The Baguette Bag

 By: Julia Reher

Type: Baguette bag 

Date: 1980s-1990s 

Place of origin: Rome, Italy 

Object details: Small baguette bag with “double F” motif, a leather strap and silver hardware details of the brand’s logo  

Categories: Accessories 

Brief description: Brown vintage bag by Fendi  

Physical description: Beige/ brown Zucca canvas, leather  strap, silver hardware with Fendi logo,  23cm x 14cm x 5cm 

Materials and technique: Canvas, with a leather strap and silver  hardware details 

Personal Connection: 

I received this bag in 2016 from my mother. It originally belonged to my grandmother.  She needed through go through many hurdles in her life until she was able to finally  treat herself to something. For me, this bag is a pure sign of her persistence and  generosity.  

I remember the day exactly when I found this bag hidden in the back of my mother’s  wardrobe. I was 15 years old at that time and I was looking for a bag to go out in and  of course I needed to check my mother’s wardrobe as I did not have a big bag collection back then. However, I did not know she hid such a gem in it. I remember,  how I just screamed through the whole house with such excitement for my mother. I  just wanted to ask her if I can wear this bag on the night out. However, she did not  reply. So, I took the bag and went upstairs to talk to her. I have never seen her wear  the bag and it looked unusual old for her bag collection. That is why I asked her where  the bag comes from and if I can take it with me for the night. My mother told me that  the bag had a lot of history and that she wants to tell me more about it when I have a  bit more time. However, she did not allow me to wear the bag in that moment, which  actually shattered my teenage heart. Because who could go out with friends at that  age wearing a Fendi bag? I obviously could not, in that moment. I tried to convince  her, but it did not work, so I had to leave the bag behind. However, she promised to  me that I can wear it some time, but that she wants to talk to me about it first. So, I left,  with another bag. 

A few days later, my mother, my sister and I went to my grandparents for coffee and  tea. We were just eating the cake my grandmother had baked for us as my mother  mentioned the bag I found in her wardrobe. My mother directly got the attention of my  grandmother and they both started to share the story as they said they want my sister  and I to know about it.  

So basically, my grandmother is a post-WW2 child born in Germany, which made  growing up harder than it is for most of us today. She told us that, they always had just  enough money and just enough food to survive. Sometimes, they needed to rasonate their food accurately so that everyone in the family had enough to eat. Clothing was  also rare that is why she always needed to wear clothes from one of her six siblings.  If it did not fit, she still had to wear it. Even if that meant cutting the shoes and going  with these ones one hour through the snow in winter to get to her school. So, she was often very cold. Her father or how she calls him, the man she was growing up with, did  fight in the war for the Germans. After the loss of the war, he came back to see that  his wife is pregnant with my grandmother. This made it obvious that my grandmother  could not be his child as he was not present at that time and was fighting at the front. My grandmother said that he punished her for that every day. So, overall, my  grandmother did not have a childhood which was full of love and neither did she grew  up with money. There was a lot of post-war Trauma. 

As she became older and was in her late teen-years she became more and more  independent. She started working at the age of 15 and tried to earn herself a little  income. But at that time, she was still staying at her families’ apartment. One year  later, something unplanned happened. My grandmother fell pregnant with my mother  and long-story-short, she became a single mother. At that time (1963), this was still a  no-go in Germany. So once again, she had to find her way through. Luckily, three years  later she meets my grandfather and they fell in love and married six months after.  However, she and the child (my mother) were still staying at her parent’s home as she  did not earn enough money with her job as a cashier to move out. As my grandfather  just finished his apprenticeship at the local post office they could apply for the  dormitory there. Half a year later they got a small apartment for themselves. During  that time my grandmother was sometimes working three jobs at once just so that they  could afford my mother a better childhood than she had. And my grandmother definitely did not want my mother to grow up in the same house she did. She did every  job imaginable from cleaning woman to cashier to finally a more stable job in the post  office. With that job and after years of and holding back a lot, she could finally treat  herself to something as well. As she always saved money for my mother all the years  before to make sure she gets proper education and can enjoy her childhood. My  grandmother told us that my grandfather and her could finally treat themselves to a  trip in Italy why my mother was away studying (actually the first one in my family who  did get a University degree). This was the first time for my grandparents going on  vacation together and staying in a hotel rather than at a friend’s house. During that  trip, my grandfather and my grandmother saw many beautiful places in Italy, including Rome. On this trip, she bought the Fendi bag, which for her was a sign of resilience 

and a long fight. She said it was a great feeling to be able to get that herself. However,  she said it was also a weird feeling as she was not used to spoiling herself.

