Who runs the world? Girls. And they do it armed not with teensy purses that can fit no more than a lipstick tube—mini bag trend be damned—but hefty totes where they could actually cram their arsenal of electronic gadgets and paperwork, makeup and whatnot.
We don’t know exactly what assortment of miscellaneous stuff Jane Birkin was carrying around in her bag on that fortuitous flight in 1981, when she was seated next to a man who told her that she “should have one with pockets,” as the contents of her purse fell out.
“The day Hermès makes one, I will have that,” the actress told the man, who would turn out to be Jean-Louis Dumas, CEO of Hermès. Dumas said he would, and the Birkin—the most coveted bag of all time—
was born.
Cat
Since the Birkin was created in 1984, its namesake actress has owned four of the bags—at least three sold at auctions to benefit charity—and each sturdy bag well-worn and as well-traveled as its owner.
In her Birkin, she always lugs around her “agenda, my Blackberry, photos of all the children, and my makeup,” she told Vogue in 2011. At times, one might even find her cat in it.
“Any bag that’s with me will take the same course as I will,” said the actress who “hates” changing purses. “It will take the same airplanes and will be squashed in the same way and will be used as a cushion in the airports.”
In the last decade alone, women had seen the most hardworking of handbags, their massive sizes denoting their owner’s status and level of (self) importance: the bigger your bag, the more powerful you were.
Just like Jane Birkin, women stuffed everything in their purses, including, one might be justified to suspect, the kitchen sink.
But something had to give: in 2012, Birkin herself had to receive surgery for tendonitis in her right arm. (An empty 35-cm Birkin weighs about a kilogram, depending on the leather material.)
Order, organization
The fashion shift has been stark in the last few seasons, as designers responded with shrunken handbags so tiny you could easily stash a dozen of them into an “It” bag from the aughts.
Fans of the new trend say smaller bags connote order and organization, that you have your life together, since you know exactly what’s important to bring and what needs to be edited out.
However, the trend could shift once more, if the bags for next season are anything to go by (think Balenciaga, with Demna Gvasalia’s humongous carry-alls). Maybe women need sizable purses, after all?
