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The styles, materials, prices, and, most importantly, the brand names of purses and handbags became just as (if not more) valuable than the functionality of the bags themselves.

Īs handbags grew into the mainstream in the 20th century, they began to transform from purely practical items to symbols of the wearer’s wealth and worth in society. According to Freud’s argument, women who carried purses openly displayed their sexuality due to the sexual symbolism of the purse. Freud compared women retrieving items from their purse as a representation of masturbation. Due to handbags being carried in the open, the accessory exposed a woman’s personal items. Before handbags, pockets were secured inside of a woman’s dress which held personal items and retrieving items was done discreetly and modestly. In the early 20th century, Sigmund Freud argued that purses were sexually suggestive as the structure of the purse symbolized female genitalia and sexuality. When handbags started to become popularized, they were heavily criticized as it was seen as unfeminine. Cave ceased to promote the bags after 1865, concentrating on trunks instead, although they continued to make the odd handbag for royalty, celebrities or to celebrate special occasions, the Queen's 2012 Diamond Jubilee being the most recent. Cave did continue to sell and advertise the handbags, but many critics said that women did not need them and that bags of such size and heavy material would 'break the backs of ladies.' H. These are now on display in the Museum of Bags and Purses in Amsterdam. Cave (London) obliged and produced the first modern set of luxury handbags, as we would recognize them today, including a clutch and a tote (named as 'ladies traveling case'). He stipulated that he wanted various handbags for his wife, varying in size for different occasions, and asked that they be made from the same leather that was being used for his cases and trunks to distinguish them from the then-familiar carpetbag and other travelers' cloth bags used by members of the popular classes.

In 1841 the Doncaster industrialist and confectionery entrepreneur Samuel Parkinson (of butterscotch fame) ordered a set of traveling cases and trunks and insisted on a traveling case or bag for his wife's particulars after noticing that her purse was too small and made from a material that would not withstand the journey. The modern purse, clutch, pouch, or handbag came about in England during the Industrial Revolution, in part due to the increase in travel by railway. They used purses and pockets, which became popular in men's trousers.

First becoming popular in France, they crossed over into Britain, where they became known as "indispensables." Men, however, did not adopt the trend. Reticules were made of fine fabrics like silk and velvet, carried with wrist straps. Women wanted purses that would not be bulky or untidy in appearance, so reticules were designed. By the late 18th century, fashions in Europe were moving towards a slender shape for these accessories, inspired by the silhouettes of Ancient Greece and Rome. In the 17th century, young girls were taught embroidery as a necessary skill for marriage this also helped them make very beautiful handbags. Purses were made of soft fabric or leather and were worn by men as often as ladies the Scottish sporran is a survival of this custom. Įarly modern Europeans wore purses for one sole purpose: to carry coins. Women's fashion from 1830, including a reticule handbag from France. "Pocketbook" is another term for a woman's handbag that was most commonly used on the East Coast of the United States in the mid-twentieth century. Women's bags grew larger and more complex during this period, and the term was attached to the accessory. Initially, it was most often used to refer to men's hand-luggage. The term handbag began appearing in the early 1900s.

American English typically uses the terms purse and handbag interchangeably. A "handbag" is a larger accessory that holds objects beyond currency, such as personal items. In many English-speaking countries, it is still used to refer to a small money bag. The term "purse" originally referred to a small bag for holding coins.