Museum of Bags and Purses, Fashion museum in central Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Museum of Bags and Purses was a fashion museum housed in a canal building in Amsterdam that displayed over 5,000 accessories spanning five centuries. The collection ranged from simple leather bags of the 1600s to modern designer pieces and included rare objects like gaming pouches and ceremonial accessories.
The museum was founded in 1996 when a private collector purchased an old handbag from the 1820s and started gathering these objects systematically. In 2007 the growing collection relocated from a residential home to a canal palace in Amsterdam and opened to visitors.
The collection reflected how bags changed based on fashion trends and daily needs across different time periods and social classes. Visitors could see how the way people carried their belongings shaped the design of these objects.
The location was housed in a historic canal building with several exhibition floors accessible on foot. Visitors could reach the site by public transport and a café was available on site for refreshments.
The collection contained personal items from notable individuals and handcrafted pieces that showed how people in different cultures carried their everyday belongings. Such details often revealed surprising differences in craftsmanship techniques and local production methods.
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