EVERYONE knows girls have special relationships with their handbags.

Now this bond will be explored by Huddersfield University students.

They're making videos featuring proud handbag owners - and want Examiner readers to appear on camera!

Media students Fauzia Qureshi, Emma Richardson, Sarah Powis and friends aim to film five documentaries of five minutes each.

And their dream is to get them screened on TV.

The girls have drawn up a wishlist of celebrities they'd love to interview - including Huddersfield's Zoe Lucker.

But they want to talk to ordinary people, too.

Fauzia, 32, says: "We hope to film everyone from drag queens to policewomen. We want to know where you got your handbag from, and, equally importantly, what's in it."

Sarah, 21, adds: "Some handbags are handed down through three generations - there are some great stories to tell there.

"Girls love their bags because they're like shoes - they always fir, unlike clothes that you sometimes have to squeeze into!"

A tutor at the university came up with the idea - and the girls themselves adore their handbags.

Sarah, a columnist for the Examiner's Uni Life slot, says: "My boyfriend bought me a bag that cost £175. It's gorgeous but I daren't take it anywhere, it was so expensive."

Emma, 21, says: "I love bags but all mine cost about £2 and come from places like Asda."

Brightly coloured, beautifully-made, attention-grabbing bags are higher profile than ever, thanks to celebrities such as Sienna Miller, Sarah Jessica Parker and Victoria Beckham - who are always photographed with amazing accessories.

The students also hope to find and interview boys who carry handbags - or "manbags" as they're sometimes known.

Emma says: "We'd also love to hear from people who make their own bags."

* Call 07899 783741 or 01422 359019 if you'd like your five minutes of handbag fame!

THE earliest historically verifiable handbags - little sacks containing pomanders (scented oranges), flint and money - were carried by gentlemen.

By the 1400s both men and women were wearing purses, and as times prospered and the little sacks got fuller, they were ornamented with gold or elaborate embroidery.

In 1670, breeches with built-in pockets came into fashion and men dispensed with their handbags. But they did continue to carry a little netted "purse" for money.

In the 18th century, handbags for both men and women disappeared until after the French Revolution.

Then out into the open came the handbag, known as a reticule.

In the 1920s, as dresses got skimpier, handbags became indispensable, and have remained so.