Obviously, the person who writes for a blog that puts emphasis on celebrity and western style handbags is going to believe in the power of handbags as a cultural force. I might even say that handbags have more to do with the new styles that come out than other accessories like jewelry and footwear. However, I’m not the only person who thinks so, according to a report from The Independent about a new book revealing the 50 most important handbags:
“… the first true ‘it’ bag, the Hermes Kelly, which unlike its long line of successors, was born not with a bang but a whisper – in the end, the Kelly’s immense impact sprang from nothing more than a happy accident. Designed by Robert Dumas-Hermes in the 1930s and originally called the petit sac a courroie pour dame, its very appeal is its somewhat uptight, even demure, nature. When Grace Kelly, the young Princess of Monaco, was photographed carrying it in front of her to hide early pregnancy in 1956 it shot to fame – the image was published on the cover of Life magazine – and was duly renamed in her honour.”
So, the idea behind the must have handbag goes back farther than I thought, all the way back to the 1950s. Even more delicious is the fact that the Hermes Kelly was used to cover up a pregnant belly – that would certainly whet the appetites of the paparazzi today. Hermes is still hugely popular these days – enough so that the Hermes Birkin was featured as a plot point on the wildly successful television show Sex and the City. However, this article says that handbags are only now coming back into the public eye as a harbinger of what’s to come in fashion:
“Today the vogue for ever more high profile bags appears to be on the wane and if anyone can claim responsibility for this it is surely the WAGs. Photographed carrying everything from the Balenciaga Lariat (more recently re-christened the ‘first’ and among the most copied bags of the new millennium) to the Chloé Paddington and the Mulberry Roxanne in the crooks of their St Tropez stained arms, they threatened to transform the entire concept of the ‘must have’ accessory into a resounding ‘musn’t have’. Thankfully for all concerned, the image of the bag recovered.”
As you know now, your handbag can say a lot about your personal fashion sense and ability to sense the new waves in fashion circles. Whether it’s a western style handbag or the type of bag you can only get from a wholesale handbags seller, your handbag will show the world whether or not you’re a member of the fashion elite.
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