OUR BIRTH: THE 1930S

July 3, 2023

The 1930s were marked by the economic crisis and the Great Depression. It was a conservative period in fashion in response to the realities of war and the timid emergence of suffragette movements in search of equality. This contrasted with the years when Hollywood was establishing itself as a trendsetter and its stars were setting the aesthetic tastes of women all over the world. These different scenarios meant that the handbag took on a wide variety of shapes and sizes: geometric, box-shaped, elongated, circular, etc…

Due to the financial crisis, bag manufacturers began to use cheaper materials such as plastic and bakelite, giving a hard and shiny look, but by the late 1930’s they became longer and more sophisticated made from snakeskin, crocodile, stingray, shark etc. One of the curiosities of this era is that bags began to have internal spaces that made them more functional with compartments for make-up including mirror, lipstick and space for money.

The bags of the later years of this decade shied away from the ornate, becoming sleeker and flatter with an emphasis on high quality materials that didn’t need much embellishment. In the middle of the decade, the pochette or handbag was conceived more as an evening accessory thanks to the return of the shoulder bag for everyday use, making it more functional for the woman who was discreetly leaving the domestic sphere to actively enter the world of work.

These years were characterised as a period of intense production, invention and cultural and artistic creation, such as the limitless fantasy of Elsa Schiaparelli, an essential reference in the world of fashion.