Purse.
Women cannot do without their purses. Whether carried for utility or as a status symbol, handbags are essential to the modern woman. They carry our keys, our phones, essentially, they carry our lives. But as practical and necessary an accessory as it seems, the purse has not always been part of a woman’s wardrobe. Some women see it as a way to signify their wealth and others see it as a frivolous fashion item, but the history of the handbag reveals much about the history of woman, of her movement out of the home and into the world.
When the war ended, French designers like Christian Dior and Cristobal Balenciaga reignited the fashion industry in Paris and with clothing designs of organza, satin and tulle, they brought opulence back to the fashion-starved women of Europe. During this time fashion houses began to realize that while not every woman can fit into a couture gown, a purse is one-size-fits-all. An accessory like a handbag would allow more women to buy into the fantasy that couture designs created and would make the designer products attractive to a much larger market than they had ever been before..
It was during this time in the mid to late fifties that many iconic designer bags rose to popularity.
The Chanel 2.55, so named because it was released in February 1955, was the first popular shoulder bag. Coco Chanel first made these bags from jersey, but seeing they could sell as luxury items, soon switched to leather. The original quilted design with long gilt chain has changed little since its inception.The Hermes Kelly Bag, though originally released in 1935, gained unprecedented popularity in the 1950’s. Grace Kelly used the bag to hide her pregnant belly from the paparazzi and the bag become so associated with the actress that Hermes renamed it in her honor. The allure of the Kelly and the elegance associated with it continue today.
A good handbag was now a sign of good breeding. The fashion editors advised a woman to invest as much as she could in a good handbag, which would last a long time and could help to hide the fact that her clothes were perhaps not as well-made. One reporter is quoted as saying, “A good handbag is something one can afford to be snobbish about; it is so very much a sign of good grooming.” A handbag was now part of a smart woman’s outfit and her outfit said a lot about her place in the world.
As rock and roll and op art began to change the cultural landscape, fashion followed suit. The fashion of the 1950’s was heavy and serious but the fashion of the 1960’s was fun, carefree and colorful. Teenage girls began to experience a new freedom and new companies sprung up making products that would be attractive to these younger consumers.The handbag was now not only a practical accessory but could be fun or even ridiculous, and could be changed easily to suit the wearer’s mood. Designers like London’s Mary Quant used bold graphic prints and odd materials like Lucite and tried to make fashion accessible to everyone regardless of age or social status. The bag of choice during this time was the “swinging” shoulder bag that kept the hands free and became a symbol of liberation for the sixties woman. The hippie movement soon ousted graphic PVC in favor of big, unstructured bags made from of textiles and natural materials like suede and wool.
The 1970’s broke to unrest among women as feminists like Germaine Greer targeted the fashion industry as one of the cultural institutions that dominated and suppressed women with its unattainable beauty ideals. Many women began to reject bras, handbags, make-up and anything else with a clearly feminine connotation. As a result, bags of the early 1970’s were very serious, imminently practical and had little adornment. The bag had became a very utilitarian tool but as disco entered the scene, women wanted something a bit more flashy. Carlos Falchi stepped in making bags of pink crocodile, black python and red lizard skin that fit well into the sexually-charged atmosphere that disco created.
While Falchi’s unusual designs were very popular, branded bags still reigned and labels became more and more important. Simple structured handbags fetched high prices, not based on the materials, but based on the logo they carried. This new obsession with logos also led to the counterfeiting of designer products. Industrial advances caused many companies to move their manufacturing to poorer countries where there was less oversight and less concern over copyright infringement. Fake handbags flooded the market, tarnishing high-quality brands like Gucci.
The 1980’s saw women climbing the corporate ladder and looking for items to show that they were moving up. The designer handbag proved a good way to exhibit wealth and good taste. Female executives were often encouraged to eschew the purse entirely since such a feminine item could prevent them from advancing in a male-dominated workforce, but many corporate women ignored this advice believing that femininity and business success could go together. Women began “power dressing” in shorter skirts, sharply tailored suits and killer heels. Their bags followed suit becoming large and flashy.
The 1990’s was a new decade with a new consciousness of spirituality, sensitivity, and eco-awareness. Prada followed these attitudes by releasing a small backpack made of nylon with modern lines and minimial logos. Unlike logo bags of the eighties, The Prada backpack was discrete and functional but still had a high enough price tag to be reserved for the wealthy.This minimalism spread throughout the fashion industry and designers like Kate Spade entered the market, making simple, stylish, practical handbags that were still luxury items. For a while designers focused on form and construction rather that large logos and decoration but the stylish crowd soon began to tire of utility. The next big bag success was the Fendi Baguette, so named because it fit snugly under a woman’s arm like a loaf of bread, The Baguette came in 600 different designs with pink snakeskin, crystals, Aztec bead-work and other decorations and all bearing the signature Fendi clasp. The Fendi Baguette was immensely popular because it came in so many styles that a woman who carried it could be an individual but could still have the status that comes with carrying a Fendi.
Other design houses revamped their wares and It bag after It bag began to fly off the shelves. During this time the Lady Dior from Dior, Vuitton Graffiti and Murakami Monogram by Louis Vuitton, and the Prada bowling bag made logos cool again. As handbags became more lucrative, designers began to create new bags each season to go along with their apparel. Handbags became the focus of many fashion shows, each designer house vying to make its bag the big hit. As a way to help publicize new styles, handbags were often sent to celebrities in hopes that they would be photographed carrying the bag to some big event. By 2006 people were accessories obsessed. Prices went up and availability went down as designers would make only a small number of each handbag a charge out the nose for it. A good example of this is the Hermes Birkin, which starts at around $8,000 and has a several year waiting list.
Today the purse is the most important accessory in a woman’s wardrobe and you can tell a lot about a woman from her handbag: is she rich? serious? playful? sporty? And while no woman is defined by her purse, a glimpse at or into a woman’s handbag is a glimpse into her life. The handbag’s role and form have evolved as the roles of women have evolved yet it still holds the mystery of womanhood that it always has. As Kelley Styring says in In Your Purse, “…they open this bag sparingly, revealing only what they must to get the job done. Like good burlesque, you see less than you think and you’re left with your imagination to fill in the pasties.”
