Handbags – Once Upon A Time
Although today handbags are quite often 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 also interesting to realize that these early predecessors of the handbag were generally used by men. They used them to carry small valuables and coins, and these items were kept safe by attaching the bag to the man’s belt. Generally they were tied near the sword, so that he could protect his valuables easily.
The Evolution of the Handbag
By around the 16th century, bags had increased in size. By now 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 handy.
As the 17th century continued, the bags evolved from simple items of plain materials to something a little more fashionable. A broader variety of materials were used, and they became a little smaller again. Various, more complex shapes were utilized. It also became popular 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 started to carry them in their hand or tied over their wrist. They became known as reticules, and the era of a bag as a fashion statement had commenced. Reticules were carried because of the fashionable appearance they gave the owner, rather than just because they were useful. Well off women 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.
Today
By the 1900′s the name “handbag” had become adopted, although in the beginning it referred more often to the traveling bags utilized by men. As time passed, though, the term came to include larger bags that were used by women. Fashions moved on through the century, from the fashionable decoration of the 1920′s, through the war years when the materials for bags were hard to get and other materials were utilized, and on to the second half of the century when fashion designers started becoming interested in handbags and included them in their collections.
If you want to discover more about the story of the handbag, check out this interesting site: http://www.www.infoabouthandbags.com
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