TEIGE MUHLFELD
Staff Writer
Last month’s formal Greek Recruit-ment showcased 250 female students with a variety of life experiences. But they all seemed to share one common trend: Every girl carried some sort of bag.
Whether they were pocketbooks, purses or smaller handbags, these items were the most common accessory among sorority recruits. On the first day of recruitment, freshmen were actually advised not to bring their bags to the event the following day, as rules prohibit potential members from bringing bags into the rush rooms. Nevertheless, the bags were back in force on day two.
For better or worse, bags are here at Pepperdine to stay. Why are they so popular? It’s because they are seen as accessories, expressions and necessities.
At Pepperdine, the new popular accessory seems to be decorative handbags.
“There is so much you can do by just adding a bag to your outfit,” freshman Ashley Price said. “I express part of my style through my handbags.”
Freshman Alicia Chesney agreed.
“They are so adorable,” she said. “They complete the look I am going for.”
Though bag size during recruitment did not differ much, bag styles did. Some said they favored designer bags such as Coach and Louis Vuitton, while others said they favored less expensive styles.
“I like brands such as Nine West because they fit my style at a reasonable price,” freshman Sarah Schott said.
Another important rule for bag-toting is to variate one’s personal stock.
Freshman Lisa Brooks said women feel the need to express who they are through what they wear and how they accessorize their outfits. Brooks went on to say that on an everyday basis, she does not worry about whether her purse matches her outfit. For special events, however, her purse matters because it portrays a small part of her personality, she said.
Regardless of their bags’ varying sizes and capacities, most of the girls in the 2005 recruitment said their bags matched what they wore, as well as how they felt that particular day.
How do they manage to fit bags to their diverse personalities? Sheer volume is one solution. Chesney said she has five bags at Pepperdine and 20 at home. Price said she owns seven bags, and freshman Lauren Keeley said she owns five.
Besides using bags as a means to express style, Keeley said there is a more practical reason. Most women see them as not only a way to accessorize their outfit and express their personality, but also as a way to carry the things that they want and need with them, she said.
This has been a central focus around bags through history. Ancient Greek men used bags called “pockets” — though not in today’s sense of the word — to carry objects to trade, according to Accessoryweb.com. It was not until the 1400s that bags began to be decorated or considered women’s objects.
Today’s Pepperdine women are continuing to reflect new trends with their bags.
Junior Cathy Vu said her new accessory of choice is called the Seatbeltbag.
Dana and Melanie Harvey, who decided to make a bag out of belts from their Buick, created the original Seatbeltbag in 1997. Harvey received many compliments about her bag and decided to make more in their California garage.
“The bag is very tough,” Vu said. “It’s very useful for college students because it carries heavy stuff like books.”
11-03-2005
