♦ In the 16th century, women didn't wear handbags. Instead they hid valuable items in the folds of their wide skirts or up their sleeves.

♦ The handbag as we know it now, originated around 1780 in the city of love: Paris.

♦ According to the American Chiropractic Association, a handbag shouldn't weigh more than 10 percent of a woman's weight.

♦ Researchers have found that the average 30-year-old owns 21 handbags and buys a new one every three months.

♦ In the 1950s, a zebra bag was the big status symbol.

♦ In 2000, one of Lady Thatcher's handbags was sold for £ 100.000 for the charity Breast Cancer Care.