Digital exhibitions

Purses in focus.

A changing series of close-looking exhibitions drawn from the collection—each one follows a detail, a maker, or a moment in fashion history.

On view now

Small objects, wide worlds.

These opening displays approach handbags as evidence: of skilled hands, changing materials, travel, ceremony, and everyday life.

Gallery I · Ongoing

An exhibition in light, labor, and ornament

Beadwork made the smallest evening bags shimmer. Trace how glass, steel cut beads, and color became a vocabulary of occasion.

Gallery II · Ongoing

Translucence in the mid-century handbag

Clear acrylic cases carried the optimism of a new material into cocktail hours, dance floors, and postwar wardrobes.

Study Gallery · Ongoing

Whimsy, craft, and the novelty purse

A close look at playful forms that turned animals, souvenirs, and miniature scenes into remarkably detailed accessories.

Objects speak in their materials, their wear, and the lives they were made to accompany.

How to look

Each gallery pairs object notes with material clues and wider fashion context. Visit often as new stories and research are added to the archive.