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Purse History
Women cannot do without
their purses. Whether
carried for utility or as a
status symbol, handbags
are essential to the modern
woman. They carry our
keys, our phones,
essentially, they carry our
lives. But as practical and
necessary an accessory as
it seems, the purse has not
always been part of a
woman’s wardrobe. Some
women see it as a way to
signify their wealth and
others see it as a frivolous
fashion item, but the
history of the handbag
reveals much about the
history of woman, of her
movement out of the home
and into the world.
Pre 1800 Pouches and
Pockets
The purse began as a
Joy feelings magazine
symbol more than as a
useful accessory. In
ancient times wedding
purses filled with money
were often given to
couples as a symbol of the
womb, which would
hopefully soon be filled as
well. So from the
beginning the purse has
been associated with
womanhood, femininity
and female sexuality.
Sigmund Freud in The
Interpretation of Dreams
remarked that the purse
was a symbol of woman,
and that putting something
inside it represented
sexual intercourse.
In the sixteenth century,
wealthy individuals
carried their money in
pouches that dangled from
a belt or girdle. These
pouches were so easily
stolen that soon the trend