abcgirl

Where do you keep your purse while you're eating in a restaurant? Someone made a comment in another thread that hanging it on the back of your chair isn't terribly secure, so i just thought i'd ask where the most secure place is? i don't wear purses that sling across your body, so wearing it while i eat isn't really practical. I've also considered NOT carrying a purse, but I'd like to have a map and a small dictionary with me (as well as an umbrella when necessary, possibly my journal...) that wouldn't just fit into a pocket. thoughts? oh, by the way, i'll be travelling in London and in Paris.

ira

Hi abc,

If the restaurant doesn't provide a little stool for your purse, set it down by your chair and put the chair leg through the strap.

janis

If it is averyy small clutch I lay it on the table next to my place setting. But mostly I either put in a vacant chair at the table if there is one or on the floor between my feet. I have never hung one on the back of a chair.

Marilyn

I put it on the floor between my feet so I'm in contact with it.

Jun04ItalyHoneymoon

When I travel, I generally use a small wallet-style purse that I can sling across my body and even tuck into the waistband of my pants if in an unsafe area. So with that purse, I never take it off.

However, I usually carry a much larger bag with me in my "real life." Although my sisters-in-law tell me it is bad luck to put your purse on the floor, I have no problem with it. If there is not an empty seat at the table, I put it on the floor near my feet, where it would be difficult for someone to trip over or snatch.

cmeyer54

looped over one knee with legs crossed - never on the back of a chair or on the floor on the outside - I'm ultra careful on this.

suze

For traveling only, i DO wear/use a small purse that slings across my body, so then you just leave it on.

A very small clutch can sit on the table.

A larger purse I put the strap over my knee and let the purse-part sit between my feet.

I have carried a purse since I was a teenager, there's no way I could go without one.

celticdreams

I've used versions of all mentioned here. The back of the chair if I'm against the wall but most over my knee with my legs crossed.

OReilly

For me, it depends on the kind of restaurant. In a fast food restaurant, I put my foot through the strap, so they’d have to take me with them! In a good restaurant, I am not so concerned, I place it on the seat beside me.

I think the lesson I have learned, through hard experience (I am a careless person by nature), is to split up my cash and credit cards. I try to remember to keep a cash card, credit card and some cash back at the hotel, just in case (although I admit, I don’t always remember to do so). Remember, if you have hired a car and your driving license is stolen, you are in a bit of a pickle.

Generally, I am more alert in airports and train/metro stations than I am in restaurants, as they are prime targets for bag-snatchers and pick-pockets, regardless of country. A friend of mine, a native Londoner, had a watch stolen off his arm in the London underground. Even more astounding, it was returned to him, two weeks, later by the police: He had filed a report with the cops and they actually caught the thief within hours of the theft!

BTW, I have never felt any more or less safe in London or Paris than I do in any North American city; I am more careful simply because of the tremendous inconvenience of losing credit cards when traveling.

Regards Ger

Elizabeth

On the floor in touch with my foot; on an extra chair only if no other diner could possibly grab it from his/her seat behind me (learned the hard way!).

I know some cultures frown on putting it on the floor; myself I find I feel a strong taboo - that I guess I was raised with -- about putting a purse on the table, except for a fancy little evening purse that is the equivalent of a piece of jewelry.

Oh by the way - I did once catch a guy at the next table trying to snag my bag from under the table with his (shoeless) foot. Actually - the waitstaff caught him. So - strap around the leg - not a bad idea.

SuzieC

I've done the Under the chair, the leg slipped through the strap even here in the USofA. And I did it in Paris. A friend has one of those wee tiny chains...the chain is made up of a string of small balls, then there is a catch where you slide the end into and it catches secure. She did lose her purse in an upscale restaurant in Rome, and since then, literally chains it to the chair! If someone grabs it... she'll know. I have a length of the chain, just been too chicken to use it yet.

dsm22

For a small purse I always keep it on my lap under my napkin. My back pack I keep through my leg sort of sitting on one of the shoulder straps. Rarely I will put it on a chair that is empty next to me. I have been known to get up and leave with out my bag, never mind someone stealing it from me.

Patty

I too always keep my purse right on my lap under my napkin. I do this even when dining out at home. I've never really considered putting it on the floor, on a chair or on the table.

deli116

It really all depends on the size of my bag, and the type of restaurant. If I have my everyday bag (medium-size purse) with me, I usually just put it underneath the table, and rest it between my feet. (And this is something I do everywhere, not just when I'm traveling.) I've never done the strap-through-the-leg thing, because I just know I'll forget about it and fall flat on my face trying to get up! Some restaurants also have these handy hooks underneath the table, and I use those when they're available.

JulieVikmanis

Ira, I see that you frequent some pretty classy places. I think the only place I've ever had a stool specifically for my purse was at the Crillon. But good answer.

jetprincess

I travel with a small pocketbook so I keep it right in my lap, under my napkin. Someone would have to be pretty crafty to get it from there!

BethGL

I usually put it on my chair - not hanging off the the back, but on the seat itself - between my butt and the back of the seat so its sitting right behind me. I usually carry a smaller sized purse though, so it fits and its not uncomfortable. It also forces me to sit up straight.

I do this at home, so naturally I do it when I'm travelling. Besides, I don't like the idea of my purse on the floor and getting germs on my purse... ewww! (and like many other posters have said - its bad luck - its like putting your bag with money on the floor makes it easy for your money to "escape" - you will lose your money easily that way. Kind of like handbag feng shui.)

I would love to see more restaurants with those hooks under the table.

Giselle

Never put your purse on the floor. It is bad luck and means that you will lose your money. This is a Greek superstition. I always put it in my lap, with the napkin over, no matter where I am.

cigalechanta

I keep my purse, if it's bandolier around my waist when eating and knot the strap if long enough, but I usally transfer stuff like passport, cash to a small linen bag if only dining.

nytraveler

If its a small purse (eveneing clutch or similar) you hold it in your lap. If it's a larger purse you set it on the floor under the table with your foot resting on it. The strap should be around either your ankle or your knee - depending on how long it is - so you can feel it if someone tries to pull the purse away.

To sling your purse on the back of the chair - anywhere in the world - no matter how "good: the restaurant - is just asking for it to be stolen. (I actually heard this happen in the Four Seasons several years ago - the couple was celebrating with (quite a bit?) of wine and when they went to leave the woman discovered her purse was gone.)