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For every woman from Wilma Flintstone™ to Jane Jetson™, there is one accessory that makes the biggest statement of who they are. The essential item that holds their intimate secrets, yet allows them to strut their taste and sensibilities. It’s the thing they cling to like a security blanket for grown women. Make that - fashionable grown women. The trusted, ever present companion. Her husband? No, not quite. It’s the handbag. A woman’s best friend.
The earliest known bags were made from animal skins and were most likely used to carry daily survival essentials such as food, tools and later money. Hmmm... Sounds strikingly familiar to today’s modern handbag made from leather and used to carry daily survival essentials such as bottled water, lipstick and credit cards. The more things change, the more they stay the same, but we digress.
One of the earliest styles was the ubiquitous drawstring purse usually made from a single piece of material or several tied together and cinched at the top with a drawstring. Typically hung from the waist, the classic drawstring pouch/bag could be found from ancient Rome to China to the Americas.
These first bags were more function than fashion, but human sensibilities are just that human. Fashion soon found its way to the forefront as decorations began to adorn the first simple bags. In the western world during the middle ages, the first elaborately decorated bags were called almoners. The rich would open up their purses and give alms to the poor and needy. Ornately decorated, these almoners allowed the rich to loudly proclaim just how kind, generous and, of course, humble they are.
Readers may presume that the purse up to this point was solely the realm of the female half, but the truth hurts. Men typically carried their purses tied around a belt around the waist. Was there a time when men lusted after the latest designs and trends? Did
Chuck ever fret over not having the right bag to match his outfit? Was Mitch ever jealous of Bob’s new designer purse? Probably not, but we can still get a god laugh.
So much for the man bag. With the 17th century advent of pockets sewn into men’s pants, men now had a place to put their idle hands and no longer needed purses. Such is their loss. The need to look chic was now solely the realm of women. Men were now relegated to holding their partner’s bag.
From the simple drawstring bags hung around the waist to bags carried in the hand, thus handbags, women’s handbag fashion quickly advanced and soon began to enshrine a woman’s freedom. She could now carry everything she needed conveniently wherever she went. The more modern looking handbag evolved from luggage during the 19th century. Larger, sturdier and more structured, these bags could now carry everything but the kitchen sink. Bags for the sink will inevitably come later.
And now we’ve come to the present. Handbags are now as much a reflection of the wearer’s personality as they are a function of their utility. There are handbags for every taste, every mood, every whim and every woman. They are expressions of a woman’s status and personal taste on the outside as well as repositories for what they hold most personal on the inside. Go forth and be a woman, just don’t forget your handbag. |