Mr Inept Owl,
A lot of people have joked about the fact that the style of women’s handbags and purses have gotten so small you can’t fit anything into it besides some lip gloss and a cell phone, but no-one ever really answers the question, “Why?”
Why are women’s bags so small so much of the time?
-Confused on Fashion Ave.
Dear Confused,
The answer you seek is not a simple one. So I will begin my explanation in the distant past, in a time I like to call The Unlibbed Years.
It was in that time long ago that women were discriminated against. They
could not vote, could not consort with any male but their husband, and could not show their ankles for fear of causing scandal. At this stage, because of a woman’s stature in society, they were seen as either daughters or wives, both with household duties that required a large mobile case in which to escort tissues, paper, apple pies, and the occasional crescent wrench.
Then came the Great Awakening, as millions of women gathered together and promised to withhold sex from the men until they could assume a spot on the ballot line and assembly line alike, gaining a giant step towards equality. The men quickly obliged. With this change of roles, women needed their baggage to be easier to haul for longer distances. Luckily they needed less of it, while travelling with lip gloss, tissues, and the cash they were hauling in. It was because of this income that women began going on massive shopping sprees, therefore anything they would have needed to put in their purse instead could be dumped into one of the large shopping bags they continually brought home.
And so it was for centuries, well, years anyway. Soon a sexual revolution struck in the late 1980s to protest negotiations in Iran. From this a new outlook was born, one in which women strived to legitimately control men as much as possible. This was always an aim, but this launch was direct to make men know they were being targeted. One of the ways to gain control was to make men carry a woman’s things as much as possible, otherwise known as “muling.” For this to work, there had to be a way for men to see a need to carry more items than usual, since not much could fit in a wallet besides cash, credit cards, receipts, and a silently waiting condom that should never be used.
Thankfully, the fashion industry took on the project of creating a reason for men to need to carry more crap. They gave women the tiny purse. This purse could only hold a credit 
card, make-up, and a cell phone, or in some instances a small dog. With their tiny bags in hand, women attacked their men’s sense of chivalry. The answers to “I can never fit anything into my bag!” were “Get a bigger bag” for a while, until the fashion industry gave men a chance to quiet these questions and become true mules. They gave us the messenger bag
That, my friend, is why so many women have tiny purses.
Yours Truly,
-The Owl