Small and elegant bags for your essentials

As we at Bolinder Stockholm think: The handbag is not only a fashionable and functional essential element of a woman’s wardrobe. It's the core of it. It is sometimes used as a fashion statement and sometimes even out of necessity. But, was it the same back in history? Did fashion and small bags reside together? We have taken a look at this in this article. Enjoy.

Back in the earlier days’ women used bags for practical use. The bag was just to carry some of the essential things and had nothing to do with fashion and style. Interestingly, men even had bags in order to carry tools, weapons, food, and flint.
In 2160 BC Egyptian of the Old Kingdom used to carry double handbags which were made of papyrus and linen. On the other hand, the ancient Greeks even used small bags named Byrsa to carry coins. These bags were hung by the belt.
But as time passed the cloth bags were replaced by leather. Archeologists found a small leather bag in an Anglo-Saxon burial mound. However, this bag has traces of gold and silver. This leather bag was hung from straps on a belt.
The history of handbags is intriguing. The bags that we see today did not come to existence all of a sudden whereas, these bags have a back story as well. In this blog, let us unfold the history of handbags that we use today and even unravel how handbags turned into a fashion statement.

Handbags in Medieval Times

During the 13th century, upper-class people used small handbags to carry coins for the poor people. On the other side, the working class even used handbags but for a different purpose. Traveling during that period of time was by foot and small handbags were a practical way of carrying small goods from one place to another. Interestingly, poor people even had bags too but those bags were made of recycled leather and heavy fabric.
Back then bags were used by both men and women. Sometimes it even had the same design as well. But the scene was quite different for the royalty and the aristocracy. Women of the upper class used to carry beautiful bags given as gifts. However, this unisex product was on the verge of facing changes for the time to come.

Renaissance Handbag

It was during the 15th century that handbags grew more elegant and fanciful. The bags were made of the finest material and slick decorations. But there had been no change in the handbags of working-class people. For them, handbags were still an accessory to carry essentials.
However, in the late 16th century small embroidered bags turned out to be the status symbol of women. These petite bags contained rose petals, spices, and herbs in order to hide the body odor. Moreover, the late Renaissance Period saw a new innovation and that was evening bags. These bags were used by men and women for carrying coins and gaming chips for gambling.
Bags were now matched by the dress color. It was done for both identification and even styling as well. This era marked the beginning of “handbags as a fashion statement”.

Handbags of The 18th Century

It was from the 18th century that handbags were seen as a feminine accessory. Men no longer carried bag and instead, they used small coin purses. Small bags dangling by the wrist was trending during that time. Although women carried large bags too it wasn’t so common. The large bags were used as work bags in which they carried sewing products. Whereas, the small bags were still used to carry small items like a fan, opera glasses and smelling salt.

19th-Century Handbags

There was a drastic change in the attire of women in the 19th century. Women wore skirts and not a slim silhouette. The change of attire even brought changes to the handbag designs as well. Rather than large bags, women were using small handheld bags for coins and personal items.
Handbags during that time even depicted the sentimental scene of Victorian England women. The embroidered images of houses and flowers. Interestingly, women even tailored their own bags to showoff needlework and give it a personal touch. By now women had different bags for different occasions – travel, shopping, and parties.

Handbags of Early 20th Century

In the early 20th century handbags were popular and a fashion statement. During that era, the more elegant bag a woman carries the more fashionable she is. It was even the time when many renowned companies emerged and were innovating different designs of bags. Once a simple coin carrying pouch was now made of exotic textiles.
But the most trending bags of the early 20th century was the leather bags. Whereas, the leather bags couldn’t stay in the market for long because of the restriction of leather during World War II. However, handbags were then necessity and due to this reason hand made bags became popular. These bags were made of fabric, knotted rayon, cardboards and given the shape of an envelope.

Handbags of Today

Women of this era believe that style is about simplicity and this notion has been grasped by many handbag companies. Nowadays, women are inclined towards practical small bags for everyday use. We all know that minimalism is the modern approach to life. Therefore, why should you go for things that gave over-exaggerated elements to it?
On the other side, women love traveling and carrying large bags is extra luggage and even discomfort as well. Whether it was the past or recent time small bags have always comforted women. Not only that, small bags are now a fashion statement. Perhaps, carrying a small bag is comfy, practical and even elegant.

If you are in search of buying small elegant bags then this is the right time. The Bolinder has launched its small bag collection. They have perfect bags for everyday elegance in kinship with practical use. They even have high-quality leather bags with unique designs. So, what are you waiting for? Just visit their official website and grab the finest and elegant piece for you.