Talk:Handbag

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 2 February 2021 and 14 May 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): TeenageDirtbag18, ZoeJJohnson.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 23:02, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

History of this page

 * The early history of page Handbag is a mixture of redirects and stub articles about handbags.
 * Cut-and-paste 1: At about 11:16, 10 October 2009, page Purse was cut-and-pasted, part to Coin purse and part to Handbag, overwriting page Handbag's old contents.
 * Later, someone reverted page Purse to its full text, and it had 12 edits after that.
 * Cut-and-paste 2: At 07:14, 11 November 2009 someone cut-and-paste moved Purse (disambiguation) to Purse, overwriting its old contents.
 * I moved Purse (edits before cut-and-paste 2) to Purse (USA meaning).
 * I history-merged Purse (disambiguation) to the latest edits of Purse to repair cut-and-paste 2.
 * Anthony Appleyard (talk) 15:18, 11 November 2009 (UTC)
 * on the bit regarding the modern history. I contacted Parkinson's and they told me that they were aware of the claim. Apprently they is an invoice for a "ladies travlleing case" in their archives from about this period but they cannot confirm the exact date.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.108.73.47 (talk) 15:54, 30 September 2011 (UTC)

Adding information
In the Wikipedia article, my partner and I noticed that the section for the 20th century is marked for needing expansion. Although we could not find much about the historical context of the handbag during this period, we stumbled upon information regarding the social context of the handbag. According to Susan Hiner’s book, Accessories to Modernity: Fashion and the Feminine in Nineteenth-Century France in the chapter, "Between Good Intentions and Ulterior Motives: The Culture of Handbags": Sigmund Freud interprets purses as a symbol of female genitalia and sexuality. Freud makes the connection between female sexuality and the structure of a purse. Susan Hiner has a doctorate in French Literature from Columbia University. She has published several books about European fashion. The addition to this section would be 100-150 words. We also plan to add information regarding men’s bags in the 19th and 20th centuries, and compare men’s bags to women’s bags in terms of their development through the years, their style, and their status as symbols of luxury. Included in this section will be information about how handbags changed from practical objects to objects meant to symbolize a person’s wealth and worth, and how the brand and style of a person’s handbag projects a certain image of them to the world. We will also expand on the unisex bag and its contribution to the social acceptance of men carrying bags. Like the previous sections, this section will draw from Susan Hiner’s book. The addition to this section will be between 200-300 words. If anyone would like to add more information on these subjects, please let us know on this page or on our Talk pages! ZoeJJohnson (talk) 18:24, 6 May 2021 (UTC)ZoeJJohnson and TeenageDirtbag18

Sorts of bags

 * I don't know the difference between the many kidns of bags. Hobo, clutch, bowler, satchel, duffel, etc etc. Can you please explain this? Please, can anyone add this info to wikipedia? I will add an outline for this. Thanks.

I'm an American, and I always knew a purse as a woman's wallet (usually a little larger than a man's wallet), and a handbag as the larger bag, with the purse often stored in the handbag. This appears to be attributed as the "British" definition, but I think it's actually the standard definition, even in the U.S. for those in the know. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.134.230.68 (talk) 05:02, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

The purse men use is called vaulet. what is the spelling of that

Do you mean a wallet? 24.252.147.48 22:17, 23 April 2006 (UTC)
 * I believe that the clutch refers also (or either) to a handbag with a short handle so it fits under the armpit more closely, making it less resistant to snatching, but I'll need to check this. Dysprosia 05:30, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

eBay lists these categories, and when my wife wants me to look up a purse, it would be nice to know what these all mean; the current article only defines some of them:


 * Shoulder Bag
 * Backpack Style
 * Baguette
 * Bowling Style
 * Bucket
 * Clutch
 * Doctor Style
 * Evening Bag
 * Hobo
 * Messenger Style
 * Organizer Bag
 * Satchel
 * Tote
 * Wristlet

I can assume what a Doctor Style and Bowling Style might be, (I guess a Bowling Style is like a big Doctor Style!), but Hobo? What is the difference between a Shoulder Bag and a Satchel?

MeekMark (talk) 18:00, 19 December 2009 (UTC)

Handbags in the Bible?

