shouldn't sacrifice her soul for style.

Logo luggage lady

Yes, the luggage cost more than most people's holidays, but that's the point. For Logo Lady, half the fun of travelling is watching people look on in envy as she nonchalantly identifies her designer bags on the carousel, leaving others to desperately try to decipher which tattered black bag belongs to them.

She's the first-class fashionista who orders a bloody Mary on arriving at Heathrow, and slips on a pair of oversized dark shades just in case the paparazzi remember to show up. When this woman says she means business, don't even suggest flying economy.