The history of accessories
How the belt purse became the handbag and a simple ribbon in the hair grew into a whole family of headwear, and why so many of these changes happened slowly, over generations.
the culture of accessories: a magazine on the history of bags, headwear and jewellery
Repladies: the culture of accessories
We pick up a bag dozens of times a day, knot a scarf almost without looking and fasten a belt by touch. The small things in an outfit seem secondary, yet they often say more about a person than a coat or a dress: their work, their means, their taste and their era. Repladies is an independent magazine that studies accessories as part of culture and helps you see the history in them.
The accessory is the most talkative part of any outfit. You just have to learn how to listen.
Four ways into the magazine
A sign of the times
Why the shape of a hat or the way a bag is carried in an old portrait can reveal the period and social rank, and how painting, photography and film turn an object into a symbol.
Craft and materials
Leather, suede, silk, metal fittings: what accessories are made of, how seams and clasps work, and what happens to materials after years of wear.
Authorship in fashion (in Russian)
Who invents the shape of an object, what a trade mark is, and why a copy of someone else's mark is not harmless imitation but an infringement of another's rights.
Magazine sections
- Articles
The magazine's six themes, from the history of accessories to authorship and trade marks, plus a catalogue of articles in English.
- History
Accessories through the ages: from the belt pouch to the shoulder bag, the Paris Convention of 1883 and the day established by WIPO in 2000.
- People
Designer, leatherworker, milliner, jeweller, textile conservator and costume curator: the roles that keep the culture of accessories alive.
- Collections
Three reading routes: what we carry in our hands, what we wear on our heads, authorship and authenticity.
- Events
Costume exhibitions, vintage fairs, craft workshops and museum talks: the kinds of events there are and how to check an announcement.
- Analysis
What a leather bag is made of, and how leather, suede, cotton, silk, metal and plastic change over the years.
- Archive
The magazine's table of contents and the story of what happened to this domain's old addresses.
How to read an old accessory in five steps
Look at the material
Natural leather, fabric, woven straw or metal hint at an object's approximate age and purpose. Note how the material bends, whether it has a smell, and whether it shows a natural pattern of pores or fibres.
Study the seams and fittings
Hand stitching is slightly uneven and usually tighter than machine stitching. Clasps, buckles, rings and rivets changed shape from decade to decade, so they can often help narrow down the period.
Search for a maker's mark and inscriptions
A stamp in the leather, an embroidered tag, an engraving on the clasp or a paper label inside a pocket may point to a workshop or a country. Write down everything you see, even if you don't yet understand it.
Read the signs of wear
Rubbed corners, a stretched handle, a side faded by the sun and neat darning show how the object was used: every day or for special occasions, in town or on the road.
Find out who owned it
Ask older relatives and look for the object in family photographs. Sometimes a single memory of the bag a grandmother took to work turns an ordinary bag into a genuine witness to its time.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a shop?
No. Repladies is an independent magazine about the culture of accessories. There is no basket, no shop window and no ordering here, and the magazine has nothing to do with the shop that used to operate on this domain.
Do you sell copies or can you tell me where to find them?
No. We sell nothing, give no addresses or links to sellers and do not support the trade in copies of other people's marks. To learn why such goods count as counterfeit, see the note "Copies & the law" (in Russian).
Can you recommend a label or a model?
No. We do not compare manufacturers, publish rankings or reviews, or suggest what to choose. The magazine is about the history and make-up of objects, not about shop windows.
Where do your facts come from?
From open sources: the texts of laws, materials published by international organisations and encyclopaedias of costume history. A list of sources appears at the bottom of every page.
About the project
This domain used to host an online shop that traded in copies of other people's marks. Its catalogue and product pages have not survived and are not reproduced here. The magazine has no connection with that shop, does not sell or promote copies, and inherited the name Repladies together with the domain.
We write about accessories as part of the history of dress: how the bag, the hat, the belt, the umbrella and jewellery appeared and changed, how artists and photographers portrayed them, how craftspeople made them and how to extend their life. A separate theme of the magazine is respect for authorship: we explain what a trade mark is and name neither living people nor specific labels.
Read next
- History
Accessories through the ages: from the belt pouch to the shoulder bag, the Paris Convention of 1883 and the day established by WIPO in 2000.
- Articles
The magazine's six themes, from the history of accessories to authorship and trade marks, plus a catalogue of articles in English.
- Analysis
What a leather bag is made of, and how leather, suede, cotton, silk, metal and plastic change over the years.
- Collections
Three reading routes: what we carry in our hands, what we wear on our heads, authorship and authenticity.
- Archive
The magazine's table of contents and the story of what happened to this domain's old addresses.
Sources
- Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Articles 1477, 1515)
- Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883)
- Encyclopaedic sources on the history of costume
Articles of law and the dates of international agreements are cited from open official texts; laws change, so always check the version currently in force. Confirm announcements of exhibitions, fairs and talks with the organisers.