The origin of the handbag

The handbag is an essential accessory for almost every woman. It is probably the most practical clothing invention ever created. Whether you carry the essentials in a clutch-type bag or you carry your life around in a tote bag, there is a bag that suits every woman’s lifestyle.

A fashion accessory with a very distant origin...

Bags have been essential to human daily life since they had something valuable to carry with them. Its origin dates back to around 38,000 BC and was used by both men and women. The bag was therefore unisex from its origin.

Humans used them to store and carry food, tools, and various objects. Until the 16th century, everyone owned a bag to carry money and personal items when traveling since clothing did not yet have pockets.

From functional bag to a true fashion accessory

In the past, women’s bags were essentially pockets worn under skirts and close to the skin. They were then considered underwear. In the 16th century, women’s fashion underwent a major evolution with notably dresses having slimmer silhouettes. Because of this new style, wearing bulky pockets under the dress ruined the appearance of these clothes and quickly became a serious fashion faux pas. This is how the first true “handbag” was invented, a container carried by hand on a cord or chain.

Women quickly began carrying these new bags by hand during outings, and they had a different bag for every occasion. Inside, they carried lipstick, face powder, a fan, a perfume bottle, a business card case, and scented salts. In the 17th and 18th centuries, these women’s handbags were called “réticules” in France.

The handbag amid a real turmoil between fashion scandals and feminist struggle

With the death of women’s pockets came the birth of the women’s bag. Thus, when women’s bags became popular, many considered them vulgar or bold. Indeed, this fashion trend is one of the first examples of underwear worn as outerwear. For many people, this idea was simply absurd, since the mere fact of a woman parading her personal effects in a visible pocket was akin to lifting her skirts and publicly revealing her underwear.

Besides the scandal of parading underwear in public view, some women considered handbags a poor alternative to pockets.

The first American feminists, in particular, fought against the loss of pockets for women. They believed that handbags would never be as practical as pockets and advocated for the integration of functional pockets in women’s clothing, like men’s pockets. For these women, men’s pockets and women’s handbags became the symbol of gender inequality and the struggle for women’s equal rights, much like what later feminists would consider the bra.

The revolution of dress codes

With the rise of department stores as respectable meeting places for women outside their homes, it became possible for them to stay away from home much longer than before. This newfound freedom came with the need to carry more than what could fit in a practically small reticule.

The 19th-century industrial revolution greatly favored the development of the handbag with new manufacturing methods and new materials that could be incorporated into its design.

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, much more functional handbags with multiple internal compartments began to replace the reticule. These changes in the bag itself also marked a change in the idea of the women’s handbag: it then became something entirely personal to each woman. With this new fashion, jewelers got to work offering handbags with special compartments for opera binoculars, cosmetics, and fans.

The handbag, the first sign of women’s independence?

The handbag continued to develop and transform in the 20th century, influenced by the rapid evolution of fashion trends, as well as by women’s growing freedom in society. Over time, women entered the workforce in greater numbers and thus became much more mobile and independent. Their bags therefore had to be designed to fit this new lifestyle.

From the 1950s onwards, handbags began to acquire a cult status. Handbags became true fashion accessories, rather than just a utilitarian item. The 1950s were marked by strict style rules, one of which was that a handbag must perfectly match an outfit. That is why handbags began to be considered a fashion trend in their own right.

The ultimate finishing touch for your outfits

The handbag still remains today a necessary element in a woman’s wardrobe. Even though designers are beginning to add larger pockets to women’s clothing, the handbag today is an iconic piece that undeniably gives the finishing touch to every woman’s outfit.