| In the 1930's during the Art Deco era handbags were | | | | longer skirt, small waist and small clutch handbags to |
| already made pretty much the way we know them | | | | emphasize femininity and sexuality. This era was |
| today They were square or round and made of | | | | followed by the unisex era where again, both men and |
| quilting fabric or leather. In the 1940's during World War | | | | women could be seen carrying a bag. |
| II the shoulder handbag became larger, more square or | | | | Today's shoulder bag is made in many styles and |
| round and there was a resurgence of the drawstring | | | | many fabrics. It can be large or small and made to be |
| bag. The purse, or hand bag, had a more military look, | | | | elegant for dress wear or casual for daily use. |
| a self sufficient look. | | | | We have evolved from a point where everyone had |
| As women began to take up careers and began going | | | | to look identical to everyone else, to a point now |
| to work the handbags styles changed to look more | | | | where we can be individual and show our fashion |
| businesslike, to where some looked like brief cases. It is | | | | sense in our own unique way. |
| interesting to note that bags in Britain were made to | | | | There are no strict rules about fashion today, whether |
| accommodate a gas mask and were designed to | | | | it's clothes, or the handbag - pretty much anything |
| match a woman's outfit. | | | | goes. It is still suggested that the contents of women's |
| In the post war era of the fifties the big bulky styles | | | | (or men's) shoulder handbags are still a mystery! |
| were joined in fashion by the small and dainty clutch | | | | Shoulder handbags are not just for Xmas - you should |
| bag. The designer Christian Dior, emphasized the | | | | care for them all year round! |