Surveying Some Facts Concerning The History Of The Handbag

The origin of the history of the handbag occurred so far in the past that no one

will know when the first person placed their precious personal items into a pouch for carrying. The term handbag was coined in the 1840s when bags especially for railroad travel were introduced. The availability of carrying bags flowered in the twentieth century. With all the designers and manufacturing methods to draw upon, the variety of bags has grown tremendously.

People have been using pouches to carry useful items as far back as ancient Egypt, when men were depicted in hieroglyphs with a pouch attached to their waist. The Iceman, a mummified prehistoric European man from around 3200 BC, who was found in the Alps, carried a pouch for his personal items.

It was not until the fourteenth century that references to bags used for carrying things appeared that described pouches or purses tied to a girdle, which in those days was similar to a belt. With changes in clothing styles, and before the introduction of pockets, men began to wear what were called bagges, or small leather pouches, inside their lower garments. Women developed the habit of tying drawstring type purses inside their skirts.

With changing styles, it became more practical once more to carry ones purse on the outside. Taught embroidery to embellish their purses in a bid to attract suitors, young women covered them with designs or verses. Bags, referred to as reticules, were becoming more common as fashion accessories, leading women to obtain more of them to coordinate with their clothes.

By around the 1840s, with railroad travel becoming common, manufacturers of luggage took over the making of bags from dressmakers and some of the firms still in operation originated in this era. Some of these bags featured interior compartments for holding objects and this is when they first were called by the name of handbag.

It was in the twentieth century that the handbag industry really took off. Coordinated bags for matching clothes, different cloth or leather materials, decorative designs and new styles, such as handleless clutches were first introduced. Larger shoulder bags came back into style, marriage bags, reticules and doll bags, which looked like little dolls clutching purses and dressed like the woman were popular.

Designers and manufacturers came into their own around the 1930s with most of the styles available today already developed. Features such as fasteners like zippers and buckles, new materials such as wood, plastic and synthetics and color coordinated models were there for consumers. With the availability of designer models came the emergence of fake versions even bearing the logos of the original.

Its possible to locate a bag for just about any taste, style or fashion to match ones needs. The full range of appropriate synthetic and natural materials have entered the history of the handbag. A version for men, known as manbags, are sold for the cosmopolitan modern guy. And whole new niche markets have opened up with the invention of laptop carriers, messenger bags, tote bags and work bags.

by: Jae Payes

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