So first, a little bit more about the bag. The bag is a baguette bag. Which refers to the  form of the French baguette. It has the typical inverted “double F” look which was introduced in the 1970s by the brand influenced by a new creative director in charge,  Karl Lagerfeld. He was the one that put the brand on the world’s fashion stage after  45 years since the founding. According to him the “double F” does not stand for the  brands name but rather for “fun fur”. This can be traced back to Fendi being set up in  1925 as a fur and accessories brand by Adele, and Edoardo Fendi in Rome. Hence,  the name. After the death of Edoardo Fendi in 1946, Adele and her five daughters Paola, Franca, Carla, Anna, and Alda handled most of the business. (Vogue, 2021) Over the years, the brand grew and expanded its reach as well as its product offering,  going from fur and accessories to cosmetics, men’s accessories, women’s fashion and  men’s fashion. Today, Fendi is owned by LVMH. (Italist, n.d.) (Vogue, 2021) If we are  talking about handbags, it is important to look at the third generation of the Fendi  dynasty. Silvia Venturini Fendi, the daughter of Anna Fendi and the granddaughter of  the founders of the brand. She is credited with the introduction of the baguette and the  peekaboo bags, which are the houses most recognizable goods until today. (Instyle,  2022) 

The bag seen in the picture above is a baguette bag. With small measurements of just 23cm x 14cm x 5cm. Moreover, the bag is made out of brown canvas with the brown  FF jacquard motif (“double F”) on it. The strap is small and made out of brown leather.  Lastly, the bag is equipped with silver hardware details, mentioning the brands name,  the date it was founded and where it was founded.

As my grandmother was not completely sure from which time this bag is, secondary  research was needed. Unfortunately, the bag is old enough to not have a serial  number. However, according to the logo inside of the bag, which is made out of silver  hardware, it should be from the 1980s or 1990s. The brand tag features S.A.S and  and ®, which stands for registered logos. (Recycledrosesguide, 2016) Both of these  appeared on bags from the 1980s on and it fits the description of my grandmother  from somewhere between 1980 and 1999.  

The bag perfectly goes with the time. As I am not sure if it is from the 1980s or 1990s. I provide arguments for both decades as the bag actually builds a perfect bridge  between the 1980s and the 1990s. 

The 1980s were characterized by the logo mania. It was the so called “me-area” and  everything with a brand logo on it was in fashion. No matter if the “double F” of Fendi, Louis Vuitton’s “LV” or the green Gucci logo. These logos were widely spread and  utilized as a status symbol. The logos underlined the typical bold fashion statements  of the 1980s. However, also classic models managed to stay in style. And especially,  the small baguette bag was trendy, as it had just enough space to carry a women’s  essentials, making it a fashionable choice for the fast-paced urban lifestyle of the  1980s. (Laura Leddy Turner, n.d.) In the 1990s everything was about classics and minimalism. Regarding bags, one could see many tuck-under-the shoulder bags and  small shoulder bags in general. Many women liked to wear small, minimalistic baguette bags, which fits the look of the Fendi bag from my grandmother. In the 90s  the Fendi baguette bag had its big moment through being simple and compact and  classical. It appeared in many popular tv shows, which resulted in a big moment of the  Fendi baguette bag in popular culture. (Farfetch, 2021) Therefore, the bag holds  attributes from both decades, the logo mania of the 1980s and the timelessness and  classical bags of the 1990s. 

The first time I wore the bag, many of my friend’s did not even know the brand Fendi.  We were all still young and most of my friend’s did not care too much about high-end fashion, that is probably why. However, I know that everyone loved the bag, and it  quickly became a stable in my wardrobe. We all were really into sports and more on  the tomboy-side. However, the bag also looked brilliant with just a sweater or a leather  jacket. And to be honest, this is probably one of the fashion items I own, which I am  the most careful with.  

Based on the history of the bag it is obviously an important bag for my family even  though the strap is nearly broken due to signs of wear through all the years. However,  I still wear it often. My mother got it from my grandmother, when she did not wear it  anymore. And now my sister and I have it as my mother does not wear the bag  anymore. So, it goes from generation to generation. And all the time, I wear the bag I  think about how strong my grandmother was and about what she sacrificed just for  others in her life. So, for me this bag reflects how strong and brave women all over the  world can be. And I think it is just a perfect coincidence that my grandmother bought  a Fendi bag, with the brand being a female success story of the Fendi family. 

Photo credit: Humber’s PhotoLab