| ent study revealed that the average handbag and its | | | | time period in terms of handbags was the fifties, which |
| contents are worth a whopping 900 dollars! That's 120 | | | | saw the rise of the ultimate handbag designer houses; |
| billion dollars women are carrying around in handbags | | | | including Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermes. |
| nationwide. And can you blame us, really, when there's | | | | Like Chanel's Number 5 perfume, some of these |
| such an abundance of variety in the handbag market? | | | | handbags have become instantly recognisable fashion |
| It could well be argued that handbags have overtaken | | | | icons; signifiers of the rich and the famous. Sadly, |
| shoes as the luxury collectable accessory of choice | | | | though, this means that showing off your new Louis |
| for celebrities and ordinary women alike. | | | | Vuitton at the office party, or having a stash of Gucci |
| But in fact handbags may have as long and | | | | handbags in the wardrobe, is out of the price range of |
| controversial a history as the ubiquitous high heel, and | | | | almost everybody. |
| according to handbag historians they were used in a | | | | We should be grateful for the Internet, for perhaps |
| similar way - to show the status of the wearer. | | | | giving us mortals a chance to own a genuine Gucci |
| In the fourteenth century, the richer and more powerful | | | | handbag without having to win the lottery or shoplift. |
| the person the more jewels and embroidery | | | | The web is so full of second hand designer handbag |
| festooned the handbag. Not much has changed in the | | | | dealers that auction giant Ebay have branched out |
| handbag world, then. | | | | with their own dedicated handbag site, e bags. |
| Over the centuries handbags have gone through | | | | Even better, high street shops are increasingly living up |
| many adaptations and fashions, but the word 'handbag' | | | | the ideals set by the designer houses, and its never |
| was only coined in the 1900's. That decade also | | | | been more likely that you can buy a handbag for 8 |
| heralded the type of handbag we would recognise | | | | dollars and pass it off as a unique one-off! Truly his |
| today - with bags getting increasingly smaller and the | | | | decade ought to be the decade of the handbag: and |
| introduction of handbag fasteners, inner compartments | | | | specifically the stylish and affordable handbag. |
| and locks. | | | | Handbag fans rejoice! |
| But that's enough history: clearly the most important | | | | |