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Handbags
(2,809 items)Explore NOVICA's Handbags Collection. Discover artisan designs, from handmade leather totes to beautifully embellished evening clutches. You will find unique styles in an array of traditional leathers, handwoven fabrics and contemporary recycled materials to bring a touch of global style to any outfit. There's a style for every season and reason.
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PREVFeatured Reviews on Handbags
Hand woven cotton passport bag, 'Easy Traveler'
By Pat
versatile bag
This is a smallish but very versatile bag with a central opening and also a large zippered pocket. The long strap makes for a perfect cross body bag. The color goes with many outfits. It wont hold anything very heavy, but is perfect for carrying a few items from my big purse.
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Cotton sling bag, 'Rajasthani Roads'
By Marnie
Very well made and lovely!
I was very pleased when I received this bag today. Given how inexpensive it was, it is very, very well made, very, very pretty and I love it. It will make a great gift! Thank you to the Desert Weavers. This is one of three bags that arrived today, and all of them will get this review and my thanks. Just lovely weaving work and patterns!
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100% alpaca shoulder bag, 'Inca Sunrise'
By Carol
functional AND beautiful bag for cell phone and crecdit cards
Pefect for quick trips to stores and farmers markets - just room for phone and charge cards, and a beautiful, colorful addition to my day :-)
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Featured Artist
Write a reviewThe Desert Weavers of India group successfully changed the centuries' old tradition that forbade women from working on the loom, thus offering them an opportunity to learn to weave.
"We dream of a just and egalitarian social order in which there is space for everyone, especially the weakest and the most deflected, so they can... read more
Handbags Through History
Prehistoric people used medicine bags, and Egyptian hieroglyphs show pouches carried around the waist. Drawstring coin bags were used by European men from the 12th to the 16th centuries, and the first written mention of handbags dates to the 1300s.
In the 1500s, women began carrying bags of sachet. But pockets worn beneath the skirt remained more popular than purses until dresses began to hug the body in the late 18th century. During the Victorian period, a wide variety of purse styles came into vogue and the term "handbag" was coined in the early 1900s.
By the first part of the 20th century, almost every woman carried a purse. Authentic handbags came into their own during the 1920s with all kinds of styles, colors and materials.
From the 1930s to the 1960s, clutches were a favorite. Practical shoulder bags were introduced during World War II. Today hobos, totes and slings compete with classic leather handbags, mini briefcases and backpack bags.
Among Novica's amazing array of styles and materials are sterling silver evening bags by Ploy Intha. Sending an ecological statement, totes of recycled materials make up Neide Ambrosio's soda pop-top collection and Evani Ribeiro's bags of distressed canvas.
