The Significance of Handbags

I have finally got around to reading an article I pulled out of last Wednesday's Times, which was left lying around in the work's canteen. It was about handbags, so being a man I was naturally intrigued. It speaks about how in the 1920's, when you ladies decided it was time to start going out, having fun and so forth, without your chaperones, the quaint little so-called "clutch came about, in which you could carry a few girly bits and bobs (cigarettes, lipstick cash). Throughout the course of the twentieth century, as ladies approached the status of men (more or less), gained more freedoms and concurrently were expected to take on more and more responsibilities (high-powered businesswoman, parent, fashionista¦), handbags grew in size, practicality and ultimately superseded shoes in becoming the "ultimate fashion accessory ' such that they are (in the words of the Times article) "currently the size of a skirt (a deceptively simple observation, which, I'm sure you will agree, has numerous hidden connotations).

I don't want to ask the obvious, clichéd question of, what do you keep in your handbag? ' because that would be¦ well¦ a cliché (and I'm sure it has been done here recently). I do, however, want to say, how do you ladies feel about your handbags? Are they a symbol of your emancipation or merely practical necessities? Do you love and adore your handbag like it is your own child? Or does it weigh you down, like¦ well, your own child?

Before you answer these questions, I just want to leave you with a quote from the aforementioned article¦

In the name of research I approach a statuesque young man stepping out of Vogue House, wearing skin-tight jeans and a simple t-shirt seemingly free of any functional pockets. "Where, if you don't mind me asking, do you keep your wallet and phone? He points to a demure blonde in his shadows, straining under the weight of one familiar Fendi Spy. "My girlfriend has them in her handbag.

(here's a link to the online version of the article... http://women.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,26491-2453077.html)

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