09 Aug FASHION FRIDAY: BRIGHTLY COLORED HANDBAGS
Editor’s Note: In Kristin Holbrook’s absence, Telluride local Daisy Barth rocks as her assistant for the weekly blog on fashion trends and tips.
The most practical accessory, the handbag, dates back at least five millennia. While we can’t say for sure that no mountain man would be without a simple pouch, we do know that “Otzi,” who froze to death in the Austrian alps some 5300 years ago, wore a leather pouch on his belt that contained a scraper, a drill and matches – well, a sharp piece of flint and a dried fungus known for its fire-making properties.
A contemporaneous Alpine woman, clothing accessories intact, has yet to be found. But later down the road, European and American women dressed in petticoats, with underskirts offering places to hide pouches holding small tools and valuables. Such bags were either pinned on or attached with strings. Not until the late 1700s, however, did ladies’ “reticules” – small net bags often brocaded or beaded – surface. Some say that in the early 1800s, stylish women stopped using purse strings to tie small handbags around their waists. Heaven fore fend anything at all should detract from waspy waistlines that resulted from form-fitting bodices. Others note that when women dispensed with petticoats in favor of gauzy neoclassical gowns – also in the early 1800s – they were left with no choice but to clutch their reticules or drape their strings over their arms.The term “handbag” is derived from the small leather cases that luggage makers such as Hermes designed for mid-19th century train travel.
Today’s fashionable bags come in a wide variety of fabrics and shapes. But to be chic these days, the bag you’re in must be brightly color.
Fashionistas are on the prowl for big and bold leather shoulder bags in brilliant hues. Celebrity Kris Kardashian owns a neon lemon-lime Birkin bag. Singer and fashion designer Avril Levine has also been spotted with bright colors hanging from her shoulder. What is so wonderful about these bags is that they look great in every season, adding punch and pizzazz even to the most neutral of clothing palettes. As we move into fall, clothes in darker colors will emerge from the back of closet to take their place alongside your new handbag in an eye-popping hue that you will keep at hand even in fall and winter to add a shot of warmth and fun to those colder, darker months.
Another thing about the aforementioned 5000 year-old ice man: the guy was tattooed!
Ok so he was hip, but we also know his wardrobe was severely limited. You on the other hand have options: head for Two Skirts to bring some color into your life in the form of a new handbag – and the avoid the drag of having only one carryall for all of eternity.
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