What Is Beaded Bags?
From 1900 to 1918 one of the more popular styles was the beaded handbag. This small bag, about the size of a grapefruit or smaller, was made of fabric that was covered in small beads.
Since their humble beginnings, beaded bags have been seen on the likes of every celebrity, influencer, trendsetter and everyone in between. There’s no shortage of designs to create, and, even more so, there’s no shortage of ways to style them.
Who says you need a disco ball when you can have a beaded bag? It’s the gift that keeps on giving. A beaded bag is a perfect conversation starter, it can hold all of your essentials, and it tells a story that a plain bag just simply can’t. Why fit in when you (and your purse) were born to stand out?
According to sources, the beaded bag became popular in the late 1800s during the Industrial Revolution. However, they’ve been around since way before then and can be dated back to 2,500 BC. Most women made their own bags by sewing or crocheting glass or metal beads onto mesh or using knitting techniques to put them together. By putting a lot of tiny beads together, one could make various images based on patterns or dreams they experienced. Most of the beads from these intricate early beaded bags came from Paris, and according to legend, when Americans started producing similar beads due to popularity, they rusted much faster.
THE LITTLE BEADED BAG
History’s Favorite Fashion Accessory
Through the years, it’s been as small as a deck of cards and as large as a piece of luggage; as soft as velvet and as hard as Bakelite. It’s been knitted, crocheted, embroidered, beaded and embossed. Hung from belts, slipped
over fingers and slung over shoulders. And, in one form or another, it has been with us since the time of the Crusades.
Called by many names, it’s a fashion accessory used by both men and women since the Middle Ages: the pocketbook, the purse, the handbag, the reticule or, in today’s world of the metrosexual, the man bag.
Beaded bags
But of all the bags that have waxed and waned in popularity over the years, perhaps none has earned its place in fashion, or been so cherished and sought after by collectors, as the little beaded bag.
As a prelude to Women’s History Month in March, the Camden County Historical Society has been featuring a small front-lobby exhibit from the beaded bag holdings of its Historic Clothing and Accessories collection. The display makes clear why women have been so taken with such bags over the centuries. Combining the look and feel of a jeweled surface with the flexibility of fabric, they are works of art, statements of personal taste, and status symbols.
Popular for centuries
Beaded bags, whether handcrafted or commercially produced, have been in vogue in North America for well over 200 years and in Europe for much longer.
In the late 1300s, the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer described one in “The Miller’s Tale,” the story of a love affair between an Oxford student and a carpenter’s wife. Of the female character he wrote: “By her belt hung a purse of leather tasseled with green and beaded with Italian beads.”
Along with being museum pieces, beaded bags are highly prized in collectors’ circles where they command high prices. The greatly coveted beaded works were of such value that, in the early 1800s, the patterns used to make them were jealously guarded as family secrets passed down through generations.
Since their humble beginnings, beaded bags have been seen on the likes of every celebrity, influencer, trendsetter and everyone in between. There’s no shortage of designs to create, and, even more so, there’s no shortage of ways to style them. Whether you’re looking to dress up an all-black outfit with a beaded bag to accompany you to the opera or you’re perfecting your summer wardrobe with some vibrant texture, beaded handbags scream “fashion” in the best way.
Beaded Handbags
Women have been carrying purses or small handbags since the Middle Ages (c. 500–c. 1500). Though the first purses were simple leather pouches covered with a flap, women soon developed purses and handbags into decorative accessories that could be matched to their outfits and adorned with all manner of ornament. From 1900 to 1918 one of the more popular styles was the beaded handbag. This small bag, about the size of a grapefruit or smaller, was made of fabric that was covered in small beads. The opening was secured either with a metal clasp or a snap. The handbag might have a long chain or cord, but many had no strap at all and were simply held in the hand.
The real artistry in a beaded handbag came in the design of the beadwork. Designs could be very simple, with opalescent beads of a single color or just slightly contrasting colors, or they could be very complex, with many different colors arranged into dramatic patterns. Beaded handbags remain a popular accessory to this day.
For a little bit of stuff.
Sometimes you only need to have your phone and lipstick, so why not have a little bag that keeps both? My mom says that if you can fit a condom inside of your bag, that’s really all you’ll need. It’s just going to get hotter and hotter outside, so when everything feels like a hassle, you can have your tiny bag and not feel like it’s weighing you down.
For a lot of stuff.
If you’re like me, you need a bigger bag for lots of stuff. I am always hosting, baking, and exploring rooms full of clothing in a city near you; I never know if I’m running errands or if they’re running me. There is no reason to not elevate the experience of being an urban mule with a little color and sparkle.
Square and rectangular
Spring is in the air and I can’t stand all my love letters getting jumbled up in my gym sack. The dimensions of your bag is everything, and I think a keen shopper would take note of the following selection of my favorite category of bag.
Round
If you’re into all things shapely, here’s your chance to add a bag into that equation. These options are perfect because if you wear a simple outfit, you can dress it up completely by adding a little bag that packs a big punch. Because of its unique shape, it’s the perfect accessory for dressing up or down. If you haven’t already thought about how a beaded bag is the perfect way to say “I love you” to any outfit, these are another excuse to do so.
Vintage
“Something, something, something about ‘style’ being forever,” end quote. We all know that magic feeling of endowment when we cross paths with the perfect vintage item. For the sorry souls who don’t, here are a few hot leads.
Prices Of Some Beaded Bags In Ghana;
