Antique and vintage handbags for women emerged in the mid to late 1800s, at a time when bags were more of bulky carrying cases than a fashion item. Women held reticules or small purses with just enough space to hold a few coins, a handkerchief and a pouch of smelling salts.
Styles of popular vintage style women's handbags and purses of the early to mid-20th century.
By the last decade of the 19th century, women's handbags were made to be more functional, and their designs soon replaced the reticule purse. The first vintage handbags were essentially shaped like mini suitcases with sturdy handles, inner compartments, and snap closure systems. Thus began the era when women could carry their personal stuff with some level of privacy.
And as women became more fashion-conscious, handbags became even more versatile and complex and were made to hold more items like pillboxes, rouge, smelling salts, scent, visiting cards, and coins. The handbag thus became a trendy fashion accessory by the early 20th century.
Vintage fashion enthusiasts who are passionate about vintage handbags and other fashion accessories mostly agree that handbags women carried about a century ago are perhaps some of the best ladies’ bags ever produced. Most were handmade and came with intricate embroidery details and heavy ornamentation.
Yes, modern bags and purses are fabulous, and many designs are some women’s dream, but some of the styles of the first half of the twentieth century are pieces of fashion art that are still relevant to today’s fashion style.
Popular Vintage Handbags of Early to Mid-1900s
If you are not familiar with vintage handbags of the time, there are a few things to look out for. The bag’s design, and the material used to produce it. You also want to know the popular types of bags and purses women of style carried around.
So, if you are looking for vintage style handbags that are back in vogue, here are the most popular ones among vintage style enthusiasts:
Minaudières - Small ornate (box-shaped) 1930s evening clutch bags made from luxurious materials like gold and silver. Drawstring purses – Popular from the Victorian and then Edwardian eras, they were small, beaded, extensively, and usually made from silk, velvet, and metal mesh. Beaded purses – 1920s flapper bags and purses highly decorated with beads and sequins. Embroidery bags – Embroidered bags were majorly handmade embroidered with floral and story patterns. Metal mesh bags – Art Deco 20s fashion bags that were more of fashion accessories than practical bags. Lucite handbags – A popular clutch handbag of the 1950s and made from clear, coloured, and patterned acrylic. Shoulder bags – These slung-over-the-shoulder bags were styled after the military satchels of the 1940s which men carried to the war front. Status handbags – Branded famous bags like the 1950s Chanel 2.55 bag made of padded and quilted leather with neutral tones. Hermes and Gucci brands fall under this category. Bucket bags – The 1930s bucket style bag has become quite a hit today and remains the preferred choice of fashionable women. The innovator of bucket handbags is Gaston Louis Vuitton. Unique-shaped handbags – In the 40s and 50s, hard-sided handbags with unusual shapes provided a stylish alternative to purses. Examples include drum, box, hexagon, barrel, and canister shaped handbags.
Women’s Handbags - 1900 - 1910
Petit Point Edwardian handbags were handmade with needlepoint application of scenic designs, each side with a different story to tell.
Design innovations for women’s bags started at this time in history with the term "carrying bags" used extensively to describe what we now refer to as handbags. Carrying bags were designed with functional features like compartments, clasps, and locks and unlike the bags of the Victorian era were no longer made to match women’s outfits.
Petit point handbags with scenic themes (handmade with needlework) were popular at the turn of the century. Each side of the handbag had a different story woven onto it.
1920s Vintage Handbags
1920s ladies' handbags were flirty, feminine, and many times ornamented.
This is the famous flapper era when women became even more fashion-conscious than their predecessors. Handbags, clutch bags, and purses embossed or embellished intricately with pretty beads and other ornamentation are (probably) the most striking handbags of the twenties. There was a wide influence of the Art Deco movement at the time, which also had a great impact on fashion and its accessories.
Some other beautiful handbags of the twenties include embroidered bags and purses, reticules, embossed hand-tooled bags, and mesh bags.
1930s Women's Vintage Bags
Women's handbags of the 1930s. The vintage-inspired handbags of today resemble the designs and motifs of this era.
Fun handbags (fun bags) evolved in the thirties. They were colourful and pretty and came in the form of wooden box purses or as bucket bags with decorative features. They were novel in shape and sculpture and always well-made with leather trims, hand-painted areas, mirrors, beading, and crystals all set in great themes of flowers, birds or other scenic images of nature.
While daytime handbags were heavily embroidered, evening bags of the thirties were elaborately beaded, embroidered or woven in metal mesh to match the elegance of a woman’s evening wear.
The vintage-inspired handbags of today have a great feel of the designs and motifs of this era, with many designs having embroidered motifs and symbols of the time.
Women's Handbags of the 1940s
Vintage-inspired reproductions of the 1940s Lucite handbags.
They are mainly made from wood or PVC-based materials.
