An Anglican school in England suspends a twenty-four-year-old teaching assistant for wearing a niqab,the Muslim head covering that leaves only the eyes exposed. France has banned the niqab in public schools. In Montreal, a ymca clashes with its Jewish neighbours, members of a Hasidic synagogue; they want the windows of the gym frosted so their worshippers won't be exposed to the sight of skimpily clad young women mounting the Stairmasters. Elsewhere, some people have petitioned Joan Rivers to take the veil. All over the world, there seems to be confusion about which parts of which women we ought to be able to see.

But Western women have their version of veils as well. Let us project these into the near future and imagine how Islamic cultural scholars might interpret the ruthless orthodoxy of high fashion, the pressure to expose the flesh,and the curious body coverings (and uncoverings) of the secular, middle-class, North American professional woman.

Handbags also have a redemptive aspect. After the Bill Clinton sex scandal in the United States, Monica Lewinsky chose to become a designer of handbags in a bid to restore her reputation. (This failed.) Some claim the handbag has military beginnings, in the furry sporran of the Scottish warrior. Others point to the Queen's handbag: what does it hold? A pleated rain hat and a PowerBar? No one knows, but it is considered an important precursor to the Birkinah.

The inventor of this covering, Sally Rypohl, clearly remembers when the idea of the live-in handbag came to her: "I was trying to walk through the revolving door at Barneys with a large Versace bag over my shoulder when it snagged in the doors. Then I spun around for six or seven minutes before a pedestrian freed me. And as I spun, I had a vision — I saw myself naked, clad only in a kind of leather shroud with a hood. I no longer had to worry about haircuts, manicures, pedicures, my hemline, or my waistline. I could give up Botox, give up Restylane. Now I live inside my bag, protected and anonymous. I can be, quite literally, ‘in' fashion."

Although many view the Birkinah as a garment that signifies submissiveness to the whims of fashion, Rypohl claims it is a liberating experience to live free from the scrutiny of men who have been overexposed to Paris Hilton and Scarlett Johansson. The leg holes may restrict circulation, "but they make us look thinner," claims one happy convert.

Those who have adopted the Birkinah report that they feel "more organized" and "less vulnerable" when wearing their purses. "At social occasions, we can also hang from wall hooks without becoming tired," one points out. Rather than diminishing their sex appeal, some say the Birkinah actually heightens arousal in their partners. "I find it sexy," says Luther, husband of Rypohl and a Birkinah booster. "When she's hidden, I feel safer. And this way, she could be anyone. That's hot."

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