The Museum of Bags and Purses in Amsterdam

Every now and then, a girl needs to just be a girl and enjoy girly things. The Museum of Bags and Purses (Tassenmuseum Hendrikje) in Amsterdam is one such place where you can do so. This is the world’s largest collection of ladies handbags and it documents over 500 years of the history of bags and purses in the western world. Inside, over 4000 bags are on display as well as a variety of accessories for ladies and a very small selection for gents.

The museum is set inside a canal house on Amsterdam’s Herengracht (or the gentlemen’s canal) – a noteworthy and central location.

Displays are retro and eye-catching; take for instance these display cabinets part of the exhibition: Ugly. We really can argue about matters of taste (on until July 2015).

Personally, I loved the bags on display as part of the ‘Ugly’ exhibition. In fact, the word ugly didn’t spring to mind at all, except when I saw the sign bearing the name of the exhibition.

The purpose of ‘Ugly’ – to challenge your idea of beauty; to know that each person sees each bag in a different light. What you may find gorgeous and attractive, may be hideous and over-the-top to another.

       

Additionally, at the Museum of Bags and Purses, you can expect to find bags in the shape of lampshades and silhouettes. Bags with bling bling and bags without.

Bags in the strangest of shapes, sizes and colours. Bags made from a range of fabrics. Just look at the bag on the very right (below) – a bag that resembles a rock! Anything and everything has a place here.

‘I’m a little teapot’ bags, owl bags, raffia and straw bags take centre stage.

Even bags with large clockfaces on them. Hawaii style bags – the shinier and bigger, the better.

And not to mention a range of leather and hide bags from all sorts of animals (I’d rather not know the specifics!).

You can also explore the permanent collection on the very top floor of the Bags and Purses Museum which showcases bags across the centuries. Here you’ll see bags and purses made of metal mesh modelled on the metal worn by knights in medieval times.

  

And the detail of the bags here really makes you appreciate the beauty of hand-crafted goods, especially today in our world of mass-production, throw-away fashion, H&M, Primark and the like.

It sure does make you think about the attention to quality, beauty and aesthetics of bags and how a good quality bag can last a lifetime.

Look out for the woven bags with intricate shell designs. These ones in particular caught my eye.

And just look at this fabulous red telephone bag, the cupcake bag and even a mushroom bag.

And yes, this potplant and pink dog also bear zips and are bags too.

And for die-hard Diet Coke fans there’s even something special (albeit a little too bling bling for my liking).

And what about Dutch bags? These are embellished with the Amsterdam city symbol (the three x’s) and although designed in 2007 they are made from antique postcards! Pretty original stuff.

The selection of medieval bags was quite interesting too. I realised how bags have been popular for quite some years and have served a functional and very handy purpose too.

This medieval bag in particular really stood out. It’s amazing to think that people used animal hide and decorated it beautifully with flower embellishments – even back then too.

The Museum of Bags and Purses also has various ladies accessories and special objects carried around and appreciated by women hundreds of years ago.

And although the museum is mostly oriented towards handbags and purses for women, there is also a small cabinet with some really authentic male bags on display. I really loved this metal money collector (conductor) bag below.

The Museum of Bags and Purses in Amsterdam is a sensory, authentic experience and one which I’d love to experience again. There’s also a very good cafe with splendid, classic decor so you can make a whole trip of it with the special ladies in your life. This is a real treat for women of all ages with an appreciation for fashion, accessories and a high-tea of-course!