Author: Virginia Pollock While this hand painted silk bag may seem like a simple fashion accessory, in reality it marks one of the most celebrated events in 1824 in the city of New York. On the backside of the purse there is an inscription that reads: “Landing of General Lafayette / at the Castle Garden...

Buy something at Bloomingdale’s, and you’ll likely receive one of three different brown paper bags: little, medium or big, depending on the size of your purchase. Spelled out in iconic sans-serif, these size classifications are the classic bags’ only adornment. This striking, simple design, created by Massimo Vignelli in 1973, has seen huge success as...

This charming purse from Turkey likely was produced for the growing market of foreign visitors as international tourism developed in the nineteenth century. It was made using a hooked needle similar to a tambour hook. The technique is an Eastern Mediterranean form of needle knotting, alternately referred to as bebilla, bibila or oya, and it...