Nowadays, almost every woman has a purse with her. But back in the 1950s, not every woman carried one. Sure, it was a great fashion accessory, but not every woman felt they needed one like they do now. Take a look at thousands of pictures of women from the 1950s like I have and you’ll notice that in 90% of the pictures women aren’t carrying handbags or purses.
But you have to admit the styles were amazing. In the 1950s, women preferred short-strapped handbags that stayed close to the body. Duffel bags weren’t unheard of, but they didn’t provide the svelte look that women were going for. Gold lame was a popular handbag style.
The materials used for purses in the 1950s were much more varied than they are today. In the early 1950s, most purses were made from crocodile, alligator, turtle or snake skin. But as the decade progressed, some fashion designers went as far as to make lucite (a material similar to Bakelite, or plastic) boxes that functioned as purses. These are some of the coolest looking vintage handbags you’ll ever find.
Women also bought wicker purses, leather purses and many other types. Popular high fashion purse designers included Gucci, Chanel (and her iconic Black Quilted 2.55 Handbag released in 1955), Dior, Hermes, Wilardy and many others.
現在幾乎每個女人都隨身帶一個錢包。但在 1950 年代，並不是每個女人都帶著一個。不可否認，錢包是一個很棒的時尚配飾，但並不是每個女人都像現在一樣覺得自己需要一個。像我現在就只使用一個卡夾，而且你可以看這些 1950 年代的照片，你會注意到，在 90% 的照片中，他們沒有攜帶手提包或錢包。
但你不得不承認這些風格是驚人的。在 1950 年代，女性更喜歡緊貼身體的短帶手提包。行李袋並非聞所未聞，但它們並沒有提供女性所追求的苗條外觀。金色跛腳是一種流行的手提包款式。
1950 年代用於錢包的材料比今天更加多元化。在 1950 年代初期，大多數錢包由鱷魚皮、鱷魚皮、烏龜皮或蛇皮製成。但隨著十年的發展，一些時裝設計師甚至製作了用作錢包的有機玻璃（一種類似於電木或塑料的材料）盒子。這些是您能找到的最酷的複古手提包。
女性還購買了柳條錢包、皮革錢包和許多其他類型的錢包。流行的高級時裝錢包設計師包括古馳、香奈兒（以及她於 1955 年發布的標誌性黑色絎縫 2.55 手提包）、迪奧、愛馬仕、Wilardy 等。