Synopses & Reviews
Purse mania has taken the world of fashion by storm, edging out shoes, jeans, and jewelry as the must-have possession. The bag craze reflects a strong luxury goods market, to be sure, but also conveys a contemporary woman's thoughts, feelings, and dreams. According to cultural critic Winifred Gallagher, this everyday object isn't just something a woman has, but an extension of who she is.
It's in the Bag is a short, lively look at handbags—their history, their lure, and their emotional meaning. Gallagher invites us to explore one seemingly simple object's complex significance to the people who design, produce, market, assess, and use it. We meet high-profile designers who strive to combine talent, perfect timing, recognizable trademarks, personal charisma, and celebrity endorsements in the creation of a must-have "It" bag; fashion editors, the powerful tastemakers who shape our sensibility; psychologists who probe the purse's symbolism; and some very different women who express a range of attitudes about handbags, from an army major's antipathy to a collector's obsession.
Researched and erudite yet always fun, It's in the Bag is a charming look at modern women as seen through one of their keenest cultural obsessions. No fashionista worth her weight in Prada will want to miss this inside look at what's really "in the bag."
Review
“...[a] jaunty meditation on the apotheosis of the designer handbag.” New York Times
Synopsis
Explaining how handbags have supplanted all other accessories as a consumer symbol of wealth and fashion, a historical and cultural survey draws on psychological, sociological, and economic sources to evaluate how purses reflect their owner's belief systems and emotions. 40,000 first printing.
Synopsis
Purse mania has edged out shoes, jeans, and jewelry as the must-have possession. The bag craze reflects a strong luxury goods market, to be sure, but also conveys a contemporary woman's thoughts, feelings, and dreams. Cultural critic Gallagher says it isn't just something a woman has, but an extension of who she is. This is a short, lively look at handbags--their history, their lure, and their emotional meaning. Gallagher invites us to explore one seemingly simple object's complex significance to the people who design, produce, market, assess, and use it. We meet high-profile designers who strive to combine talent, perfect timing, recognizable trademarks, personal charisma, and celebrity endorsements; fashion editors, the powerful tastemakers who shape our sensibility; psychologists who probe the purse's symbolism; and women who express a range of attitudes about handbags, from an army major's antipathy to a collector's obsession.--From publisher description.Explaining how handbags have supplanted all other accessories as a consumer symbol of wealth and fashion, a historical and cultural survey evaluates how purses reflect their owner's belief systems and emotions.
Synopsis
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.
About the Author
Winifred Gallagher is the author of House Thinking, Just the Way You Are (a New York Times Notable Book), Working on God, and Spiritual Genius. She has written for numerous publications, including Atlantic Monthly, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times. She lives in Manhattan and Dubois, Wyoming.