Sacks Appeal

Attention shoppers: just what you need— one more seasonal ornament

  • By Owen Edwards
  • Smithsonian magazine, December 2006, Subscribe
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For some Manhattan sybarites the department stores 1982 bag spelled Christmas.
For some Manhattan sybarites, the department store's 1982 bag spelled Christmas. (Matt Flynn / Cooper-Hewitt Museum, S.I.)

At this time of year, the Consumer Confidence Index—the measure that gauges how we feel about reaching into our pockets and shuffling our decks of credit cards—rises to the point where it could be called the Consumer Irrational Exuberance Index. Streets and stores bustle with eager optimists; shopping proceeds guilt-free, since (we tell ourselves) the spending serves to make other people happy. And hardly a creature is stirring who isn't clutching that bright icon of the holiday season, the shopping bag.

Shopping bags, those testimonial totes signaling the consumer preferences of those who carry them, by now constitute part of the nation's mercantile history. In 1978, the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York City mounted an exhibit showcasing more than 125 bags-as-art, each the result of relatively recent marketing advances. "The bag with a handle attached cheaply and easily by machine has existed only since 1933," wrote curator Richard Oliver. "By the late 1930's the paper bag...was sufficiently inexpensive to produce so that a store could view such an item as a ‘giveaway.'"

Today, according to Cooper-Hewitt curator Gail Davidson, the museum's collection has grown to some 1,000 bags, among them a cheery 1982 Bloomingdale's tote emblazoned with a holiday scene.

A signature bag, at least those from certain department stores, has long had the power to reassure the shopper. My mother used to venture into New York City only once or twice a year—to shop at Saks Fifth Avenue; the rest of the time, she patronized less glamorous New Jersey emporiums. But she always carried her purchases in carefully preserved Saks bags.

Until the 1960s, the shopping bag served to implement straightforward branding strategies, trumpeting, for example, the distinctive blue of Tiffany. By the 1980s, however, Bloomingdale's pioneered a more elaborate approach, introducing an ever-changing series of shopping bags: almost overnight, they came into their own as design objects. This innovation was the brainchild of John Jay, who took over as Bloomingdale's creative director in 1979 and guided the store's marketing until 1993.

Jay commissioned up to four or five bags annually, each featuring the work of various artists, architects or designers. "I wanted each bag to be a statement of the times," he recalls. "We did bags about the rise of postmodernism, the influence of the Lower East Side art movement, the Memphis design movement in Italy."

Architect Michael Graves, fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez and designer Ettore Sottsass, among others, produced the Bloomingdale's bags. The Bloomingdale's logo was not to be seen. (The Christmas bag pictured here, with its holiday depiction of the store itself, is a rare exception.) "The appeal for famous artists certainly was not the money," says Jay, "since we paid only $500, if that. But there was a creative challenge. We wanted to build a brand by constant surprise and creative risk—something that's missing from retail today."

Bag consciousness tends to be missing too, or at least is in decline. While some stores can still be identified by signature carryalls, Davidson observes that shopping bags are no longer the high-profile totems they once were. "I don't seem to see a real variety of bags these days," she says. "We still have some come in to the museum, but no longer in large quantities."


At this time of year, the Consumer Confidence Index—the measure that gauges how we feel about reaching into our pockets and shuffling our decks of credit cards—rises to the point where it could be called the Consumer Irrational Exuberance Index. Streets and stores bustle with eager optimists; shopping proceeds guilt-free, since (we tell ourselves) the spending serves to make other people happy. And hardly a creature is stirring who isn't clutching that bright icon of the holiday season, the shopping bag.

Shopping bags, those testimonial totes signaling the consumer preferences of those who carry them, by now constitute part of the nation's mercantile history. In 1978, the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York City mounted an exhibit showcasing more than 125 bags-as-art, each the result of relatively recent marketing advances. "The bag with a handle attached cheaply and easily by machine has existed only since 1933," wrote curator Richard Oliver. "By the late 1930's the paper bag...was sufficiently inexpensive to produce so that a store could view such an item as a ‘giveaway.'"

Today, according to Cooper-Hewitt curator Gail Davidson, the museum's collection has grown to some 1,000 bags, among them a cheery 1982 Bloomingdale's tote emblazoned with a holiday scene.

A signature bag, at least those from certain department stores, has long had the power to reassure the shopper. My mother used to venture into New York City only once or twice a year—to shop at Saks Fifth Avenue; the rest of the time, she patronized less glamorous New Jersey emporiums. But she always carried her purchases in carefully preserved Saks bags.

Until the 1960s, the shopping bag served to implement straightforward branding strategies, trumpeting, for example, the distinctive blue of Tiffany. By the 1980s, however, Bloomingdale's pioneered a more elaborate approach, introducing an ever-changing series of shopping bags: almost overnight, they came into their own as design objects. This innovation was the brainchild of John Jay, who took over as Bloomingdale's creative director in 1979 and guided the store's marketing until 1993.

Jay commissioned up to four or five bags annually, each featuring the work of various artists, architects or designers. "I wanted each bag to be a statement of the times," he recalls. "We did bags about the rise of postmodernism, the influence of the Lower East Side art movement, the Memphis design movement in Italy."

Architect Michael Graves, fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez and designer Ettore Sottsass, among others, produced the Bloomingdale's bags. The Bloomingdale's logo was not to be seen. (The Christmas bag pictured here, with its holiday depiction of the store itself, is a rare exception.) "The appeal for famous artists certainly was not the money," says Jay, "since we paid only $500, if that. But there was a creative challenge. We wanted to build a brand by constant surprise and creative risk—something that's missing from retail today."