The Second World War brought on austere times for most people, and its effects also impacted women’s fashion. Handbags were made mainly from wood or plastic because metals were necessary and strategic materials, and were never to be wasted on frivolities. However, by the late 1940s, DuPont developed plastics, an affordable and readily available material which heralded the creation of the beautiful and popular Lucite bags and purses.
As the use of plastics became popular in the post-war era, it began to play a major part in the mid-19th century decorating and embellishing that swept the fashion and style world. Designers used creative methods to tint and colour clear Lucite bags, making manufacturers begin a fierce competition to produce stylish, chic and even outrageous designs of handbags.
Many of the styles had generous embellishing of sparkling rhinestones, came in whimsical shapes like pagodas, bird cages, and beehives, and were wildly popular with the silver screen movie stars, elites, socialites, and highly paid prostitutes. Soon, it became a trendy fashion accessory, and its production skyrocketed, which in turn made them more affordable, especially when lower-quality imitations became available.
1950s Ladies Handbags
Many of the 50s ladies' bag designs have been reproduced today,
and still look as fabulous as they did back in the 1950s.
By the 1950s, ladies’ handbags had a wide range of designs, while material options became vast. From straw and raffia to suede, Bakelite, animal skin and mother-of-pearl, many of the bag designs of the fifties were exquisite and well-made, even by today's standards.
Vintage handbags of note include the Chanel quilted bag and the famous Kelly bags, originally made for Grace Kelly by Hermès. The Kelly bag is a beautifully hand-stitched bag made from the best quality calfskin, crocodile skin, lizard skin, or ostrich skin, and the popular Chanel handbags were quilted designs first conceived in February 1955 and used by clients and Chanel fashion enthusiasts.
The 50s brought on an obsession for the ‘logo bags’, which resulted in the production of both fake and authentic Chanel bags. With its chain-twisted sling and diamond quilted finish, its shoulder bags soon flooded the fashion market. It is one of the few vintage handbags still reproduced today. Other popular designers of vintage handbags include Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Christian Dior, Fendi, and Prada.
1960s Women's Fashion Bags
Vintage handbags of the swinging sixties. An era when personal freedom was the new movement. Handbags were no longer a fashion appendage. Rather, it became a matter of personal choice among women of style.
This was the period described as the swinging sixties, a fashion era when the desire for personal freedom was a new movement. The handbag was no longer a ‘branded appendage’ but rather became a matter of personal choice. By the beginning of the decade, when style became personified by Jackie Kennedy, the classical handbag made with fine tailoring and high-quality workmanship became the trend with the more mature woman.
Meanwhile, with the rise of the youth culture, the rules of ‘correct’ dressing became more relaxed and designs soon took a decidedly free form, with large, unstructured, youthful pieces emerging, and handmade purses becoming the new haute couture. It was a time when individualism was at its peak of popularity.
Long, narrow clutch bags were the earlier purse styles, then came the dainty shoulder bags with long chains (or straps), fabric shoulder bags, large satchels, patchwork Afghan bags, telephone purses, and double kiss-lock handbags. These and more began to dominate the handbag fashion scene, which was in stark contrast to the 1950s women’s bag designs. Materials used include wicker, patent leather, raffia, fabric, and animal skin.
(Article originally published by the author at hubpages.com on 11/09/09)
When many ladies hear “Lucite handbags”, they stereotypically associate them with plastics (PVC), meaning low-price, cheap, economical, or low-integrity.
During the prosperous years that followed the end of the 2nd World War, the boom years to be precise, a thermoplastic product was the rave. From interior and industrial design where plastics were used for furniture and geometric forms, to fashion and style where designers created fashion accessories like jewellery, handbags, clutch bags, and purses using strong and durable thermoplastics.
Vintage Lucite is sturdy and was a much better than Bakelite, an earlier plastic of the 1920s used in radios and jewellery.
Lucite bags became popular in the 1940s with purse lines which include:
Rialto
Maxim
Shoreham
Tyrolean
Llewelyn
Venzer
Charles Foster
Wilardy Originals
Lucite handbagsand purses came in so many forms and variety including the trendy shell-shaped purse, the flashy rhinestone-studded birdcage bag, and the regal blue-beaded bag inspired by the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
There were also handbags with their casings pre-filled with anything from smooth pebbles, seashells, raffia and artificial flowers, to glitter, ribbons, and even pressed butterflies.
Some feature embroidery and hand-painted details, with embellishments like faux pearls, diamanté, beads, and metals. Many Lucite handbags had matching compacts and/or cigarette cases often mounted directly onto their lids but then in some way, these handbags originated from designs of women jewellery boxes created by Will Hardy, son of Wilardy founder.
According to the history of fashion, “After he designed a Lucite jewellery box for buyers at Saks Fifth Avenue, they recommended adding a strap to turn the box into a handbag. This led to Hardy’s entry into the world of plastic purses, and by 1951, the Wilardy business was producing 64 styles of Lucite bags in 14 different colours”.
