For Your Eyes Only

A woman's everyday life

This exhibition shows the insides of handbags that are normally kept in glass cases and presents the things that women used to carry around with them. Bags and their contents can tell stories of women's everyday lives from the 19th century until today.

Hidden make-up boxes

After all, what's in your bag says a lot about you and your time, and it's not always things you'd want everyone to know. The accessories that surface tell a story about changes in society - for example after WWI, film stars became popular and with them, smoking cigarettes and the use of make-up. Bag manufacturers and cosmetics firms made powder compacts and lipstick holders hidden in a bracelet, or in the shape of gramophone records or pianos.

Ingenious hold-all

Parisian jewellers Van Cleef & Arpels designed a small, square metal bag with compartments for face powder, blush, lipstick, cigarettes, a lighter, a mirror and a comb. This so-called 'Minaudière' would become a trend followed by many renowned jewellers and brands.

Recent developments

After WWII, make-up was more and more kept in fun, comical or beautiful cosmetic bags within the handbags itself. Since the 70s, our bags have been claimed by all sorts of cards, in the 90s you got holders for the mobile phone and the keys, and in recent years the iPod holder has been added.

Tortoiseshell, ivory, silver, gold and enamel

The exhibition shows accessories including fans, wallets, sewing kits, silver matchboxes, mint box, stamp box, business card holders and later compartments for mobiles, keys and iPods. Today, these kinds of accessories are usually made from leather, metal or plastic, but in the past, more exclusive materials such as tortoiseshell, ivory, silver, gold or enamel. And they always reflect contemporary fashion and design.