In 1882, Joan and Bill Martin started the Brahmin Leather Works, a small business enterprise in Massachusetts. The company started in her home where they were to create handbags that would capture the imagination of high society women in Massachusetts. The term Brahmin originally comes from the caste system of India, where the elite class, the highest caste, were called Brahmins. The term also means scholar and denotes one of the highest societies in the 19th century Indian caste system. In Boston, the high-society people of those days were called Boston Brahmins. The term was adopted by Bill Martin and has stuck ever since.
Over the years, the Martins realized that the company would be much more than a small Boston bag store. They soon began working with others to create a brand and the Brahmin name took off like a shooting star. The high quality of the Brahmin bags along with their fashionable designs are what made the company a symbol of fashion and the best craftsmanship. Made from Italian leather and polished to a unique sheen, the bags quickly became popular with the well-to-do in the New England area.
Today, although operations are large-scale, only four Brahmin handbag retailers remain. All of these are in the New England area. The company is still largely family-owned, but has cooperated extensively with sales professionals across the country to promote its products. A recent big step for Brahmin was collaborating with Dillards to sell their bags. You can now find Brahmin handbags at Dillards along with all of your favorite high-end brands. The only difference is that their bags will be surprisingly low in price compared to other high-end brands.
There are literally hundreds of styles and colors of bags to choose from. Brahmin has devised a unique style of naming his purses to categorize them for easy reference. They use girl names like Rosaline, Alyssa and Dana to name a few to differentiate the styles. You can find a variety of purses, crossbody bags, business bags, as well as party clutches. The list is endless of what you can find. If you want to find a specific color and style, you can easily do so by going to the Brahmin website, which is the official site of the famous bag.