A handbag is never just a handbag. It’s a status symbol. How does it get to that status it represents, you ask? It’s not all in the price tag.
Part of the reason we associate bags with certain meanings or social structures is through the people we envision with these bags, real or fictional. That uppity b*tch who just makes you root for the protagonist harder? Chances are she’s got a pochette, highlighting the fact that she doesn’t need to carry anything.
The working woman lead who’s finally made it big? Maybe she’s got the large Chanel Classic Flap. The naive trophy wife who reminds you of Mrs.Park in ‘Parasite‘? She has to be carrying a Hermes Kelly.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9jg5JmhJuz/
Not to generalize or to stereotype, of course. It just happens that on TV and in our movies, styling communicates a visual message that supports the dialogue. Follow @bagsonscreen to get what I mean.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9hFcBoh4LM/
The Instagram account journals the different bags we see in various TV series and films. You also get either a review or a rundown of facts about the bag so you fully understand why it fits the character carrying it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-q9rSxn3o8/
There are just 53 posts on the account but I’m a huge fan. A visual directory like this proves how fashion, culture, and entertainment meet to elevate our material possessions.
More posts and submissions are bound to come in as the days go along. Lockdown has got us binge-watching on a different level. And now, you’re probably going to give the handbags, clutches, totes, shoulder bags, and knapsacks you see on screen a closer look.
Screengrab from ‘White Chicks’
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