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Girls, Not First to Carry a Purse

Typically, most people associate the purse with it being “a girl thing” and a desirable fashion accessory today.  But, the very first purses were not carried by girls and were not considered to be a fashion, or fun accessory.  They were purely functional and carried by men thousands of years ago, way before pockets were invented, to contain their valuable or necessary items.  Pouches, usually made of leather, or cloth, with a draw string at the top, or purses, were used to carry survival items such as flint and also to carry their money, in the form of coins or other valuables.

It is not uncommon for men to carry a purse today and the term used for the man purse is a “murse”.   After all, pockets alone, can’t hold all you need to carry at times, such as electronic equipment, books and documents.  A purse, it’s not just a “Girl” thing.

The Desirable Birkin Bag

Although the Birkin bag, by Hermès is free of logos, it is one of the most recognized purses in the women’s fashion industry and by the public. It is highly coveted and, for several years, was believed to have a waiting list of up to 6 years – the longest wait for any purse in history.  As a result of the strong demand, the Birkin purse has a high reselling value in many countries. The bag is a symbol of wealth due to its high price ($9,000 to $34,000 for one of crocodile skin), meticulous craftsmanship and elusiveness to the public. Each purse has a number-coded lock and key. The company’s signature saddle stitching, developed in the 1800s, is another distinctive feature.

The purse is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin. In 1981, Hermès chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas was seated next to Jane Birkin on a flight from Paris to London. She placed her straw bag in the overhead compartment of her seat, but the contents fell out, leaving her to scramble to replace everything back in her purse. Birkin explained to Dumas that it had been difficult to find a leather weekend bag she liked. In 1984, he created a black supple leather purse for her, based on an 1892 design. And, thus it became known as the Birkin bag.

Birkin bags are sold in a range of sizes. Each purse may be made to order with different hardware options and customer-chosen hides such as calf leather, ostrich, crocodile, and lizard. A variety of color options are available such as pink, red, brown, baby blue, navy blue, olive green, orange, white, black, and golden tan. The lining is made of goat skin and the interior color matches the exterior color. There are other individual options, such as diamond-encrusting. The purses are handmade in France by expert artisans. Each purse is hand-sewn, buffed, painted, and polished, taking several days to finish. An average purse is created in 48 hours.

The Birkin Bag, with it’s meticulous quality, is very desirable to us girls and has a high price tag. If you can’t afford the real thing, don’t buy a knock off purse. Buying a fake makes you a fake and it is illegal to sell them.

Resource: Wikipedia

Sharon Barber Purse Feature – Attach Pad

In her quest to design her last purse, Sharon Barber often observed women digging through their purse at the check out counter.  Many girls have so much in their purse that they can’t find what they need.  It was obvious this problem needed to be solved for her and eventually solved in her complete line of purses.

One feature of a Sharon Barber purse is the patented attach pad.  It provides a convenient place to attach items, such as your pen or your lipstick in full view when you open your purse. The attach pad is located inside the top of the interchangeable wrap, or some would call it an interchangeable cover, an interchangeable skin or even an interchangeable shell.

With the attach pad there’s no digging to find your pen, your lipstick or whatever you choose to keep there is right there ready to pull off, use and then stick back on the pad.  Attachment pieces are provided with the purchase of a Sharon Barber purse and used to attach to items that you choose to keep there.  Every girl is unique and so are the contents of her purse, your choice.

Mother’s Day Gift for Grandmother

You may, or may not feel the need to buy a gift for Grandmother on Mother’s Day.  If your Grandmother is anything like Sharon Barber, quality time spent with her granddaughter, or grandson, would be the best gift you can give.  As women get older, material things matter less and time is valued more.  A one of a kind item that you handcrafted especially for her would be a great gift.

The author is unknown, but this is a perfect quote: “Grandmothers are just antique little girls.”   That would mean she still wants to have fun and likes tasteful, whimsical toys and things.  So, if you really want to purchase a gift for her think,  puzzles, fun, whimsy.  You may even consider toys or books from the baby boomer generation childhood years, something that she can relate to when she was a little girl.

Consider a zigsaw puzzle, crossword puzzle or word search puzzles.  There are many different puzzles, in many different forms, even purses and jewelry, that are fun and provide many hours of entertainment or enjoyment accessorizing herself.

Susan B. Anthony and The Alligator Purse

Susan B. Anthony was a trail blazer for women’s rights and the women’s rights movement.  We owe her a debt of gratitude.  Without her effort and others paving the way for us, women such as Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin would not be in politics today and Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart would not own multi-million dollar businesses.  All girls today have a much better chance of financial independence and freedom to choose their own destiny.

According to The Susan B. Anthony House, Ms. Anthony worked for many reforms, including suffrage, temperance, and abolition, but found that women were hampered by their lack of power – their lack of money.  In the early nineteenth century, very few occupations were open to women.  Once married, a woman could not open a bank account, enter into a contract, rent a place to live, or sue someone against whom she had a grievance.  Any income that she earned was considered to be the property of her husband.  For Anthony, the purse was not a fashion statement.  The “purse of her own” became the symbol of a woman’s financial independence.

“Woman must have a purse of her own, and how can this be, so long as the wife is denied the right to her individual and joint earnings.  Reflections like these, caused me to see and really feel that there was no true freedom for woman without the possession of all her property rights.” ~ Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony, was recognized by two trademarks:  her alligator purse and a red shawl. Visit the Susan B. Anthony House and Museum to see the famous alligator purse she carried across the United States and to Europe.  It is located at 17 Madison Street, Rochester, New York.  Anthony used her alligator bag more like a briefcase than like a purse.  In it, she carried her speeches and pamphlets, a copy of the transcript from her 1873 trial in which she was found guilty for having voted “illegally” in the 1872 federal election. What would be the most important item you carry in your purse?

The Susan B. Anthony House introduced “Ms. Anthony: a Purse with a Purpose” designed by the Abigail Riggs Collection in 2010. The contemporary handbag has two purposes: to share the story of Susan B. Anthony, champion of woman’s independence, and to generate income to sustain her llegacy through the Susan B. Anthony House.  For more information and to purchase the purse visit The Susan B. Anthony House here.