The Handbag: An Illustrated History is exactly the kind of history Girlawhirl can really wrap her arms around. Author and fashion authority Caroline Cox breaks down the handbag's development from its days as a glorified pocket on a string to the ultimate “It-Bag” status symbol it's become to so many women today. The Hermès Birkin anyone? Girlawhirl might dream about one, but she's saving for a down payment on an apartment these days.

She's fascinated with how everything old is new again and by how the classics are really just that: designs that never go out of style. Girlawhirl got a kick out of the surrealism movement of the late 1950s – though she's not sure she would personally rock a bejeweled hand as a bag.

But this book isn't just about the pretty pictures and incredible handbags. Cox shows the evolution of the handbag as it relates to the journey of women through the last 200 or so years. Like how the size of bags increased at the turn of the 20^th century because women became more socially mobile and needed something that could hold everything they needed while out of the house.

From the history of Girlawhirl's favorite household names – like Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton and Chanel – to the whimsy of each new movement's “of the moment” bags, Girlawhirl can't wait to sit back and study up on the journey of her favorite accessory.

Girlawhirl found her copy of The Handbag: An Illustrated History in her online shopping mall at barnesandnoble.com

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Nov 22, 2005:

Handbag History. read full entry