Bag consciousness tends to be missing too, or at least is in decline. While some stores can still be identified by signature carryalls, Davidson observes that shopping bags are no longer the high-profile totems they once were. "I don't seem to see a real variety of bags these days," she says. "We still have some come in to the museum, but no longer in large quantities."

Bloomies' bags won awards and attracted press attention. Jay even remembers a photograph of President Jimmy Carter, boarding the presidential helicopter, a Bloomingdale's bag in hand. On the international scene too, bags morphed into symbols of quality. Rob Forbes, founder of the furniture retailer Design Within Reach, recalls that in the 1980s, he lined a wall of his London apartment with "incredible bags, very seriously made."

The last bag Jay commissioned, from Italian fashion designer Franco Moschino in 1991, caused a ruckus. It depicted a woman wearing a beribboned headdress, its color scheme the red, white and green of the Italian flag, adorned with the motto "In Pizza We Trust." After the Italian government objected to such irreverence, the bag was quietly pulled.

On eBay recently, I came across a green shopping bag stamped with the gold logo of Marshall Field's in Chicago, now a Macy's. The description under the item said simply: "The store is history." So, it seems, are the bags that we, our mothers, and even Jimmy Carter, dearly loved.

Owen Edwards is co-author, with Betty Cornfeld, of Quintessence: The Quality of Having "It."


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Comments (26)

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I have a Bailey, Banks & Biddle Shopping Bag I would be glad to give to any collector. I don't want to trash it and have no use for it.

Posted by Sheila on January 20,2012 | 10:23 AM

I have some Bloomingdale, Nordstrom, Prada, Herme, etc shopping bags and many of the Artist major museum shows in USA from 80's and 90's. Also bags from cosmetic promotions etc. Anyone interested in buying??

Posted by B. Gould on July 17,2011 | 11:33 AM

been collecting paper shopping bags for many years and now decided to dispose of my collection. What to do now? it has been a great game acquiring them but i must move on.would appreciate hearing from other collectors with suggestions. inez weiss weissinez@aol.com

Posted by inez weiss on May 31,2011 | 12:42 PM

I just posted a comment & didn't realize our e-mails were not posted separately. Please let me hear from you. It is lilamarty@comcast.net Lila

Posted by Lila on April 17,2011 | 04:21 PM

Hi Shopping Bag Collectors, As an art historian, I started collecting back in the 70's and decided enough was enough in the year 2000. (Although I still get Bloomies) My home is overflowing & would love to sell most of them. Many stores no longer exist, like Burdines & Guess. Suggestions are appreciated.

Posted by Lila on April 17,2011 | 04:13 PM

Hi
I worked @ Bloomingdales as a buyer dring the 80's...I would love shopping bags..........please let me kow if you have any country promotion ones or anything else
Kathy

Posted by Kathy on April 8,2011 | 06:17 AM

Hello all,

I have a Nordstrom's bag from the '80s, and am hoping to find a collector that is interested. I was going to post it on ebay, but it seems to need more targeted marketing : )

If you'd like me to email you a picture of it, please don't hesitate to ask.

I kept it hanging from the back of my bedroom for over 25 years, so now it is time for it to find a forever home.

Thanks,
Steph
EnnisSix@aol.com

Posted by Steph on March 21,2011 | 01:31 AM

I just posted that I have 20 Bloomingdale bags for sale but forgot my email - abraunie@yahoo.com. Thank you, Anita

Posted by Anita Garnett on January 21,2011 | 01:31 PM

I have a collection of 20 Bloomingdale's shopping bags mostly from the 80's that I would like to sell. I have photos available if interested. Thanks, Anita

Posted by Anita Garnett on January 20,2011 | 10:16 AM

I have a collection of bags that are from stores that no longer exist or have changed logos. Is anyone interested in them? I hate to trash them. Several are from the DC area stores which have been closed for awhile. Cookie

Posted by Cookie Kerxton on December 4,2010 | 11:59 AM

regarding a posting from katiuska1120 i have a beautiful excellent condition handbag from el corte de ingles brown snake skin original im willing to sell it - thanks

Posted by edith rousseau on October 31,2010 | 04:07 PM

Since this post has continued to expand, I thought I would send a message to other collectors out there. I am also a bag collector, having about 5000 different plastic shopping bags dating from the mid seventies until present, and representing over 50 countries, hundreds of grocery stores and numerous other things. ANyone interested in talking bags, please feel free to email me. Matt

Posted by Matt on August 17,2010 | 01:58 PM

Hi, Everyone,

Some of you have emailed me--I just realized I posted the wrong address here! Sorry if it's taken a while for me to respond!

Just wanted to let you know about Bagatelle--my online museum of "shopping bags and other things money can't buy". Thought you'd enjoy reading it:

http://bagatellemuseum.blogspot.com

Thanks!
Courtney

Posted by Courtney on May 16,2010 | 05:12 PM

I just discovered this webpost recently. I, too, have been a shopping bag collector for many years. I started purchasing them in the late 1970's for a research project I did in college.

I wrote to many stores around the world and have bags from major department stores of Europe, Asia, Central and South America as well as the all the major departemnt stores across the U.S. at that time. I also have small paper bags from these stores and from the U.S. my collection is about 99% complete.

I also have assorted store bags prior to the 70's from defunct stores and still keep up my collection today from stores with unique designs.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who collects them. We should get a club going! They have one for everything else. Anyone who has anything to share photographically or otherwise can email me at kabinoff2002@yahoo.com.

Posted by Gary on April 27,2010 | 09:54 AM



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