Handbags and Glad Rags

The History of the Handbag

Rod Stewart asked what would become of his lover when they stripped her of: '...the handbags and the glad rags that your grandad had to sweat so that she could buy them.' Mrs. Thatcher called hers her 'trusty companion' and the word 'handbagging' was invented to describe her browbeating tactics. Some famous handbags in literature include the bag which contained Jack/ Earnest in Oscar Wilde's play, The Importance of Being Earnest and Anna Karenina's red velvet handbag which she threw onto the railway tracks before throwing herself onto them.

The Origins of the Handbag

Ancient peoples probably carried bags made of leaves and wood. Later Egyptian hieroglyphs show men carrying bags around their waist. In the beginning men carried the bags, surprisingly. Soon metal frames were developed and drawstring purses were hung from the waist or the hips in the Middle Ages.

Medieval Handbags

Men and women both carried bags during the Middle Ages which were worn slung across the shoulder or hung from the waist. They were especially important for traveling. Large bags were regarded as being worn by peasants because they held many articles and often workers in the fields wore them.

Small coin purses began to be used to give money away to beggars or to contain money for gambling, a popular pastime amongst the wealthy. Women wore bags which hung from girdles and carried personal items that they needed. Bags would often be given by men as presents to their ladies. Bags began to be decorated with embroidery, beads, and other ornate ornamentation.

Women often carried herbs and perfumes, such as lavender and lemon verbena, in their bags because of the evil smells in the atmosphere. Pomanders were also worn to combat these nasty smells.

Later Centuries

Until the eighteenth century women wore separate pear-shaped pouches or pockets under their clothes a little bit like the money bags some people wear today. Men, by contrast, wore their bags separately.

The Regency period saw the rise of the reticule, which derived its name from the Latin for a net or a network of lines, 'reticulum'. This small purse became popular because of the figure-hugging design of Regency clothes which made it impossible to hide bags underneath them.

The very fashionable Empress Josephine would not be seen without hers when she was in Egypt and its popularity soon spread to the rest of the Western world.

These very pretty items, carried on chains or drawstrings, were often beaded or embroidered and made of sumptuous materials like velvet and silk. Some, however, were simple and crocheted or netted. Women often enjoyed making purses and they began to judge each other's status by the expense of their reticule. They still do this today!

Traveling Bags

The word 'handbag' wasn't used until the nineteenth century. Surprisingly, it developed from small travel bags for ladies made in the 1860's. These were made of leather and featured locks and toilet compartments. Later Hermes designed handbags which were often revised saddle bags or bags that had originally been meant to contain horse-feed or horse blankets!

Louis Vuitton originally packed Empress Eugenie's luggage and then started making travel trunks for the wealthy. It wasn't until much later that his company began making handbags. The Louis Vuitton 'keep-all' bag, designed in 1924 lived up to its name and was a very useful, streamlined travel bag.

The Twentieth Century

Handbags became a symbol of women's independence in the twentieth century, according to Handbags: The Power of the Purse by Anna Johnson. Chanel saw their potential and managed to increase their popularity to a great extent, by introducing handbags that suited the times. One iconic Chanel bag was the lovely quilted clutch with the chain strap, inspired by jockey's gilt jackets.

Always a mystery and a subject of fascination to men, women now use them to carry everything from lipstick to condoms, along with dogs in certain cases!

Designer French and Italian handbags are regarded as the very best and are always an excellent investment and even a special heirloom to pass on to other members of the family. Gucci, Prada, Fendi, Cellini - these elegant, finely-crafted bags look wonderful and inspire envy and admiration. As the great designer, Georgio Armani, said: "Accessories are important and becoming more and more important every day. "

By Lisa-Anne Sanderson