While the handbag today seems to be an indispensable accessory, as practical as it is beautiful, its fascinating history accurately reflects societal customs and the evolution of lifestyles. A fashion accessory, yes, the handbag has always been a social marker. A brief look back…
During Antiquity, the ancestor of the handbag was carried by slaves and held their masters' belongings. Far from being trendy, this crude bag was generally cut from goatskin.
The Middle Ages, the era of alms purses
The handbag became popular in the Middle Ages and grew increasingly sophisticated. Travelers carried their food in them, and workers stored their tools. Clerics used the handbag as a purse - called an aumônière (alms bag) - for their coins intended for the needy. These purses could be made from refined materials and adorned with gold thread embroidery. The wealthiest sported an escarcelle (pouch), very similar to our modern satchel. Fitted with a lock, it most often contained money, jewelry, and a rosary. As for leather bags, they consisted of a kind of pouch with drawstrings and were carried by hand or attached to the belt by both women and men.
It was during the Renaissance that pockets appeared on clothing. Men and women initially used a kind of embroidered canvas pouch attached to their hips, under their clothes, accessible through slits: these were our future pockets, which at the time served as a catch-all handbag. This allowed them to carry their personal belongings while keeping their hands free. The height of chic in high society was to wear achatelaine: a chain worn at the waist from which all sorts of useful and purely decorative items were hung, what we would call charms today.
This "pocket revolution" gave women an irresistible desire to always carry their personal belongings with them. Thus, when the simple, very refined Empress dress, with its raised and fitted waist, appeared in 1790, they naturally turned to the clutch bag, often composed of embroidery and pearls, called a reticule. This was carried by hand. Over the years and fashions, the shapes of bags varied: round or square, sober or richly embroidered, with pompoms, in silk or pearls, held by a chain...
In the 19th century, leather became the norm
In the 19th century, the handbag was a fashion accessory in its own right, as it now matched outfits and was made from precious fabrics embroidered with pearls or stones. Like jewelry, it showed one's social status.
The new bourgeois woman wanted to travel and therefore needed durable accessories to carry her personal belongings: she bought luxurious and personalized luggage. Leather became essential. It was during this period that Louis Vuitton managed the affairs of Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III, and became her official supplier.
1920: Minaudière and mini bag
In the 1920s, the handbag shrank; it could only hold a lipstick and a pack of cigarettes: the bare minimum for a successful Charleston evening! Women could thus light up the dance floor without being encumbered.
At the dawn of the 1930s, the minaudière became the iconic accessory for fashionistas of the era. It was a small, very elegant rigid bag used for evenings out, almost akin to a piece of jewelry.
During the Second World War, nothing was lost, everything was recycled! Traditional handbags were collected to recover their leather to reinforce soldiers' uniforms.
The era of it bags
From the 1950s onwards, the craze for handbags only grew. Whether for their practical or aesthetic side, the number of models, types of leather, and styles exploded: large bags for active women, small formats for outings, cross-body bags, clutches, satchels, tote bags… each season saw new It Bags flourish. Some models would become iconic accessories such as the Chanel Timeless in 1955, the Kelly in 1956, the Jackie in 1961, or the Lady Dior in 1995…
Ultra-personalized and responsible: the new handbag paradigm
Since the 2000s, new trends and demands have emerged, extending beyond the sole fashion and practicality functions of handbags. Consumers, aware of environmental issues, favor accessories made from upcycled leathers, while also wanting to reaffirm their identity with ultra-personalized products. This is the entire challenge and approach of Bandit Manchot since 2010, creator of handbags made from exceptional upcycled leathers.
