Shoes, Bags, and Tiaras (2 of 26)

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Shoes, Bags, and Tiaras by V&A Publishing. Copyright 2009 by the Victoria and Albert Museum.
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Bags: A Brief History

[Photograph by John French of a printed rayon poult handbag and necktie by Madame Crystal modelled by Barbara Miura, featured in Harper’s Bazaar, May 1953.]

As containers of what is essential and important to women, so the bag is connected to the history of their lives, and what handbags contain is personal and concealed. There have been exceptions: thimble, purse and perfume, amongst other desirable and expensive trinkets, were sometimes worn like charms at the waist. Transparent ‘dance’ bags of the 1950s were an extrovert’s dream, while in the 1990s, Prada, one of the most desirable names in handbag design, produced a minimalist see-through bag – only the matching purse was coyly opaque. From Chanel there were clear-glass boxes, complete with chain strap and logo. Like an aquarium or shop-front window, nothing is more enticing than a peep into another world. Show is integral to fashion yet the handbag manages to be both display and secrecy, public and private, signifier and concealer. It is this dual function that gives the handbag such potent appeal, especially to dress and cultural historians.

Dress has always reflected affluence and aspirations, and accessories are vital indicators of style because of their ability to transmute more quickly, unlike expensive investments in clothing. The fashionable handbag has remained a stubbornly female accessory, mainly because of the existence of numerous pockets in men’s wear, although the 1970s’ shoulder bag and later backpack are androgynous items. It seems, though, that carrying a receptacle in the hand is innately feminine. Handbags remain, as they have done for the last century, highly significant items in a woman’s wardrobe. Although certainly influenced by fashion, they are also personalised by the way in which they are used, becoming a projection of an individual. Many women have begun to subdivide their possessions into different bags: holdalls, briefcases for work and small shoulder bags for day, baby-changing bags and tote shopping bags and even recently a revival of the evening bag as jewellery.

The handbag as we understand it today is an item that only became current in the 1880s. As an accessory that can embody luxury, be a practical friend, an expressive social tool, a crafted object or highly fashionable status symbol, it mirrors the spirit of the times as accurately as any article of dress. A small but powerful accompaniment to the ever changing lives of women, it has truly made itself ‘indispensable’. In a Women’s Institute publication, ‘Harmony in Dress’ circa 1930, the reader was advised to: ‘Carry your purse as though you are proud of it, and it has a decorative as well as utilitarian function. Have it a size to be in harmony with your size, of a colour and texture appropriate for your costume, and matching your shoes, or your gloves, or both.’

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