Whether you’re trying to express your individuality, impress your pals, snag a high-power job or merely reinvent yourself, the best way to do it is with a new handbag. So says fashion writer Anna Johnson, who makes solid cases for these points in her latest book, “Handbags: The Power of the Purse” (Workman Publishing, $13.95).
Johnson, 36, has been collecting bags since age 15, and about 50 from her personal collection are pictured in the book. Johnson finds the sociological and cultural baggage behind the bag most fascinating, and uses her book to place the impact of the handbag in historical context.
Much of this background information is astonishing given today’s notions about purses. For instance, bags have been around since antiquity, worn dangling from the waist by women and men alike. They enjoyed androgyny until the 17th Century, when men’s clothing began to have pockets sewn in. Small bags always have implied class; big, bulky shoulder bags or pouches were for peasants and workers.
In today’s world, the handbag is an essential that lets us tote the necessities of life everywhere we go.
“It’s your private universe connected to you with a strap–your life on a leash,” says Johnson. Yet bags are “clearly about more than utility, or else there wouldn’t be so many different ones. Since we really don’t wear hats or carry parasols anymore, it’s the last place in fashion where we can let loose and express ourselves,” she says. (Lest shoe fans disagree, Johnson points out that the weather and your walking needs dictate, and impede, your choice of footwear.)
As for making or creating impressions, the handbag is the single most effective accessory to wield.
Grace Kelly started it all when she was featured on the cover of Life magazine in 1956 toting a Hermes handbag. “It launched the collective fantasy that a bag could transform your existence from commoner to princess,” Johnson says.
The right handbag can achieve equally inventive goals in virtually any situation, she says. For example: “Forget the power shoes and stick a power bag on the table in your next interview. It will be much more noticeable than what’s on your feet.”
The same goes for changing the aesthetic of an outfit with the right bag, be it sporty, sexy, tailored or luxe.
Of course, our lives are enormously complicated and we’re often forced to play many different roles, so “one bag won’t do it all,” says Johnson. You need a wardrobe of them.
“The best bags are designed to simplify a woman’s life and American designers, above all, put a lot of thought about our everyday needs in their bags. The Italians go for theater, and the French are in-between. Their bags are slicker than the Americans’ but more utilitarian than the Italians’. [The French] also taught us to buy one good bag and stick with it for a few years.”
But everyone wants the lowdown on what to buy, and Johnson is only too happy to call on her expertise.
“The big labels such as Hermes and Chanel are hopelessly out of sight for most of us,” she says. But there are many well-made bags with less prestigious labels. Always look at structure and fabrication.
“If a bag is too deep, finding anything in it is like an architectural dig. Also look for secure and sturdy stitching; hefty, strong hardware; leather linings; and straps that fit your body size,” Johnson says. Coach, Furla, Kate Spade and Dooney & Bourke are some of the lines that will give you great value for the price.
Some good investments, if you can splurge, are Lambertson Truex, Marc Jacobs and Ferragamo, Johnson says. Her parting words of wisdom are aimed at Coach: “Reissue the Bonnie Cashin bags from your archives instead of copying all the big labels.”
