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The 7 Most Iconic Handbags of the Fashion History

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Most of the time, accessories can make the difference and transform a look: and we are not only speaking about jewelry but also, and especially, about bags. These accessories over the years have grown more and more important for a woman, until the point that it is almost impossible to get out of home without flaunting one.
From the clutches to the more capacious models, passing through a great variety of details, prints and original inserts, the bags that never to go out of style are the iconic ones: comfortable, adaptable to every taste, age and need, they represent that idea of eternal style that Coco Chanel loved to remark.
Their importance is so widely recognized that, on October 10th, we celebrate the Handbag Day: a valid opportunity to speak (even more than usual, if possible) about their beauty and, why not, to buy a new one.
After all, bags are like lipsticks: you never have enough of them!
So, if you want to celebrate this day or if you just want an excuse to finally buy that handbag that you have been dreaming about for a while, there’s something you need to know: Stylight has compiled a list of the 30 most iconic handbags models of all time. We’ve selected 7 models among the 30 of the original list, those ones that make every woman sigh at least once in her life.
Ready for these eye candies?

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Iconic Handbags

SPEEDY BY LOUIS VUITTON
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80 years and still gorgeous! The most iconic bag of the French Maison is available in 4 sizes and over the time it has been subjected to several changes. However, the most desired model remains the one with the Monogram fabric, created in 1969: born as a reduction of the travel bag, it was the first foldable and waterproof bag in History. Audrey Hepburn made it iconic in the mid-‘60: moreover, from her need of having a small size speedy, was created the Speedy 25. Every part of the bag is made entirely by hand: just think that it takes 18 stages only to produce the handle!

Iconic Handbags

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Iconic Handbags

2.55 BY CHANEL
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The legendary Chanel handbag owes its name to the date on which it was born: February 1955. Coco thought about it for almost 20 years, because she wanted to create a bag that left hands free and that was in line with the idea of escaping the feminine canons of the time, to which she had subjected every collection. Just think about the suits with an over-size and masculine cut, the not tight or sheathed skirts and the trousers that, in those years, were still a taboo for women. The model is simple, but it contains a melancholic meaning, as the chain of the shoulder strap and the Bordeaux color of the interior remind of the orphanage where Gabrielle grew up (the uniforms were, in fact, Bordeaux). To add the closure with the two crossed CC was instead Karl Lagerfeld in 1980. Over the years, it has been showed by personalities such as Jacqueline Kennedy, Liz Taylor, Sarah Jessica Parker and many other stars who have even started to collect the bag in its variety of sizes and reinterpretations. Even so, the most desired one remains the original.

Iconic Handbags

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Iconic Handbags

BIRKIN BY HERMÈS
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It is perhaps the most expensive bag on the market: the Birkin owes its name to the homonymous singer and actress Jane Birkin who, while in 1984 was in the same airplane of the Hermès’ stylist, Jean Louis Dumas, revealed her need to have a bag that was large, comfortable and elegant at the same time. A few weeks later, Dumas delivered that kind of bag, but which also presents the characteristic pocket of the brand, dedicating it to Jane. The Birkin has since then become the iconic handbag of the modern, globetrotter and independent woman, who shares the same free spirit of Jane. Recently a Birkin made with crocodile leather and diamonds was beaten to the auction for the value of $298,000: this price hits the record as the highest one ever paid for a bag.  The Birkin has been photographed at the arm of the most important celebrities, they say that Victoria Beckham loves this model so much to possess a hundred of them!

Iconic Handbags

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Iconic Handbags

LUGGAGE BY CÉLINE
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The brand Céline has always been known for its bags and for the beautiful details: in 2010 it reached the apex of notoriety thanks to the launch of the model Luggage, designed by creative director Phoebe Philo. If at the beginning this model was easy to find on the shops’ shelves, since it was spotted in the hands of the Olsen twins it has become so demanded that the brand had to create new models, also in various sizes: Nano, Micro, Mini, Medium Phantom and Large Phantom. The bag is now available in a great variety of chromatic combinations, as well as materials and motifs.

Iconic Handbags
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Iconic Handbags

LADY DIOR
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Dior’s iconic handbag was born in 1994 as a tribute to the most famous lady of the time, Diana Spencer. In the occasion of her visit to Paris during that year, the French Maison decided to dedicate this new square model, characterized by the small size and the cannage grip (obtained with the intersecting of oblique and perpendicular seams that recall small diamonds). Lady Diana appreciated it so much that she ordered a dozen of them immediately; over the years the princess was immortalized with the Lady Dior in different colors and, as her, also did Carla Bruni, Monica Bellucci and Marion Cotillard, just to name a few that have been conquered by the female wearability of this model. This bag is a real jewel: the pendants present, in fact, a layer of gold and, just to create one, Florentine artisans work in groups of 4 for 8 hours. A bag that’s surely… Royal!

Iconic Handbags

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Iconic Handbags

ROCKSTUD BY VALENTINO
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Valentino is one of the most famous Italian Maisons in the world and, in 2010, the creative directors Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri decided to give it an innovative and youthful twist, thanks to the Rockstud line. This line was born by the simple proposal of shoes with low heels and, shortly after, it was followed by the launch of the bags, which present the iconic characteristics of the shoes: the tiny studs.  The bags are presented in various sizes and colors, and among its lovers we find Jessica Alba, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Palermo and Chiara Ferragni. If you have a rebel soul, then this is the perfect bag for you!

Iconic Handbags

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Iconic Handbags

DIONYSUS BY GUCCI
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It is “only” born in 2015, but it’s already and rightfully included among the most trendy handbag ever, thanks to the extraordinary success that it has obtained in such a short time. To create Dionysus, Alessandro Michele has used the iconic monogram print of the brand for the base, while the feeling of change is given by the details. First, the horseshoe-shaped closure, that presents two tiger’s heads to the extremities, that is one of the new key symbols of the house and that recalls the Greek myth of Dionysus: a son of Zeus who, in an alternative of the myth turns into a tiger to carry a young nymph across the river.  Also the decorations made by hand or applied as patches, which range from flowers, to animals and to writings, work as a great novelty.  Now almost all the celebrities have at least one of these bags and, among them, there are Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Beyoncé, Alessandra Ambrosio and Elle Fanning.

Iconic Handbags

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  1. The 10 Women Designers of Today: The Revolution | The Italian Rêve says:
    October 13, 2017 at 11:42 AM

    […] wonderful bags such as the Classic, the Luggage, the Trapeze and the Cabas, which have become iconic bags. Mettere link elle borse iconiche Phoebe represents, therefore, a woman who doesn’t make […]

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