Leather Handbags - A History

Leather handbags have been a consistent feature in fashion for generations.

by Maxwell Scott


Leather handbags through the ages
If you thought leather handbags were a relatively recent phenomenon to cater for the vast supplies of cosmetics, gadgets, hankies and chewing gum the modern woman carries around with her daily, you should look more closely at history. The Egyptians were known for their amazing intelligence, and scientists and historians today still ponder on the miracle of the pyramids. It’s fitting then that the first leather handbags were thought to be carried by the Egyptians. It was the Egyptian men however who are depicted through hieroglyphics as wearing leather pouches or handbags, to store the essential bits and pieces needed in daily life.

Handbags and the sexes
Today, modern men still carry leather handbags, commonly known as ‘man bags’ to carry laptops, gadgets and other masculine bits and bobs – with the occasional tub of lip balm! But apart from the trendy men about town touting their manbags, leather handbags soon became synonymous with femininity.

Leather – the material of choice
In the 16th Century, women would carry ‘sweet bags’ with perfume and herbs to help cope with the foul smells of the times, whereas men began to wear garments with small pouches – or pockets – sewn in. Leather handbags were the material of choice for travellers looking for more practical ways of carrying their belongings.

Purses, pouches, pockets and handbags
By the 17th Century, purses and pouches had definitely developed into the handbag – leather handbags were carried by both sexes and women’s bags were often decorated and hand-stitched as embroidery was a common hobby of the era.

Pockets also became more common, but in the 18th Century the trend for big pockets began to wane as the weight of carrying items in garments began to ruin the line of the clothes. Bulging pockets could be unseemly, and ruin the outline of the outfit.

Leather handbags re-established
And so leather handbags and embroidered handbags became big in fashion and by the 19th Century, the handbag really came into its own. Leather handbags and fabric handbags were decorated to fit fashion in a variety of shapes and sizes. Fashion magazines began to feature the styles in trend.

Can’t leave home without it
By the 1900s, women couldn’t leave home without their leather handbags, although handbags were made from a wide range of fabrics including metal and plastics. As well as a practical way to carry essential items around, handbags, especially leather handbags became associated with style and elegance.