Bags: A Lexicon of Style

by Valerie Steele, Laird Borrelli

Whether it’s the tiny hand-held jewel that holds only a lipstick or the trendy Prada backpack, handbags are our most essential accessory. The ultimate status symbol, bags also speak volumes about our approach to style. This gorgeous book presents the best of contemporary design from the world’s leading firms. Ranging from the status bags of Gucci and Hermès to the exquisite beaded purses of Jamin Puech and Nathalie Hambro, and laden with color photos and sketches, A Lexicon of Style is a must for fashion lovers and those with a sense of bags as art. Valerie Steele is Chief Curator of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Among her books are The A Cultural History, Paris Fashion, Fetish, and Fifty Years of Fashion. Laird Borrelli, a fashion historian, also works at The Museum at F.I.T.

Genres: Fashion

192 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

Valerie Steele is director and chief curator and Melissa Marra is associate curator of education and public programs, both at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York.

Reviews

[Anna L · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting overview of bags, separated into arbitrary categories of practical, previous, status, luxury and utility. Even after reading it, I don't know whyor how they separated status and luxury... There are enough photos to illustrate the concepts, and enough text to describe how each style came to be and its brief history in the second half of the 20th/early 21st centuries and what its appeal is.