 * This history creates the wrong impression. It says 'Purses were carried by men in Biblical times over 2000 years ago. St. Mark's gospel 6:8 says: And Jesus of Nazareth commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in [their] purse.'
 * I don't see why this would be in reference to what Americans call a purse (a hand bag). Surely it will be in reference to a small pouch for carrying money, which is the older usuage of the term (still in use in the UK). I don't see why the apostles would be carrying money in a handbag...--Jcvamp 23:16, 16 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Is no one going to comment on this or should I just remove it as it creates the wrong impression?--Jcvamp 20:54, 4 August 2006 (UTC)
 * I removed the reference. If anyone has any reasons why the reference should be in, feel free to revert the edit and post a response to my comments.--Jcvamp 21:53, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

Clutches

 * The link on the word clutch links to the mechanical definition of clutch.
 * The article contradicts itself with regard to clutches. Under the "Variations" heading clutches are described as having a short handle, but then under "Types of Handbag" they are said to have no handle. Neodymium144 (talk) 15:25, 30 August 2009 (UTC)

coinpurses/handbags

 * i suggest splitting this article into two: one for handbags/American purses, and one for (coin)purses. They are quite different things.Zigzig20s (talk) 22:06, 28 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I agree - this makes no sense: the article constantly refers to purses and handbags - meaning that to anyone Speaking BrE, AusE or International English, it is exceptionally ambiguous. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Calorus (talk • contribs) 12:31, 21 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I agree. This article is currently about two different things. There should be two articles: Handbag, and Coinpurse. "Purse" can be a disambiguation. Any comments? EuroSong talk 18:40, 15 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Me three. I think "coin purse" or "coin-purse" (the OED doesn't have "coinpurse"), though, should be the title of the new non-handbag article. --Atemperman (talk) 18:48, 21 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Agree, this page is a total mess - only from the context in most cases can it be worked out whether "purse" is referring to a handbag or a coin purse. Nick Cooper (talk) 10:29, 10 October 2009 (UTC)
 * It's even more a mess bringing Kiefer Sutherland into it. Jack Bauer is responsible for making it mainstream?  Who says?  Totally unsubstantiated.  C'mon.  --24.83.34.167 (talk) 16:13, 7 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Now separated into handbag and coin purse. Nick Cooper (talk) 11:17, 10 October 2009 (UTC)
 * handbag and coin purse. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 16:01, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

History of handbags inquiry

 * Does anyone know at what point in history it became the custom for women to carry handbags (but not normally men)? Did women carry handbags in the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire?  Maybe women carrying handbags goes all the way back to Paleolithic and Neolithic times--since it was the men who hunted and the women who gathered, women who were gathering would need a handbag to put things in that they had gathered.  I suppose these original handbags must have been made of animal skins.  If women carrying handbags is an innovation that began in modern Western civilization, then what century did the custom of women (but not men) carrying handbags begin?  Keraunos (talk) 00:49, 10 January 2010 (UTC)


 * I also an interested in this question and think it should be in the article.--38.115.166.174 (talk) 19:13, 17 January 2010 (UTC)

That Louis Vuitton bag
Is that picture of the Louis Vuitton bag, really of a handbag? It looks more like a shoulder bag, I always think of the handbag being something smaller.--MacRusgail (talk) 19:00, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

File:Purdy purdy in Brooks.jpg Nominated for Deletion

 * Verb, To Handbag::

Might it be worth mentioning the verb "to handbag". Margaret Thatcher was once referred to as giving some opponent "a handbagging", suggesting, I assume, she hit them with her bag. 83.16.188.58 (talk) 11:36, 25 June 2012 (UTC)

A good job
Thius article is very nicely illustated. Here is one good picture, but can't find any place too put it now. Maybe som day someone will use it. Hafspajen (talk) 22:57, 15 March 2014 (UTC)

Criticism
section urgently missing from this article — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.183.123.106 (talk) 19:55, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

personal items such as... contraceptives
I'm a woman and I don't keep contraceptives in my purse, and the notion that BC is right up there with keys/wallet/phone on a list of "stuff women need in their purses" feels very gendered to me. So I'm deleting that word, re: Dept. of Overly Specific. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.182.64.135 (talk) 15:23, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

Etymology of "Handbagging"
At the end of the section "Purse" or "Handbag" or "Pouch" in this article, it is stated that Margaret Thatcher hit people with her handbag, but the citation for this does not mention any instances of the handbag being used for this purpose; instead, she apparently held pieces of paper in the bag with various relevant insights, comments, and advice and read them aloud in cabinet meetings. Also, the article itself contradicts this claim: "Lord Armstrong [former Cabinet Secretary] says he never saw any 'physical use of the handbag'". I haven't been able to find any other source to verify this claim, so I've changed the line to reflect the content of the cited article. Thanks and have a good day. Van Guldar (talk) 06:55, 14 August 2015 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 17:05, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

Lead image
The photo of Queen Elizabeth was in the article twice. I removed it from the lead to keep the other in the section discussing the queen and her handbags. To replace it in the lead, I added the Mi'kmaq porcupine quill handbag. I thought that one looked properly illustrative of the concept, but have no objection if anyone finds a better example to place at the top of the article. Schazjmd  (talk)  16:55, 12 August 2023 (UTC)