It's all in the bag

THOSE who believe that handbag snobbery and lust -- the never-ending pursuit of the latest "It" bag, whether it be the Fendi B. Bag or YSL calf-hair Muse, at ever-escalating prices -- is nothing more than a superficial pastime of contemporary consumer culture, will find eye-opening evidence to the contrary during the latest exhibition at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

Beyond their practical use of toting one's belongings, purses have served as objects of beauty and symbols of status through the centuries, prized by people as diverse as American Indian woodland tribesmen who wore porcupine quill bandoleers as prestige ceremonial garments, and today's Bhutanese monks who carry empty bags for no other purpose than to convey rank in a monastery's hierarchy, according to Sara Oka, the academy's collection manager of textiles, who curated the exhibition "In the Bag: Handbags, Purses, and Carrying Cloths from the Academy's Collection."

ON VIEW Exhibition: "In the Bag: Handbags, Purses, and Carrying Cloths from the Academy's Collection" Place: Textile Gallery, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 900 S. Beretania St. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 31 Admission: $7 general; $4 for 62 and older, students 13 and older, and military; free for members and keiki 12 and younger Call: 532-8700

Utilizing 130 pieces from the museum's collections, the show reveals the beauty of bags, purses and carrying cloths from ancient to modern times.

"They were never featured as a collection before, and I thought to be able to see them all together would be pretty marvelous," Oka said.

The various bags -- whether called chatelaines, pouches, satchels, furoshiki or bilim -- can be regarded simultaneously as works of art, statements of personal taste, affirmations of economic independence, billboards of political allegiance, indicators of generational age and sex, confirmations of things sacred or religious, and symbols of poverty and affluence.

Carriers also revealed a society's secrets, rites and values. Betel nuts are important enough to merit carriers of their own in India and Indonesia, while in Bolivia and Peru, specific pouches are made to carry coca leaves.

In Japan, flat wallet-size purses evolved so as to be easily tucked into its owner's obi. The purses were often austere on the outside, opening to reveal more beautiful fabric on the inside "like a hidden secret," Oka said.

ALTHOUGH purses today are mostly associated with women, the man bag is on the rise. Even so, today's enlightened male has a long way to go before catching up with the men of ancient China and their nine official wearings. This referred to the multiple cases that dangled from the belts of the wealthy. These might include knife cases, incense cases to ward off odors and a spectacle case.

"They really showed status. Only the rich could afford glasses," Oka said.

Showing how little one needs to carry is also a form of snobbery, Oka said. "If you own a lot of small, evening purses, you're obviously not working in the fields. You can go out and have a nice night life."

AS A MOTHER of four, Oka can usually be spotted carrying a big purse.

"I always have to be prepared, and I'm working, so it's gotta be bigger, but I want to carry a light purse, not a heavy one, and I tend to like things that are handmade, that have an artistic element to them, so I usually have a soft purse as opposed to leather."

Oka, who is also an artist, said she's tried her hand at purse-making, "mainly from recycled old fabrics. One of the most interesting things I learned was how to make string, at a workshop taught by aborigines from Australia.

"They'd make string by putting two sticks in the ground and looping young cabbage palm leaves together to make a pouch. That way, they could make it as they needed it."

One need not be a purse fanatic to walk away with an appreciation of the craftsmanship that went into the creation of many of the pieces on display.

"When you see the beaded bags, you're gonna be blown away. Some beads are so minute," she said, pointing out one purse she first thought was woven, before counting 750 beads per square inch. "I think different bags will inspire different groups of people, beaders, embroiderers."

MOST OF the pieces were gifts to the museum, and as people heard about the show, they'd offer to loan purses passed down from their grandmothers.

"That tells me they were treasures passed down in families, and if you have them I don't think you should give them up. Even things that were funky before, like beaded bags from the '70s, have become collectible.

"And for some people, bags bring back memories of specific events, like proms."

In researching the show, Oka picked up on the ecologically friendly aspect of reusable bags.

"I'm really hoping that this exhibit will get people to re-evaluate their use of plastic bags. New Guinea has a ban on manufacturing them, and they're trying to encourage people to use string bags.

"Plastic bags have become a huge litter problem. There are Web sites that show plastic bag photos, and it's distressing to see pristine environments with a bag stuck on a branch."

As for today's fascination with designer handbags, she said, "That would be a whole other show. Fashion is not the most ecologically friendly endeavor. Nevertheless, it has a lot of beauty and supports artists. It's a trade-off, I guess."