The Beginning of Handbags

As Neo-classism was in fashion in the 1970s, the empire-style dress appeared to remind women of ancient Greece and Rome. As the dress was made of gauzy fabric that clung to the body, pockets came out of the inside of the waist not to ruin the dress silhouette. When reticules were first introduced, men laughed at bags dangling in women’s hands and called them “ridicules.” Reticules, however, gradually settled down as a symbol of wealth and attractive item.

Chatelaine means “hostess of the castle” in French. It refers to an ornament that women carried around the waist to hold various belongings and objects to run the household those days. In the Middle Ages, women were in charge of domestic economy in a castle from money transaction to children’s education, servant management, and guidance for guests. They thus needed to carry various tools, but their dresses had no pockets. They created a bag to hold and carry their tools in a safe way.

Those days, sewing and embroidery were considered as a yardstick of women’s ability to cultivate their feminine side and character and manage household chores and also as decent and valuable work. Many women made lingerie bags to show off their dexterity. Lingerie bags were decorated in various techniques including lace, quilt, embroidery, cutwork to cut away a pattern from the lace background, and embroidery with knots. They were usually made to keep and protect handmade lingerie that could be easily damaged such as a camisole, underwear under short corsets, and petticoat.

Letter wallets were made in a similar design to today’s letter envelopes. In the past, people exchanged their news via letters and thus carried their letters, important personal documents, and bank checks in a bag, which was usually made of leather, linen, and silk with embroidery and bead ornaments. In the old days, textiles were very valuable and inherited by later generations of relatives within the family through a will. Of them, silk was the most expensive textile.