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These handnags are good examples of how open and spacious these bags were during 1992. Also notice the synthetic fiber on the pink bag made of patent leather.
Hocshwender, Woody Trends, In the City What's Hot/Not. (1992, March 27). New York Times,
Analysis: Woody Hochswender analyzes the "grunge" style of the 90's saying "The idea is to rip away at the foundation of fashion, turning it inside out, presumably so new synthesis, some yet-to-be trend can be arrived." meaning the "grunge" style is only a fad waiting to find a new trend.
"Today you see young girls wearing 1960's shift dresses, with no pockets, carrying little handbags," she said. "It's a dangerous trend. Remember, Coco Chanel gave women pockets because she smoked and needed a place to carry her cigarettes. I have nothing against jeweled handbags, but if women replace convenience for these things, then we regress."
The French, she said, are also deeply interested in "destroy fashion," with roots in the London street scene and French deconstructionist philosophy. This outlook has been exemplified by such collections as Comme des Garcons and Martin Margiela, with garments shown torn, perforated or unfinished, with exposed seams. The idea is to rip away at the foundations of fashion, turning it inside out, presumably so some new synthesis, some yet-to-be trend, can be arrived at.
Geographics
Byron, E, James (1993).Leather and Leather Products Industry Overview. Business Network. 14.
Analysis: Handbag consumption is up from 1991 with most of handbags being imported in China, Taiwan, and South Korea. Leather is declining in handbags and being made primaraly in flat goods such as wallets, and in personal luggage. We start to see a shift from leather to synthetic fibers such as vynl and other plastics.
The handbag industry produces women's handbags and purses of leather and other materials, except precious metals, which are classified in SIC 391 1. By quantity, leather's share of domestic handbag shipments in 1987 was 61 percent. In 1992, the value of handbag product shipments declined about 3.4 percent, to an estimated $397 million. Product shipments in constant dollars also declined, about 3.8 percent. Industry employment rose about 3.3 percent, to 6, 1 00 employees, but production employment declined 7 percent, to 4,000 workers.
Apparent consumption of handbags increased about 2.2 percent in 1992, to $1.3 billion. Imports of handbags increased about 5.8 percent, to an estimated $950 million, and accounted for 73 percent of apparent consumption, up from 70 percent in 1991. Import penetration by quantity was far higher, reaching an estimated 90 percent in 1992. By quantity, about 26 percent of U.S. handbag imports were made of leather. Countries with the largest shares of U.S. handbag imports by quantity were China (76 percent), South Korea (8 percent), and Taiwan (5 percent). U.S. handbag imports from China rose 19 percent in 1992, while those from South Korea and
Taiwan dropped 33 percent and 40 percent, respectively.
Exports of handbags in 1992 increased about 36 percent, to $38.3 million. Almost 40 percent, by quantity, were made of leather. Mexico, Japan, and Canada were the leading export markets, although exports to Mexico were primarily cut handbag parts that were assembled there and re-exported to the United States as finished goods.
Personal Leather Goods (Flatgoods)
This industry subsector produces such items as wallets and billfolds, French purses, and cases for eyeglasses, cigarettes, keys, and non-musical instruments. These products are often referred to as flatgoods because they are small enough to fit into pockets or handbags. Flatgoods are made in whole or in part of leather, plastics, or textiles.
In 1992, product shipments increased only slightly, to $367 million. Product shipments in constant dollars declined about 1 percent from 1991. Total employment dropped about 3.3 percent, to 5,900, and production employment also declined 2.8 percent, to 4,700.
Apparent consumption of flatgoods increased about 6 percent in 1992, to $647 million. Imports increased 14 percent, to an estimated $303 million, and represented 47 percent of apparent consumption by value, the lowest for the entire luggage and leather goods group. Principal foreign suppliers by value were China with 43 percent of total imports, South Korea (10 percent), and Italy and Taiwan (8 percent each). Imports of flatgoods from China were up 50 percent in 1992.
Style
Donovan, Carrie FASHION; Hand Baggage. (1992, August 2). New York Times,
Analysis: Handbags in 1992 are more spacious and clothing designers are beggining to have more influence on the design of these handbags making them more glamorous then ever before.
TOTE THOSE BAGS. LIFT those sacks. The whoppingly overscaled handbag will be the one to lug around this fall.
As a rule, designers seldom show handbags on the runways. But at the recent fall collections in Paris and New York, the models more often than not strode out clutching impossible-to-ignore satchels.
To be fair, it should be pointed out that these clothing designers have been, or are just now, in the handbag business as well. And why not, when the bag is probably every woman's most essential accessory?
These new daily carry-alls, whether boxy or squishy, are certainly roomier. There will be no excuses for having forgotten some important bit of business -- just for not being able to find it in one of these capacious containers.
Louie, Elaine The Bags Aren't Fake Anything, The're Real Plastic. (1992, February 23). New York Times
Analysis: In the town of Easly, South Carolina a woman by the name of Harriette Bauknight is re-creating a 1950's and 60's style bag using vinyl and crazy design motifs. Although "impractical" and "baggy" these bags made a huge jump in popularity due to the increase in synthetic fiber production boom.
The hard plastic handbag of the 50's has been reinvented for the 90's.
Forty years ago, the bags were cut and molded into shapes resembling bowties, pagodas and even coffins. They sold for $50 to $60, about the same as an alligator bag at the time. By the 60's, the hard plastic had virtually disappeared from sight, supplanted by lightweight vinyl.
