When shopping for handbags, you have so many choices, especially if you're shopping online. It's tough to choose from such a wide selection. These tips will help narrow down your choices to the handbags that are the best fit for your body type and for a particular outfit.

Pairing Your Handbag With Your Body Type

If you are tall pick a handbag that is wider than it is long. Handbags that are too long will just make your height more obvious.

If you are short choose handbags that are longer than they are wide. This will lengthen your look, making you appear taller. Handbags with longer handles are also a good idea for shorter women.

If you are slender, it's okay to choose either a narrower or wider bag, depending on your preferences. Choosing a wider bag may make your figure look fuller, while choosing a narrower one will lengthen your look.

If you're stockier, stick with narrow bags with long handles, since this tends to lengthen your look and make your figure look slimmer.

Pairing Your Handbag With Your Look

For dressy evening events, a small, clutch-style handbag will look very classy. Many of these bags are delicately decorated with lace and jeweled embellishments, which allows them to coordinate well with evening gowns and cocktail dresses.

For professional occasions, try a box-shaped shoulder bag. Its clean-cut lines look mature and serious. A satchel-style bag, which features some folds and a short handle, is a more relaxed choice for less-serious days at the office.

For casual wear, choose a more casual bag, such as a slouchy hobo bag. Hobo bags offer plenty of space, so you can bring along all that you need for a day on the town or lunch with friends. A cross-body bag is also good if you're exploring a city on foot, since you can keep it safe by draping it around your body.

For overnight trips and busy days, pack a tote bag. Many stylish tote bags with buckles and leather straps are available. Long handles make this type of bag easy to carry over your shoulder. Some tote bags have several small compartments, while others have one large compartment.

A woman cannot have too many handbags. When you buy women's accessories online, you can build your collection with several of the types of bags suggested above, and then all you'll have to do to find the perfect bag for any occasion is open your closet.