Mr. Ghysels recalls "a very famous woman" who was irked by the shoulder straps and kept trying to remove them.

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He says East Coast men tend toward more formal, full-leather, hand-carried bags, while the West Coast prefers lighter canvas-leather mixes with shoulder straps.

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She wore long black dresses with fine shoulder-straps and diamond rings from her admirers.

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There's comfortable back padding, shoulder and chest straps.

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Hesitating for a moment, she reached down and undid the straps, her hand resting tentatively on his shoulder.

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