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Pud Kearns with her purses at the Audie Murphy/American Cotton Museum.

Pud Kearns with her purses at the Audie Murphy/American Cotton Museum.

All the ladies carry them. But once upon a time only men had purses!

In her recent talk at the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum’s Lunch Break Special, Greenville’s own Pud Kearns described women’s history through the history of purses.

Kearns’ mother, Mary Lauderdale, the namesake of “Mary of Puddin’ Hill,” collected a large number of antique purses; many of the rare, beautifully designed and exquisitely crafted purses are now exhibited at the museum.

“My mother began her collection with a fabulous black silk velvet Art Deco purse that she found in a shop in Missouri,” Kearns said. “That first purse began a wonderful journey for my mother and dad. I say my dad as well because they travelled together a great deal when my mother served as an officer in the Retail Confectioners International Trade Association. Each city had an antique district, where my dad enjoyed puttering around antique shops while my mom looked for vintage purses. It was a great life for them over the years.

“When my mother left us, she had 571 purses. They all came to me. Over the years, I have sold some, but I have ‘My 100’ that I’ll never part with,” said Kearns.

Because of her background in design and fashion, Kearns is especially knowledgeable about the evolution of ladies’ purses. She taught fashion design and costume history at Stephens College in Columbus, Missouri, and served as the curator of the college’s reference collection of antique clothing and accessories. “The history of purses is a fairly modern phenomenon,” Kearns said. “In the Middle Ages and much later, only men carried purses! They were called alms purses, budgets and mails, which later were known as ‘males.’”

It was not until times and fashions changed that women were able to own purses. First, they had pockets, the precursor of handbags.

“Ladies eventually had pockets to carry a few items,” she said. “They tied the pockets around their waists. In the 1700s, they tied the pockets under their full skirts. Inside the pocket, you might find a pocket glass (a hand mirror), a hand warmer or a container for rum.”

During the end of the 18th and early years of the 19th centuries, women began to carry reticules.

“When the slim and clingy Empire waist dresses emerged as ladies’ fashions during the Regency Era, the gowns had no place for pockets,” Kearns said. “The solution was to carry a small pocket with a slit in the top and a drawstring. Known as a reticule, it was usually crocheted or knitted, and eventually tiny Venetian glass beads were part of the lovely designs.”

By the turn of the 20th century, women didn’t go anywhere without their purses. Instead of merely being fashion accessories, handbags became necessities, especially as women started joining the workforce.

“Clip handbags were invented, and then after World War I, leather handbags became popular,” she said. “Art Nouveau and then Art Deco designs were fashionable. During the 1920s, flappers had fringed bags that they slipped on their wrists.

“Following World War II, purses became much larger. In the 1950s, Italian Roberta di Camerino created the first designer handbag, known as the ‘Roberta,’ which had a distinctive letter R on each bag,” Kearns said.

Kearn’s amazing purse collection will be on display at the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum through the first week of August. While some handbags are handmade and others are machine made, all depict remarkable utility and artistry.

Fredrick Dewayne Powell, 66, of Greenville, passed away June 14, 2022. Funeral Service: 10a.m. Monday, June 20, at First Church of Royse City Visitation: 9a.m. before service at church. Burial: After service at Caddo Mills IOOF Cemetery.

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