It's In the Bag: What Purses Reveal---and Conceal

by Winifred Gallagher

The time is perfect for a short, smart purse book. The "good bag" has nudged out shoes, jeans, and jewelry as the must–have fashion possession. Despite price hikes –– $1,445 for a Prada bowler bag that once cost $940 –– the craze for high–end purses helps fuel the booming luxury–goods market and, via knock–offs, hugely influences the $6 billion–a–year mainstream handbag industry. But purse mania isn't just an outgrowth of a strong luxury–goods market –– human thoughts, feelings, and dreams are involved, too. As Nadia, a high–powered interior designer says, "My cell and my big Tod's purse –– that is my life." In IT'S IN THE BAG, noted journalist Winifred Gallagher explains it what means for a purse to be a life. This cultural history of the handbag borrows from psychology (Freud noted that sometimes a purse is a vagina –– which is perhaps why the first "handbags" were carried by men!), sociology (a purse as a "status symbol") and even economics (Why have prices gotten so steep?). Researched and erudite yet always fun, Winifred Gallagher offers in IT'S IN THE BAG a charming theory of modern identity as seen through one of our keenest obsessions.

Genres: Nonfiction, Fashion

128 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2006

Reviews

[Devon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved House Thinking and The Power of Place also by Gallagher. In comparison this book might seem a bit more "fluff," but it's as equally fascinating. Though I only recognize some of the designers Gallagher talks about, I do love bags and purses designer or not. So I was interested to see what Gallagher had to say. As a kind of cultural critic, I enjoyed Gallagher's frankness and was fascinated by the interviews with handbag designers. If you really want to know what purses reveal, it's actually quite simple. According to Gallagher, it's all about marketing and yet, she concludes it's also more than that. What she implies is that purses are about identity, female identity. Gallagher addresses these issues through her discussion of Freud and does so deftly. Still, Gallagher remained a bit too superficial for me, but then again maybe that's the point.

[SC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up at a warehouse sale at 90% off. I wouldn't call myself a bagaholic, but I was curious as to why people are into designer "It" bags.

I kind of wish there were pictures of bags mentioned (I wouldn't mind line drawings if copyright was an issue) because not everyone is a bagaholic :P

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11853055

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looking for a social critique of the evolution of the bag, I picked this up. While it did not deliver what I was after, I suppose it did provide a little more insight into a "girl-thing" that I just don't understand. Things and the attachment human have to them is a pretty common theme in humanity, this book just gets a little specific with which humans and what thing.

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I loved Gallagher's House Thinking, but wasn't a fan of this one. It didn't have very good flow, had no real cohesiveness, and I can't even tell you one thing about it only a day or two after finishing it (other than it was about purses).

Meh.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish that this had photographs of the bags instead of drawings.

[Sab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice read especially for someone who's a "bagaholic".

[PHarrington · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I expected....more about upscale, designer purses than what we carry in purses and why.