The other day, my innocent little walk to the coffee shop for lunch turned into a bit of a trauma trip. After getting my food at a nearby coffee shop, I waited to cross the road at the divider when a motorbike rode past innocently. Within a blink of an eye, the pillion rider held out his hand to grab my purse. Instinctively I held on tight to my purse, and that was the end of that. I still had my purse but could not believe what the idiot had tried to do!

Considering all the other horror stories I’ve heard from friends’ own experiences, I realise I’m actually very lucky. Still, I’m a little shaken and can’t help feeling a bit vulnerable – and stupid. What did I do wrong? What made me a target?

My size-of-a-clutch purse, that’s what!

So what can I do to avoid looking like I’ve got money on me? I can’t live without my purse but here’s a few things I’m trying now.

1) Going without a purse during lunch.
I use a small pencil-box like bag and put just enough money I need for lunch. Literally, RM10.

2) Going without a handbag – only during the weekend (let’s be realistic – I’m a working lady!). This is still in experimentation stage but so far, this is how it’s been:

Saturday – success!

This is how I was walking around the whole of Saturday. Thanks to four pockets – two from my top, and two from my skirt – it’s enough to stuff my handphone, money, Starbucks card, IC, driving license and car key.

Sunday – failure!

I tried OK, but the dress had NO pockets at all! So out came the giant handbag…

So far, I can’t think of any other practical, stylish and safe solution for walking around with my valuable belongings. I guess if you have less valuable stuff in your life, you can just have RM10 in your pocket and phone in the other. But where is the adventure in that?

Write to me if you have ideas on how to look stylish – and still be safe!