I'm not a purse person generally; I use a laptop bag for work, and I use a clutch when I'm "going out for the night" and want a place to keep my phone, chapstick, driver's license, and forms of payment.During the day, I have a zippered up wallet that I carry, and a water bottle.However, since I ordered this purse just over a month ago, the kids have even commented on how weird it is that I've been using a purse. It's just so convenient because it's easy to see into, it allows for good organization with the location/ layout of pockets and zippers, and the size is big enough to hold a fair amount while still fitting under my arm.Additionally, the casual look of the straw-like material makes it seem less formal than an actual purse, so somewhere in my mind, it seemed almost more like grabbing a beach bag than a purse, and therefore easier for me to use.While I think it goes with a variety of outfits and have very much enjoyed using it, it does have a summer feel to it, so when the weather changes, I know I'll be putting it in the back of my closet for several months.Apparently part of the reason this purse costs more than one might originally guess, is because of the technology in the material being used. It's not straw... it's straw-like; the creator of the material, and also the purse, actually started with women's hats and wanted to make hats more wearable. He understood that one reason people don't wear hats as frequently is because then it's one more thing to keep track of when we take them off, and especially if it's a large hat, it's hard to store/ carry around a hat were not wearing.That's where the material comes in. The material was invented to allow for hats to look like straw hats, but that it would bounce back and not be ruined if it was packed in a suitcase or in a bag. (I read this from his website, if you want more the eloquent telling of the story.)Point is, after this material was invented for hats, he expanded into women's purses. And my point is that I should be able to store this in the back of my closet with reasonable assurance that if anything ends up leaning against it, it should be easy enough for it to bounce back into shape. We'll have to see about that; that will require a follow up next year... but in the meantime, I'm happy with this bag!