Silver mesh evening bag

This silver mesh evening bag was owned by Kathleen Pether.

Mesh evening bags first came into vogue in the late 19th century. They were popularised in the early twentieth century by Whiting and Davis, an American company which developed an automatic mesh machine in 1912, which enabled them to manufacture bags in greater numbers and at a more affordable price. During the Second World War Whiting and Davis temporarily stopped producing mesh bags in order to support the war effort. When the war ended, however, they returned to making fashionable mesh evening bags.

According to their advertising, a women clutching a Whiting and Davis mesh bag added 'charming elegance' to a woman's evening costume and placed them 'right in the social whirl.'