Handbags, purses, whatever you call them, come in all shapes, sizes, colors and styles making them the perfect solution for carrying around your valuables. But is it really necessary to lug around all that stuff?

According to a survey British luxury retailer John Lewis, the average female customer totes around almost $2,000 worth of junk on their arms.

The insane figure was calculated after compiling a list of "handbag essentials", before adding the cost of the list to the cost of the company's most popular handbag:

• Ted Baker black tote, $400
• John Lewis Emma purse, $48.14
• Somerset by Alice Temperley scarf, $78.63
• 64GB iPad mini, $800
• John Lewis leather gloves, $56.16
• Ray-Ban sunglasses, $208
• Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, $88.25

Obviously, this probably doesn't apply to every woman who carries a handbag. But if you don't want to become a prime target for snatch thieves, now would probably be a good time to cut back on carrying all that crap.

[Telegraph]