The suburban citizen., 1902-06-21
THE BAG HABIT NOW.
DanEle From Both the Belt and Wrist
and Large Ones Carried.

bangle From Both the Belt and Wrist
and Large Ones Carried.
The bag habit used to be a special
characteristic of Bostonian femininity,
and the ugly but serviceable little COM
position of cloth and leather that could
stretch to hold all sorts of previous
small belongings from volume Of
Ibsen to safety hairpin was cele-
brated as the Boston bag from Maine
to California. To-day the bag habit
has seized on womankind and spread
like an epidemic. No shopper. or caller,
or traveller of the petticoat persuasion
feels able to venture beyond the shell
ter of her own home unless a bag is
hung to her belt or swings from her
fingers and nine-tenths of the feminine
population wear two bags at time
and comfortably boasts OF possession
OF half dozen others at home.
To enumCrate a, few of the variously
shaped retlcules so essential to woman
ly convenience is to mention at least
the side bag, carriage bag, railway
bag, wrist bag, handkerchief bag. thea
tire bag, and shopping bag. These are
made of everything, from alligator
skin with pewter mounts, to the finest
gold wire network, in the mesh Of
which dozens Of tiny diamonds or
turquoise beads are meshed. These
last are so very delicate and
so very costly that they will
only carry the owners cobweb pocket
handkerchief, while their price, If both
metal and stones are real, mounts
justifably into the thousands. The
bag however in which the majority
find the greatest JOY and convenience,
is the stout, capacious safety shopping
bag Of glazed baby alligator skin, lined
with suede, fastened not only with a
snap lock, but satchel clips on the side,
and adjusted by strap and buckle to
one of its outer sides, is an ample purse
with change and bill pockets.
Within the bag is divided, along its
leathern walls, in fiat compartments
for samples, hairplns, cards, fountain
pen, pencil, shopping list, mirror, comb
and smelling salts. The centre of the
bag is left free to hold parcels, and
as the bottom Of the bag pulls out like
bellows a most amazing number of
small things can be cramped in with
out overtaxing its capacity. This sort
of bag can be bought, all fitted, or
the purchaser can put her own things
into its compartments, though the man
ufacturer, with great fOrethought,
mounts the bag itself, the tiny mir
ror, comb, pen, pen and salts bottle in
aluminium.
Silver and gold and gun metal side
bags have not had their popularity in
| jured in the least by the appearance
Of the exquisite brOcaded satin and
beaded silk side bags, mounted with
metal, tops and chains; and the wrist
bag is in as high favor as ever. The
| excessively smart wrist bag Is made no
longer of suede, but of sweet morocco,
| perfumed Russia leather, or velvet
caIfskin. If you want to pay the top
price for a wrist bag, ask for an i'm
ported one of sea COW skin, mounted in
gun metal and powdered with diamond
| sparks.
Women who mlslay their purses and
suffer from that gentlest form of aber-
ration called absence of mind are
adopting joyfully the English expedi.
ent OF having their bags chained to
their wrists. At the shop where fine
leather goods are sold broad lizard
skin, morocco or Russia leather brace
lets are brought to buckle or lock on
the left wrist. From the bracelet de-
pends short silver or gun metal chain,
that can be adjusted to any bag, and
which effectuSlly prevents any tricks
Of errant memory, or of plckpockets
and shopllfters. The leather bracelats
are made to hold watches, but the
most fashionable ones merely show the
owners initials burnt or carved on the
skin, and the same lettering is repeated
on the bag that the chain and bracelet
enectually guard.-Washington Star.