Pain in The Purse: The Tax That Changed Handbag History (Paperback) by Wendy Dager

9798746431974. New condition. Trade paperback. Language: English. Pages: 84. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 84 p. April 1, 1944, the American people were subject to a federal excise tax that encompassed a large number of items the US government had deemed luxuries. Among them were handbags, a necessity that cost consumers an additional 20% of their retail value. Twenty years of FET had an enormous impact on much more than the pocketbook. An early form of today's "pink tax," it was placed on numerous women-centric items, including jewelry, furs and face creams. This tax affected industries, feminism, politics and journalism, and forever altered handbag fashion.