The History of the Purse and Handbag

In certain situations, the word ‘purse’ is used differently than the word ‘handbag’. It seems that the term ‘purse’ is used by more formal ladies, or sometimes by those of more advanced age. This semantic distinction may be evident because in the United States we do not really have a distinction between the purse and the handbag; we use the two words interchangeably. However, the British, consider the purse to be a much smaller in size. It is sometimes also called a ‘coin purse’, and is actually quite tiny. It is similar in size to a man’s wallet, often with a tiny metal clasp atop the leather and a small side compartment for coins. Not much can fit in these little bags!

A handbag, however, is a much bigger bag. While Americans call a handbag a ‘purse’ as well, the British consider a handbag the type of bag that is slung over the shoulder or held on the arm and used to carry all of one’s personal items and effects that may be necessary throughout the day, like lipstick and a cell phone and a wallet.

The history of the purse and the handbag is pretty interesting. It all started so many years ago it is difficult to imagine, as the first sights of a type of purse were seen on drawings in hieroglyphics with the Egyptians, and also later in Europe in the 1300’s when women of wealth would have them sewn onto their undergarments. Back then, both men and women wore purses and they did not resemble the modern woman’s handbag of today or even the man’s briefcase or carry-all. They were much smaller versions, and usually had a sentiment attached to them. They were really only for the wealthy, for instance, so they may have borne the wealthy family’s crest or a symbol or story of their family sewn onto the purse. They were handmade, and usually of fine and limited materials.

By the 1700s, purses were becoming more common among people who were not just of high social status. They were made from more common materials, and could be found carried by just about anyone of reasonable means. People were travelling more, so it became common also for men and women to wear large cloth bags strapped across their chest to hold their most dear and necessary personal belongings on them while they travelled. These bags were usually very plain looking and uncomplicated, merely functional, and similar to the ‘messenger bags’ of today.

It was also around this time that young ladies were beginning to take up embroidery and needlepoint, and men would be interested in a lady with a fine purse that she crafted herself. If a man did not have travel or luggage needs, it was becoming odd by this point to find a man who carried a purse. It was pretty much limited by then to a wallet or tiny coin purse for money-holding, or a large and strapped bag for travel.

Slightly later, in the 1800’s perhaps, women needed purses for similar reasons that they do today. They were ‘out and about’ more often, and needed small bags to keep their makeup, toiletries and perfumes with them. They were becoming more and more into fashion and dress and style, and would craft purses or buy purses crafted to match their outfits. They also used these purses to make sure that none of their powdery, new cosmetics ruined any of their new outfits! Today, we obviously still use handbags for these and similar other reasons.

During the 1900s various kinds of purses came into style, including small clutch bags unlike the satchel or the tote but not quite small enough to be considered a ‘purse’ like the coin purse. This is when the term ‘handbag’ came into fashion, especially in the United States. It is a much newer term than ‘purse’. It started out being specific to a man’s bag, interestingly enough, that was being used ‘by his hand’ to carry luggage. It is curious that both the terms “purse” and “handbag” actually started out referring something to quite specific, but they can now be interchanged to mean the same thing and a whole variety of different types of the same thing!

By the Roaring 1920s, when fashion was at a height, designing handbags became ever more popular and the handbag and purse industry started to grow. It slowed down a bit in the 1940s and during World War II, but picked up again once the war ended and the economy was not suffering as much. Ever since then, the popularity of a multitude of differently designed styles, colors, textures, materials has just continued to boom. Now, as we all know, the best handbag designers can command thousands of dollars for their finest goods and we can basically choose anything we want, anytime, to match any outfit, size, shape and occasion. The sky is the limit, and we are quite fortunate that the ‘purse’ no longer limits us to a little leather coin bag!