Customer Reviews

Carried Away: All About Bags

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There are reasons I like this book and reasons that I am disappointed. The reason that I am disappointed is that I thought that this book was going to have lots of pictures of purses from different eras. The reason I like this book is because it is more than just a book with pictures of purses. "Hmmmm..." you might be thinking. "Whatever does she mean?"

I love looking at bags in fashion magazines. I thought this book was going to be like that...only longer. Instead, it contains the history of bags, the relationship between bags and culture, the psychological meaning of different bags, and dare I say it, the philosophical perspective of bags. Lest you think I am being sarcastic, I really think the author Chenoune does a good job covering these issues in a tongue in cheek manner. "Carried Away" shows the bag as more than just a fashion trend. Although the book does show examples of the bag as woman's fashion accessory, such as the ubiquitous Hermes bag, the book is more of an art book.

"Carried Away" is divided into several sections. My favorite section is about purses in the movies. The author chose still pictures from certain movies. Then, Chenoune explains how the choice of the purse by the costume designer relates to the characters in the movie. Basically, what does the purse say about the psychology of the character and the mood in the scene? I also like the section that shows pictures of different bags and their uses in history, like the painter's bag.

I think for many people this is going to be a book that they pick up in the book store and browse, but not buy. However, I think that other people intested in the bag as an art form, a cultural indicator, or a historical benchmark will find this book interesting enough to read. Therefore, I would not recommend buying it sight unseen, but it is definitely worth a look.