July 1, 2009 - "A Century of Purses"

It's a century of purses in an unusual exhibit at the Louisiana Art and Science Museum--all kinds of purses, from the turn of the last century to today's high fashion, up-scale originals.

Curator Elizabeth Weinstein pointed out several expensive bags by designer Judith Leiber. "They're all Austrian crystals. She uses only the finest leather products. The one that looks like an American flag was made in commemoration of 9/11."

Elizabeth is always articulate and informative, but for this LASM exhibit I couldn't resist bringing along my own expert. You recall local designer Claire Sanchez. We met her in 2004, shortly after she opened her Baton Rouge purse studio.

Walking through the exhibit with Elizabeth, Claire is almost overwhelmed by it all. "It's just the attention to detail that goes into crafting these bags that's so hard to find," she says. "It can be found, but it's very rare to see someone that puts that much work into something."

To follow Claire and Elizabeth through a purse exhibit is to learn fabulous facts. Pointing out one extremely small Judith Leiber purse, Elizabeth quips "If you have a hundred dollar bill, and you get change, it might not fit in your purse anymore!"

"Such a good point," says Claire. "Better be a good tipper!" Then on a more serious note: "It's interesting to see all the different shapes from past decades that are recurring now in current fashion trends. It's really just, I mean, just a purse lover's dream!"

Well more than 150 handbags fill two floors of exhibits at LASM.