History's Runway: The Parrot Bag, 1790-1800

Hand Bag
England, 1790-1800
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Fashions of the late Eighteenth to early Nineteenth Centuries saw a transition between hidden interior pockets and external reticules and handbags as a means of storing personal items which were needed on a daily basis. While interior pockets remained in garments, reticules allowed for more portability and versatility as well as a means to show off a bit.

Early reticules like this one still resembled pockets. Still, they were often embroidered and adorned with beads and spangles. They usually closed with drawstrings. This bad is embroidered with a Grecian urn billowing over with flowers. A large parrot adorns the center of the bag. Pink tassels give the bag even more character.

This is the work of a English needlework and was probably made in the home between 1790 and 1800.

History's Runway: The Shell Handbag, 1820-40

(RIGHT) Shell Hand Bag, 1820-40
The Victoria & Albert Museum

By the early Nineteenth Century, the fashionable reticules (soft purses, often made of beads) of the previous decades began to change in shape in material. Soon, they resembled the later handbag, both in construction and fastening.

Rigid shapes were constructed from molded papier-mâché or card which was overlaid with silk.  Handbags soon took new forms such as circles, lyres, urns, eggs and, even, shells with the two halves hinged with silk or leather cord. Concertina (or accordion) sides between the two rigid halves allowed the bag to open all the way without spilling the contents.   

Here, we see an example of the most popular shape—the shell.  Covered in red velvet, this rigid reticule boasts a body of papier-mâché which has been pressed into the shape of a scalloped shell with alternating daisies and roses impressed round the border.

A metal chain and cut steel flowers-shaped studs give this bag an enduringly contemporary look which belies its date of creation—circa 1820.   The color combination is also very modern looking--the sides and bottom are covered in bright pink satin which contrasts with the red velvet cover and white linen lining.   

History's Runway: The Parrot Bag, 1790-1800

Hand Bag
England, 1790-1800
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Fashions of the late Eighteenth to early Nineteenth Centuries saw a transition between hidden interior pockets and external reticules and handbags as a means of storing personal items which were needed on a daily basis. While interior pockets remained in garments, reticules allowed for more portability and versatility as well as a means to show off a bit.

Early reticules like this one still resembled pockets. Still, they were often embroidered and adorned with beads and spangles. They usually closed with drawstrings. This bad is embroidered with a Grecian urn billowing over with flowers. A large parrot adorns the center of the bag. Pink tassels give the bag even more character.

This is the work of a English needlework and was probably made in the home between 1790 and 1800.

History's Runway: The Shell Handbag, 1820-40

(RIGHT) Shell Hand Bag, 1820-40
The Victoria & Albert Museum

By the early Nineteenth Century, the fashionable reticules (soft purses, often made of beads) of the previous decades began to change in shape in material.  Soon, they resembled the later handbag, both in construction and fastening.

Rigid shapes were constructed from molded papier-mâché or card which was overlaid with silk.  Handbags soon took new forms such as circles, lyres, urns,  eggs and, even, shells with the two halves hinged with silk or leather cord.  Concertina (or accordion) sides between the two rigid halves allowed the bag to open all the way without spilling the contents.   

Here, we see an example of the most popular shape—the shell.  Covered in red velvet, this rigid reticule boasts a body of papier-mâché which has been pressed into the shape of a scalloped shell with alternating daisies and roses impressed round the border.

A metal chain and cut steel flowers-shaped studs give this bag an enduringly contemporary look which belies its date of creation—circa 1820.   The color combination is also very modern looking--the sides and bottom are covered in bright pink satin which contrasts with the red velvet cover and white linen lining.