PURSES TO CARRY OR NOT TO CARRY!

Hermes Birkin Bag $194,000

As a woman I can’t begin to imagine not carrying a purse, but I realize that not all women feel that way. Some keep everything they have in their pockets, while others use their phone cases with pockets to keep their important items like ID cards and credit cards. They are called phone wallets, which is another style of purse.

I think that it is a small portion of women who fit that category they are called minimalists, because most of us wouldn’t know what to do without our purse, I know I wouldn’t. Where would I keep all my stuff like my lipstick, brush, and everything in between.

In these days and times, you have men who carry purses although they may call them murses but at the end of the day it’s a purse.

There are many kinds of purses. There are handbags, totes, satchels, clutches, and crossbody.

When did purses become relevant in society? And What were they initially used for? And who were the first ones to use them? I’m glad you asked, in this article I will answer all your questions and more. As well as give you some examples of purses back then and now.

In the 14^th and 15^th century women used girdle pouches because during this time they only had to carry perfumed spices and money. The pouch was made of silk and cotton. They were the old version of the dad pouch. Woman were not allowed to do anything or be anybody but a wife and mother.

By the time we were in the 16^th century the pouches had gotten smaller and were just a drawstring hanging from the woman’s waist. At this time woman were considered inferior to men and depending on your class in society your drawstring pouch would represent that based on the decorations.

In the 18^th century women were still nothing but housewives and mothers.

Enter the 19^th century and women were ALLOWED to work so they didn’t solely depend on a man for financial stability. At this time women had access to the Chatelaine bag with fine linen and gilded metal.

As the turn of the 20^th century began purses came in all sizes, shapes, colors, and various materials and from many famous designers and not so famous designers. Purses have become a status symbol.

The most famous purse of all time is the INFAMOUS Birkin Bag. The TV show Sex and the city helped to make it even more popular, but it didn’t start out that way. Jane Birkin met famous artist Jean Louis Dumas on a plane to London and she was carrying a straw bag and she put it in an overhead compartment only for it to fall and all her stuff fell out. She told Dumas she couldn’t find a leather bag she liked that would hold all her stuff as she was a mother, and he drew a bag for her on a barf bag made of tissue and that is how the most expensive bag started its evolution.

Today the most expensive bag in the world is the Hermes Himalayan Diamond Birkin bag made with crocodile leather that is dyed and only two famous people have it and that is Kim K and Jennifer Lopez. The crazy thing about Birkin bags is you must be on a 10-year waiting list. Go figure. I bet the women of the 14^th century who had no POWER would never think that something that they carried their money, fragrances and flowers in would ever be this popular as well as expensive.