Wearable Tech Review: The Mighty Purse
The author test drives the Mighty Purse. Photography by Timothy O’Connell
As a recent transplant from the fashion heavy culture of New York City to the mecca of technology, San Francisco, it’s clear is that the two industry towns are intrigued with one another—in an East Coast/West Coast rivalry/admiration kind of way. (This site is proof.) But, for the most part, fashion and tech are mystified by one another, and more often than not miss each other completely.
In the wearable tech arena, San Fran is doing okay. It’s a major breakthrough that the Apple Watch is attractive. The health trackers are cute—like Jawbone’s Up—in that concert-bracelet sort of way. But is any of it useful? As a Luddite-lite and a snob, I am a tough audience.
Always needing to be connected presents an ongoing problem. How better to zap one’s phone battery then by logging onto Instagram? Or Waze (a fave among anyone who drives). Bye bye juice! The Mophie had its moment, but it’s so chunky. And the carpal tunnel that it induces is not chic…Enter a wearable called the Mighty Purse from the Handbag Butler.
The Mighty is akin to the Céline Trio in size and shape. The color offerings are bright like you see at Kate Spade. What it does is charge your cell phone while also acting as a purse. Who doesn’t need that?
The Might Purse worn as a fanny pack. Photography by Timothy O’Connell
So at the behest of my editor, I took it for a test drive. The Mighty of my choice is a Chanel-esque number that is black and quilted. It looks expensive. The fabric appears to be leather, but is actually a disaster-proof nylon. It comes with thin straps, which make it cross-body ready. The straps are a bit too flimsy for me, and I just want to go full-geek and wear it like a fanny pack. The nineties are back, so it works. In order to do this, I loop the purse through my own patent-leather skinny belt.
However, using the Mighty as one’s only purse requires restraint as the flat removable battery that charges the phone has the same profile as the bag itself. I had to remove my house key from its ring in order to fit it properly. The items that fit comfortably were a flat lip balm, a packet of Kleenex, cash and credit cards (taken out of wallet).
I’m a stylist so working hands free is essential, but having the phone nearby is too. It turns out that it takes a bit of pre-planning if you want to wear a fanny pack and make it look good. The winning outfit for me involved looping the Mighty/Gucci belt into a pair of skinny Rag & Bone ripped jeans which was topped with a Zara motorcycle jacket. It was a tad hard to access the phone while sitting, but otherwise, no stress. At a business lunch, my colleague admired the Mighty. He asked, “What is it, like, $1,000?” (It’s actually $99.)
Related: Wearable Tech Now Rules the Runway
On another jaunt, I took the Mighty on a museum trip with family and friends. The look: a black blazer, black turtleneck, and again Rag & Bone ripped jeans with black patent belt. My super-chic friend who works at Banana Republic wanted to know where the Mighty was from. And she didn’t know/care that it performed tech functions. Win!
Later that week, I packed the Mighty for a work trip to L.A., thinking it might be extra useful if my phone flagged while on the road. There were outlets on the plane. And I didn’t really use it on the ground, because it was becoming clear, that the Mighty was kind of clunky to carry around. However, the battery is a workhorse. It kept its charge for days even when it wasn’t plugged in, never leaving me or my iPhone in the lurch.
It is divine step forward, but it is not replacing my real bag. Not yet anyway.
The Mighty Purse, $85-110 (plus $25 for an iPhone adapter kit), handbag-butler.com
