The year 2011 has arrived. Excited? Me, too. All I can think about is shopping, shopping, shopping! On January 12, staff will be up extra early to open their shops at 8 a.m., an ungodly hour for a city that doesn’t usually get started until 10 a.m., to reveal some amazing discounts. 

Those of you who follow the Girls’ Guide to Paris will know that I am somewhat peculiar about what goes into my handbag, so it should be no surprise for you to learn that I am equally peculiar about travel bags. Because travel is stressful, I want my packing and unpacking experience to be pleasant, so after years of trial and error, I’ve come up with a travel kit that works for me. It is practical (for my travel style), with great design, and not exorbitantly expensive. I decided to share this “kit” with the Girls’ Guide’s readers when I realized that everything in it can be found while shopping in Paris, giving you some souvenir and gift ideas for home.

In Paris a woman’s purse is very important. It declares her style and status openly and immediately to all who pass, and it must, therefore, match her outfit at all times. Coming from the California car culture, I don’t naturally fret over my handbag and what people will think of me. What obsesses me, in fact, are the contents of my bag. When I first came to Paris and had to carry a bag with me at all times, I was unorganized and I lost hours of my precious time scrounging through disgusting crumbs at the bottom of the bag looking for my house keys. For reasons related to shadow and light that I’ll never be able to explain, orange items were the only things that I could see in the dreaded depths of the bag. Five zillion unidentifiable crumbs later, it was time to convert the contents of my bags to orange.

Whether you travel to Paris, Aix-en-Provence or the Côte d’Azur, it all starts with the right bag. We love all these versatile and stylish bags by Longchamp. The company has an incredible selection of carry-ons, so why worry about extra charges or lost bags?