The Handbag’s History
A lot of women utilize some type of handbag every day of their lives, but where did they originate?
Handbags – The Beginning
Although today handbags are frequently a fashion statement and chosen for style, in the beginning they were purely designed for convenience. Early handbags were basically a pouch. A small circular piece of fabric had a leather strap sewn right around the circumference. When the drawstring was pulled tight, a pouch was created.
It’s interesting to realize that these early variations of the handbag were almost solely used by men. They used them to carry small valuables and coins, and these items were kept safe by tying the bag to the man’s belt. Mostly they were tied near the sword, so that he could protect his valuables easily.
The Development of the Handbag
By around the 16th century, bags had grown in size. At this point they were generally big bags worn diagonally across the body. They were popular with both men and women, and particularly with travelers who wanted to keep their valuables safe.
As the 17th century progressed, the bags evolved from simple items of plain materials to something a little more stylish. A broader variety of materials were used, and they became a little smaller again. Various, more complex shapes were popular. It also became commonplace to embroider the bags, decorating them with intricately woven pieces of art.
In the 18th century women stopped carrying a bag around the body, and instead began carrying them in their hand or looped over their wrist. They became known as reticules, and the era of a bag as a fashion statement had begun. Reticules were carried because of the fashionable appearance they gave the owner, rather than just because they were useful. Women with money would have a reticule to match every outfit, or at least a range of designs, each one for a specific entertainment. Fashion magazines began detailing the type of handbag that was appropriate for a specific event or location. Although they were often small, reticules were still used to carry a fan, rouge, face powder, scent bottle and smelling salts.
Modern Times
By the 1900’s the term “handbag” became more common, although initially it referred usually to the traveling bags favored by men. Progressively, though, the term expanded to include bigger bags that were used by women. Fashions moved on during the century, from the fashion decoration of the 1920’s, through the war years when the materials for bags were hard to find and other materials had to be found, and on to the latter part of the century when designer houses started becoming interested in handbags and incorporated them in their collections.
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