Almost a decade ago, Kate Spade published an unusual, limited-edition book devoted not to the handbags they'd made iconic, but to the contents of the bags themselves.

At the time, my mom tracked down a copy for me (numbered 259, and signed by Ms. Kate Spade herself), and I have treasured it ever since. Each spread features a photograph of ephemera and an accompanying list of the items, as well as a brief description of the bag owner's occupation. The end of the book reveals the identities of the participants, and asks some additional questions that help provide a clearer glimpse of who they are, based on what you've already learned by peeking into their handbags.

Some of my favorite pages included items that felt incredibly glamorous to me: the art dealer's matching green and yellow Hermes leather accessories and light blue Morgenthal-Frederics sunglasses (top); the ballerina's beautifully worn satin and canvas ballet slippers (above, left); the graphic designer's pink notebooks, Japanese candies and Smythson "Private and Confidential" book (top, right).

I decided to capture my own handbag "contents", and it's pretty descriptive of my current stage in life as a designer-blogger-mom (above). A listing of objects is in the comments...

Images taken by me.