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During the mid-1920s to ‘30s, women’s fashions changed dramatically. Inspired by film stars, women now wore eye makeup and lipstick, cut their hair in short bobs, and smoked openly in public for the first time. The handbags of this era reflect these changing times. Purses tended to be more glamorous than practical. In the evenings, women wore sleeveless dresses with low cut backs and sported ultra compact purses, which allowed them to carry just a few essentials. Easy to dance with, these lightweight, tiny bags dangled from the wrist, complementing a woman’s attire. Vanity purses had built-in mirrors with powder or rouge compacts and a full tassel fringe that cleverly concealed a lipstick compartment. Lipstick containers also dangled from the top of purses. Some contained inset watches, lighters, scent bottles, and compartments for cigarettes. They came in a variety of shapes, from figurative to triangular, round, and square. Many of these bags were made in France from newly introduced plastics, such as celluloid and Bakelite, and were lined with rayon, the first synthetic fabric. This image was posted on July 06, 2016.

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