Baguette (bag)

The baguette is a small, compact handbag designed by Fendi in 1997. Made popular by its exposure on Sex and the City, the designer handbag was very popular in the late '90s and early '00s, often cited as the first "It" bag.

The Baguette concept was for a small, streamlined bag, carried on a short strap, that could be adapted for different looks, colors and textures while still having a consistent aesthetic. It marked a contrast from many popular women's purses at the time, which were often large totes.

Still relatively small and little-known, the Fendi Italian fashion brand agreed to lend the Baguette to HBO's Sex and the City, which was still a relatively new show that was fast growing in popularity. Sarah Jessica Parker has credited Fendi's loan of the bag with being central in establishing the show and her character Carrie Bradshaw, saying "Having Carrie wear the Baguette was a defining moment for us, and marked the beginning of everything. The timing was perfect for the story we were telling and the character I was playing; the Baguette was the perfect embellishment. Once Fendi loaned us items, everyone was more willing to do so, which helped us dramatically in conveying Carrie’s decadence."

Bag

A bag (also known regionally as a sack) is a common tool in the form of a non-rigid container. The use of bags predates recorded history, with the earliest bags being no more than lengths of animal skin, cotton, or woven plant fibers, folded up at the edges and secured in that shape with strings of the same material.

Despite their simplicity, bags have been fundamental for the development of human civilization, as they allow people to easily collect loose materials such as berries or food grains, and to transport more items than could readily be carried in the hands. The word probably has its origins in the Norse word baggi, from the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European bʰak, but is also comparable to the Welsh baich (load, bundle), and the Greek βάσταγμα (bástagma, load).

Cheap disposable paper bags and plastic shopping bags are very common in the retail trade as a convenience for shoppers, and are often supplied by the shop for free or for a small fee. Customers may also take their own shopping bags to some shops. Although paper had been used for purposes of wrapping and padding in ancient China since the 2nd century BC, the first use of paper bags (for preserving the flavor of tea) in China came during the later Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD).

Bagà

Bagà is a Spanish municipality located in the comarca of Berguedà, in Catalonia.

Traditionally, Bagà is considered the capital of Alt Berguedà, the mountainous northern half of the comarca.

Location

Bagà is located at the head of the valley of the Llobregat river, at the feet of the high mountains of the Cadí range. The town itself is at 785 metres above sea level.

Bagà is 20 kilometers to the north of Berga, and 7.5 kilometers to the south of the Túnel del Cadí, a tunnel which crosses the Cadí range, connecting with the region of la Cerdanya.

The municipality includes a small exclave to the west.

History

Bagà was founded in the 9th century A.D. when the region of Berguedà was repopulated by Wilfred the Hairy. The noble family of Pinós dominated most of Alt Berguedà throughout most of the Middle Ages and administered its domains from the town of Bagà, giving the town some importance.

The town was redesigned in the 13th century by Galceran IV de Pinós, and is a rare example of medieval city planning. The town grew rapidly and by the beginning of the 14th century a new neighbourhood had to be built outside of the town's walls to accommodate its growing population. Bagà was also granted a weekly market (which continues to this day) consolidating its role as a regional capital.

Bag (unit)

Bags have been used as standard measures for a variety of commodities which were actually supplied in bags or sacks. These include:

The Oxford English Dictionary has a definition of "bag" as "A measure of quantity for produce, varying according to the nature of the commodity" and has quotations illustrating its use for hops in 1679, almonds in 1728 (where it is defined by weight as "about 3 Hundred Weight" i.e. 336 pounds (152 kg) in Imperial units) and potatoes in 1845 (where it is a volume measure of "three bushels" - i.e. 24 imperial gallons (110 L)).