Review: How to tell a Woman by her Handbag, By Kathryn Eisman

I don’t remember exactly when handbags catapulted into fashion into a league of their own, but I do recall that the catapult itself was big.  Sure, they’d always been fashionable, stylish, and du rigour, but in a sudden wave of madness, they were taking over fashion and sprouting up anywhere and everywhere (even in the form of painfully tacky fakes that I still can’t shake) - even warranting a number of magazine features (not news snippets, I’m talking full length, 1500 word articles) in and of themselves.

Suddenly the Paddington was more famous than Chloe, the Stam more widely-known than Marc, and the Lariat was more of a hot new motorcycle bag than a Balenciaga. More, more, more on the handbag – what one to hold, what to put in it, is it making you sick? How to afford it, the myths behind the fakes, how to identify them.

Yes, the handbag formed a league of its own, and Aussie media personality (and export to the US) Kathryn Eisman cashed in on the trend…granting us labels for our labels in her book, How to Tell A Woman By Her Handbag (Lantern/Penguin, $24.95).

Profiling 77 types of bags and the personas of the women who carry them, Eisman discusses the pros and cons of each bag lady with wit, style and flair that only a self-proclaimed ‘culture expert’ (Eisman is described as such in the ‘about the author’) could ascertain.  Ranging from the Hermes Kelly to the desginer fake, the straw bag to bum bag, the hempsack bag to the corporate briefcase, Eisman leaves no woman’s handbag style unturned.

Clever, well-researched (she must have encountered many a bag lady for her inspiration – Central Park to the Gym to the Chinese Take-out joint to the hot new night club are the places I’m feeling) and deliciously pink, How To Tell a Woman by her Handbag is a great book for the addict that actually remembers when the handbag bandwagon took off, and who wants to share their addiction with the world.

Pick it up and have a flick through, then drop me a line and tell me who you are. Or analyse it in a fit of girly fun at your next girls night in, and vow to change your persona (the cons of every bag lady aren’t exactly fun to read). As for your truly, I’m yet to find my niche, despite Eisman’s detail. 77 profiles later and I am still confused as to what path I decided to go on when handbag mania hit the glossies. Then again, with a vast collection of handbags (clutches, and tote bags and satchels, oh my) to choose from, I might be an old bag before I even figure it out.

The verdict? Fun until the novelty wears off. A great bedside/coffeetable book for the bag addict, and with every group of girlfriends having at least one of those, there’s no need to invest in a copy for the lot of you. Pore over it for a night, and sleep contented knowing that you made the classification, while there are some of us sitting amidst the chaos of dustbags and handbag hangers still trying to figure it all out.  

The rating? Three Mint Patties…