But in 1988, a book by Robert Gottlieb and Frank Maresca, "A Certain Style: The Art of the Plastic Handbag, 1949-59" (Alfred A. Knopf), revived interest in these zany creations, and the bags suddenly became popular collectibles. They promptly went up in price. Six years ago, Mr. Maresca paid $10 for vintage bag at the flea market at 26th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. Last November, at the Triple Pier Expo in Manhattan, he found himself paying $250 for a bag from Larry Campbell, a dealer from Hoboken, N.J., who had stocked his booth with 190 examples, of which only 125 were left. Moments later, as Mr. Maresca was writing out his check, he saw a European couple buy the remaining 124 for an average of $135 a bag.
Last August, a new version of the structured plastic handbag was born in the town of Easley, S.C., (pop. 17,000) where Harriette Bauknight, a designer of cut acrylic jewelry, decided to start designing handbags of the same material. Following in the object's outrageous design tradition, her products take the form like flower pots, telephones, and checkerboards. The handles twist like ribbons, and the faceted clasps glitter like jewels.
Like the designers of the original bags, Ms. Bauknight credits fantasy, not necessity, as being the mother of her inventions. More Fun Than Practical
"These bags are sculpture, toys, playthings," Ms. Bauknight said. The bags, although functional, are also heavy, clunky and in some ways impractical. They are an exploration of the possibilities of working in plastic, an homage to the past, born of Ms. Bauknight's teen-age memories.
In 1961, when Ms. Bauknight was 16, growing up in Easley, a town so safe that her parents never locked the front door of the house, she got her first acrylic bag -- a rectangle of pearlized plastic with a transparent top and handles. Her mother had a blue-and-gold-flecked model, and Harriette wanted one, too. She bought it with babysitting money.
What did a proper young Southern girl carry in her bag in 1961? She carried things impractical and practical.
"My grandmommy always had me carry a little lace handkerchief," she said. "That was a very Southern thing for looking sweet. And I carried a diary, a notepad (because you always had to write notes to people, to sneak something to a girlfriend), maybe a few telephone numbers, a couple of token family-member pictures, and pictures of boyfriends, skinny boys with flattops." And a lipstick, mirror, rouge and a single dollar bill. Inspired by the Originals>
The plastic bag receded from her memory until six years ago, when she started collecting them at flea markets, paying $15 to $70 apiece. Now she has about 35 of the originals stuck under her bed and in odd corners of her house. She studies the old examples, admits that she is tempted to reproduce them, but, instead, designs her own. "I like the structure and compulsive lines of the bags," Ms. Bauknight said.
She works with flat sheets of acrylic, cuts them with table saws, and glues the pieces together. To shape the plastic into curves and curlicues, she heats the acrylic until it becomes flexible enough to bend. The flowers that decorate some of the bags begin as square blocks of acrylic, which are cut with a saw, ground on a rotary wheel and glued in place.
"It's all carpentry," said Ms. Bauknight, whose staff of 12 has made 300 bags since last August. Five of the styles, under her label, Kaso, have just arrived in Manhattan stores. Lashings of Fake Jewels
A clear rectangular bag is studded with transparent plastic fake jewels and sells for $380 at Henri Bendel and Bloomingdale's, where the model in the shape of a black telephone, with oversized "jewels" and a mirrored dial sells for $340. The clear trapezoid with a curvy handle and jewel clasp is $290 at both stores.
Lawrence , Diana (1992).Handbags go bigger, more practical. The Toronto Star. Final Ed., F3.
Analysis: Handbags are combining with briefcases and a hybrid is created called a briefbag showing how a more practical bag which can hold more items is more usefull for the increase size of technology.
Is it a bag or a suitcase That seemed to be the big question in Europe as models lugged oversized satchels, totes and
handbags down the runways during the fall shows.
"Bags are much larger this season," says Jane Short,
handbags and leather goods buyer for Holt Renfrew, "and the newest shape is the briefbag. It's really a combination
handbag and briefcase: the totebag all grown up."The new, more structured
handbag silhouettes offer a polished, professional look with room to carry documents and your regular purse contents. "Multipurpose is the key word," says Short. "Women want their bags to fill a wise variety of functions, so there are lots of compartments and pockets with zippers for security. And the new clothing, which is longer and closer to the body, begs for something bigger."
Woven and soft materials (like calfskin) are popular, advises Short, and animal prints in all accessories are "blowing out of our store." The Chanel influence is still strong and quilted bags with chain straps are everywhere. Totebags and knapsacks are also still important in casual wear.
"Bags are bigger and a little more practical," says Fairweather spokesperson Angela Brandon, "because a woman with a busy lifestyle needs something more sensible. For many women buying accessories in this economy, one bag has to do it all. It's an investment."
The neutral color story this season also means versatility: classic shades are plentiful. Bags in black, brown, burgundy, and navy co-ordinate with a variety of outfits.
And at the opposite end of the spectrum, but still of a practical nature, is the military-style belt-bag (which resembles your old Brownie belt!). Tailored-looking, with one or two pouches attached, it frees your hands while providing storage for car keys, cosmetics and cash.
"People are trying to simplify their lives," says Brandon, "and that trend is being reflected everywhere in fashion this year."
Lowri, Turner (1992).Fur? You can tell at a stroke it's big apple fashion. Evening Standard(London). 5.
Analysis: This article shows how technology is large and handbags are following the size of technology to make able to mobility of technology in people's every day life.
To ensure upmarket appeal, Ferre swapped the strictly correct mobile phone for a
handbag big enough to carry one, trimmed it with fox fur and teamed it with quilted crinoline skirts.
3.Batman Returns
3.Batman Returns
