Handbags

Shoulder, tote, satchel, sling, crossbody, minaudiere....

Now that I have written a post about shoes, of course that needs to be followed up with a post about handbags. Oh where oh where to begin….

During Elizabethan times they didn’t have what we call handbags. They sewed little bags into the seams of their dresses, something we call pockets, or put their jewels (both biological and monetary) into their codpieces.

I would have to say that what passes for the moden handbag didn’t truly appear until after WW1. Oh they had these little dainty handbags beforehand that a real lady used to carry some mad-money (which you would use to get a ride home if you were ever stuck in a bad situation- the paid for/rented/hired handsome cab is where we get the slang name for a taxi drive, “cabbie”) and a key to her front door, possibly a handkerchief. That really was about all that could fit in one.

But then women joined the workforce in droves. Whether it was Rosie the Riveter, or the women who manned the breeches as the secretaires and girl fridays for the, managers, Madmen, or lawyers of the post WW2 era . (My mother Z”L used to love to watch the show MadMen. This was her time, when she was in her late teens and early 20s. This was her youth. This was her life before me.)

(Also, remember RBG, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Elizabeth Dole, were anomalies of their times. Being maybe 1 of 5 women in their respective law school classes. Women were nurses, teachers, secretaries and mothers. Anything more was getting above your station, or the role society had written for you. No wonder there was the women’s movement in the 1960s.)

So women as they lived their lives more and more on the go needed something in which to keep their personal and important items in. And the world of fashion decided to oblige. Now this is when things got fun.

I would have to say I am a handbag snob. In fact, I am addicted to Louis Vuitton. Well I used to be before I had to pay for college and grad school. Couldn’t exactly say to the boys, go ahead you take out student loans, mommy needs a new overpriced tote.

Honestly, it was genius for LV to take luggage (which was what they were known for) and turn it into a useful everyday product that women just adore. Duffle bags became the satchels (Speedy) and champagne bags became fancy totes (Noe). Then the designers came up with the a bag you could simply through all your crap into (Neverfull). Always in 3 or more sizes so you can buy an entire set in order to make sure you had the bag you needed for the moment that you needed it. (Brilliant just brilliant marketing)

Now there are others of course, you have Dior creating the iconic Lady Dior which is still all the rage (and if you haven’t watched on Apple TV the show The New Look, you need to pronto), Fendi baguette bags (reintroduced), Balenciaga Motorcycle-City bags (reintroduced), Chanel (anything you can get your hands on), Chloe, Longchamp, Givenchy, Ferragamo, Prada (the nylon backpack was actually a status symbol), Marc Jacobs became a major thing in the 1990s (just watch that scene in The Devil Wears Prada, when Andy gifts her friend the Marc Jacobs bag and you will understand) and of course, the Hermes Birkin (beyond status symbol and some are truly priceless- if you have an extra 2 million there is a Birkin encrusted with diamonds you can bid on). Checkout the full List of the most expensive handbag designers in the world.

And as I age, I have found that my love, dare I say obsession for handbags shows no ebbing. I watch shows about handbags. I read books about handbags. I go to special magazine articles about handbags. The algorithm that controls my newsfeed knows how much I love handbags to the extent that my Apple news app always has a ton of articles for me to read about handbags.

Today, I don’t really bother with the “have to take out a 2nd mortgage handbag” (not because I don’t relish those bags, but I have matured and my priorities are now more adult, sort of). You will instead find me carrying an MZ Wallace, a Dooney and Bourke, as much as The Sak. (Maybe a Longchamp pliage if I am feeling feisty).

Handbags are also fast fashion as much as any other item. The variety is abundant, and the affordability has never been greater. No matter your economic strata you will always find something in your pricepoint.

For me, it is the idea that a handbag is an extension of the person I want to project out into the world. It is an extension of me as much as any one of my limbs. It says who I am and who I want to be without even opening my mouth.

Remember the handbag you carry will make or break an outfit, as much as the shoes, or the wrong lipstick.

“They are also really pretty….”