Have you ever wondered when handbag manufacturing began? Handbags and purses have been an essential item to the fashion world since people started having important or precious things to carry around with them. The very first time handbags are mentioned in literature is during the fourteenth century through Egyptian hieroglyphs. These hieroglyphs show people carrying pouches around their waists, much like we what we now call a fanny pack. These pouches were embroidered and adorned with jewels to show status of the person wearing it. The richer a person was, the more elaborate the handbag manufacturer will make the waist bag for him or her.



In the sixteenth century handbag manufacturing took on more of an ideal of practicality with the use of everyday materials. Some of these materials included leather with a drawstring tops. At this time, cloth bags were used. They were made larger and often used by travelers, carried across the body diagonally. These can be compared to what we modernly call messenger bags.

In the seventeenth century there was more variety and both men and women whom were seen as being fashionable carried small purses created by a handbag manufacturer everywhere that they went, but with more complex shapes. Since young women were made to learn to embroider (as it made them more suitable companions) there was a great rise in beautiful and unique hand stitched artwork in these handbags.

In the eighteenth century, neo-classical clothing became popular. There was a reduction on the amount of underclothing worn by women. The approach and work of the handbag manufacturer changed with this time as well. Wearing a purse would end up ruining the look of this new improved clothing so the more fashionable women started carrying their handbags in their hands. Women started carrying a different bag for every occasion and different fashion magazines had arguments about the proper way to carry these different purses.

The terms handbag and handbag manufacturing first came into being during the early nineteen hundreds. This term at this time referred to handheld luggage that was carried by men. These handheld luggage bags became an inspiration for new bags and became quite popular for women. These included handbags with locks, internal compartments, and complicated fasteners. With this new and improved fashion, jewelers wanted to get in on the act and added special compartments for fans, cosmetics, and opera glasses.

In the 1920's there was yet another revolution in fashion with shorter hemlines and lighter colored clothing. Handbag manufacturing came under the realization that bags no longer needed to match the outfits and it was all the rage for the most stylish lady to carry a doll that was dressed exactly like herself. This doll came complete with a matching bag; a miniature clone of the elegant fashion, created by a handbag manufacturer.

In the 1940's with the brink of yet another world war, the world saw a new austerity in clothing. Handbag manufacturing had the war effort in mind. Mirrors, leather, zips, and metal frames were in short supply so plastic and wood became the newest material used by manufacturers. The 50's saw the rise of world renowned Chanel and Louis Vuitton.