PURSE UNIVERSE Explores 'Handbag Fever' At Matrix:Midland 6/10

Whether you call it a handbag, pocketbook, clutch, satchel, shoulder bag or tote, a woman's purse conveys glamour, power, security and just plain fun. Explore the "handbag fever" sweeping our nation when MATRIX:MIDLAND Festival presents author Barbara G.S. Hagerty's visual presentation Purse Universe on Wednesday, June 10 at 11:30 a.m. at Midland Center for the Arts, 1801 W. St. Andrews Rd., Midland, MI. Enjoy a fun and fanciful visual presentation and be sure to bring your favorite or outrageous handbag for a chance to win prizes! Tickets cost $27 and are available online at www.mcfta.org or by calling (800) 523-7649.

Author and "pocketbook anthropologist" Barbara G.S. Hagerty interviewed women with opinions as varied as their handbags, from those who change their purses twice daily to match their outfit, to those who carry the same bag year in and year out. The result was Hagerty's arresting book Purse Universe that explores the essence of today's purse craze through whimsical photography and humorous anecdotes. The purse is a window into a woman's soul, and Hagerty's work captures the joy, playfulness, and poignancy conveyed by a universal object, and the amazing people who carry them. Her columns, essays, articles and poems have appeared nationwide in a variety of magazines, newspapers and literary journals. Her visual essays, combining photographic image with text, have been widely exhibited. She lives with her husband and children in Charleston, South Carolina. www.barbarahagerty.com

Included in the event is a Charleston Classic Tea, a fanciful affair featuring an assortment of classic tea sandwiches, scones with preserves and honey, fresh cakes, tarts and tea cookies. Some of Charleston's favorites including Plantation tea, Carolina Gold rice, and Benne wafers will also be available for purchase.

"A handbag is fashion's cherry on the sundae."

Handbags have been essential to daily life ever since people have had something precious to carry around in them. The very first mention of a handbag in written literature comes from the 14th century, although ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs show pouches carried around the waist. Wedding purses were a traditional gift from groom to bride through the 15th century, with the bags typically elaborately embroidered with an illustration of a love story. In the 16th century, the development of the pocket permitted men and women alike the convenience of carrying objects in their clothing. Early women's pockets were attached to long ribbons, tied around the waist, and accessed via slashes in the skirt.

As long as women's skirts were voluminous, the added bulk of pockets was not a problem, but when women shifted to the neoclassical style of dress during the 18th century, pockets became a victim of the new, slimmer silhouettes that were now in fashion. Since wearing a purse would ruin the look of this style of clothing, fashionable ladies started carrying their handbags, rather than concealing them under their skirts. Women had a different bag for every occasion and every fashion magazine carried articles on the proper way to carry these purses. Contents of these handbags included rouge, face powder, a fan, a scent bottle, visiting cards, a card case and smelling salts.

By 1920, the handbag became a symbol of women's independence. It said she could go where she pleased and didn't necessarily need a man, because he no longer held all the possessions. Handbag fever continued through the remainder of the 20th century, from the rise of important designer houses including Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermes in the 1950s, through the cultural redefinition of the 1960s, and the conspicuous consumption of the 1980s. Whereas the inside of a bag is personal and intimate, the outside continues to serve as a billboard advertising the owner's personal style and place in the world.

The 2009 MATRIX:MIDLAND Festival is sponsored by The Dow Chemical Company, Dow Corning Corporation, MidMichigan Medical Center - Midland, William Blair & Company, Tri-Star Trust Bank and MATRIX:MIDLAND Lecture Series Support Fund. MATRIX:MIDLAND presents professional, world-class entertainment to the mid-Michigan region. Now in its 31st season, Matrix hosts an extraordinary schedule of cutting-edge entertainment including cinema, music, comedy, family programs, world-renowned authors and more.

Midland Center for the Arts, Inc. is a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation formed under the laws of the State of Michigan incorporating six groups: Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art, MATRIX:MIDLAND, Midland County Historical Society, Midland Symphony Orchestra, Music Society and Theatre Guild. Activities at Midland Center for the Arts are supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. For the latest Center news, visit our web site at www.mcfta.org.

 

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