KCIDigital Archives

The KCI Digital Archives on the KCI website presents image and text information for the objects in the collection, arranged in chronological order.

Reticule

© The Kyoto Costume Institute, photo by Taishi Hirokawa

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Reticule

c. 1800 - England

Material
Yellow and green silk knit; pineapple shape with trimming of silver beads and tassels.
Dimension
14cm / 9.5cm
Inventory Number(s)
AC4411 83-1-3

This small bag, called "reticule" at that time was elaborately and three-dimensionally knitted into the shape of a pineapple. Motifs of pineapples and other exotic articles associated with the tropics became popular because of the influence of Napoleon Bonaparte's wife Joséphine, the then fashion leader, who was from the Island of Martinique.
"Reticules" usually mean women's small bags with a strap. From the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 19th century dresses became thinner and their designs changed to the Empire style. As a result, pockets that had previously been made inside dresses vanished, and a handbag was needed.

1800s-1810s