About a year ago I was introduced to my first purse hanger. Was I late to the game? Did everybody else know about these ages ago? Who knows? All I can say is it was mind-blowing-ly innovative to me.

When I was first handed the purse hanger, I had no idea what it was. It sat in my palm, a flat disk with a metal ring around it, and a sponsor logo featured in the center. I thought, “Hmmm. What an odd piece of swag. Is it a not-very-good paper weight? I hope they didn’t spend much money on it.” And then, someone demonstrated the function to me and I pretty well gasped.

Purse hangers are genius. Genius I tell you! Instantly, I was wondering how it had taken the world a dozen decades of carrying bags to come up with this simple, brilliant idea to keep a purse off the floor when you’re dining out. I’ve kept one in my handbag ever since. (Not sure what these purse hangers are? Click here to see what I’m talking about.)

Well clearly, genius begets genius, because there’s a new generation of purse hangers out and they are even smarter, even more functional. The newest purse hanger is a sleek hoop. It can be worn as a bracelet. Or even better, looped around a purse handle so it’s easily accessible at all times.

It still works for hanging handbags on dining tables or conference tables, but it also works in bathroom stalls, at sporting events, in the car — pretty much anywhere you might want to keep your bag off the ground. Originally designed for purses, there’s no reason it wouldn’t work for backpacks or diaper bags or even umbrellas.

Clipa comes in 12 different colors. I’m partial to the silver. I’m always partial to silver.

What do you think? Do you use a purse hanger already? Do you like this one better? Also, I’m curious. If you’re male, is the Clipa version neutral enough that you might use one for your backpack or umbrella?