Box handbags are making a comeback. It’s easy to see why. They are timeless and sophisticated. They are structured, vintage-inspired accessories that add elegance and charm to a woman’s outfit.
Whether you wear a classic suit or a quirky full-circle skirt, paired with a boxy handbag, the ensemble transforms into uber-stylish.
Materials, Shapes, and Sizes
Known for their rigid, structured form, box bags come in various materials, including real and faux leather, canvas, wicker, denim, PU leather, and synthetic (PVC-based) materials. They come in different shapes: rectangular, square, cube, cylindrical, and treasure-chest-like. Additionally, their sizes vary from small clutch sizes and embellished mini bags to larger ones with adjustable and removable straps.
Faux Reptile Snakeskin Box Bag
Retro Revival: The Box Handbag Returns
It's the 21st Century, and box handbags, a trendy fashion accessory of the early 1900s, are back. Often associated with the flapper movement of the 1920s, they were small decorative evening bags embellished with beads, sequins, and intricate embroidery.
Over a hundred years after the first box handbag, the accessory has been spotted on fashion runways and embraced by celebrities like Alexa Chung and Taylor Swift, who pair them with everything from tailored outfits to casual denim looks.
Not Just Stylish
Box bags are versatile. They can transition seamlessly from day to night accessories. Pair a structured box bag with a formal outfit for an elegant evening look, or opt for a box bag with a strap for your casual daytime ensemble.
Embroidered Beaded Evening Box Purse
If you wish to add a box handbag to your collection, there are plenty of options available. From authentic vintage finds to modern interpretations, you can explore retailers like ModCloth, eBay, and Amazon to find the perfect piece that suits your style. Incorporating one into your wardrobe is a nod to timeless fashion, where you can blend the best of vintage with modern fashion styles.
When you decide to buy a luxury brand handbag, you are assured of owning a ‘powerful’ line of authenticity that goes way back over half a century and beyond.
The fact that the fashion market is flooded with counterfeits of classic brands hasn’t stopped brand-conscious women from making purchases. Rather, when there is a mass rush for an imitation, the sudden high demand indicates that a brand name is healthy and its market demand is growing.
Prominent among buyers of these high-quality handbags are the ‘baby boomers’ (60+ women), who not only have more disposable funds to spend on unique brand names (they have worked hard for them) but also have great taste. They are quite discerning, and curiously, they think that because they have less time left in life, they deserve to ‘splash out’ and go for the best.
Icons of Elegance: The Top Handbag Designers Who Define Luxury
If you are crazy about authenticity and love anything to do with heritage, you’ll find that certain handbag brands have their iconic products. Each one with its unique timelessness has stood the test of time, continuing to be a favourite of fashionable women.
These handbag designers and makers are steadily and consistently creating new products with designs which still possess many vintage-inspired forms, features, and characters.
Exorbitant Price Tags! Great Investment?
Whether it’s a Hermes Birkin bag, a Chanel flap bag, a 1947 style Christian Dior handbag, or a Louis Vuitton Speedy, luxury brands remain a great investment, even at exorbitant prices. Why? Because they have a high resale value and will always remain appealing.
If you own one (or more) and decide to sell, many women are willing to buy. Women who want access to something rare and genuine, something you can’t buy off the shelves. Like a vintage-inspired replica handbag of high value.
It is hardly surprising that the ladies are willing to pay a premium price for that instant fulfilment in an indulgence of luxury. These attributes make luxury designer brands coveted, even long after their origination.
(Images created by author, on viryabo@polyvore.com)
The clutch is one of the chicest and exclusive of all women’s handbags. They are the most appropriate handbags for formal occasions, evening wear, or dinners, that exude sophistication whenever a lady holds one.
A vintage-inspired clutch bag with black and white stripes. (Image used under license from iStockPhoto)
Traditionally, clutch bags were only used by women of style and panache, meaning that they were not meant for everybody or just any wear. Initially, they were small and used as money purses, but as time progressed, they became fashion accessories, worn to the theatre, special occasions, and the like.
Its use is not much different today, however, there is a wider range of clutch bags that are incorporated into casual day wear, but are still great as evening bags too.
The Art of Holding a Clutch Bag
There is an art in holding a clutch bag the right way. Fashionistas will tell you that you hold it in your left hand, close to your midriff, or held with your hand hanging down your side. Some may prefer to use it with its thin over-the-shoulder strap, but it is much more ladylike when worn without the sling or strap.
Clutch bag shapes range from small, square ‘pillbox’ shapes, to triangles, circles, tubular and heart-shaped pieces and larger-sized modern styles. Materials used range from leather and skin to satin, velvet, ornately embroidered silk and heavily embellished pieces.
What is the good thing about clutch handbags? Their timelessness makes them a classic fashion accessory – and good thing, they are now back full circle. No woman’s wardrobe must be without a couple of clutch handbags.
