Vintage evening bags

In days long past, the fate of women's purses depended quite literally on their pockets. During the early 1800s, when the slim silhouette and delicate fabrics of the Empire style offered no concession to pockets, one's personal sundries were stashed in a cord-handled pouch called a reticule. By the 1840s, however, reaction against this brief respite from female confinement set in with a vengeance. Corsets came back. Skirts expanded. And to some extent, the reticule waned in popularity as pockets were once again feasible.