It is very difficult to find old and still functional handbags that date from
the 19th century. The material becomes fragile, and if the bag used to have also
applications, than the material is even more deteriorated, especially silk, and most likely
the beads or buckles are missing or broken. If the material used to be printed or painted the
paint will be probably worn out after all this time.
Ages ago both men and woman used to wear bags, not only in order for them to
transport money without showing, but also to carry other small things such as papers in case
of men and sewing materials in case of women.
Handbags used to be an indicator about the people wearing them and about their
social status; this is the reason why different type of decorations started to appear as a
way of people showing off their welfare. After all not a lot have changed, wearing handbags
is not only modern convenience as it is often believed, woman still use bags to show of and
the brighter and more expensive a handbag is the most confident its owner
feels.
Real vintage
handbags can still be found and they consist in old bags that have been restored or
sometimes just pieces of them combined with new materials.
In this
category we encounter designs using old beads application moved to replaced
material but these are also rare examples, it is pretty difficult to restore beads
as well.
Most of the
bags we call vintage in our times are basically completely new ones made after an
old pattern.
However a great number of designers offer big amounts of money for old sometimes
badly deteriorated handbags so that they can inspire their work out of them. They try to
understand the sewing system and try to make copies that are extremely close to the original.
In this case improvements are not an option, vintage appearance takes all the credit and it
is worth all the trouble.
All designers end up having their own impressive real vintage collection and
sometimes they also exhibit it for charities or other noble purposes.
Handbags within the ‘40s,
‘50s and ‘60s
The most impressive were the ‘50s with their Lucite box bags, perfectly
geometric shaped, made out of rough plastic managed to survive over the years. Not all of
them of course, some got scratched, other decolorized other managed to even get broken by not
being properly taken care of.
Still there are other vintage bags surviving along the last decades, these are
the large bags that nowadays are back in fashion, and if the material is not deteriorated you
have little chances to make the difference between one bag from the ‘60s or one brand new,
finished a week ago since the designs are so similar.
If you have enough patience to search the antique shops or flea markets you have
great chances to find bags made out of leather, cloth or even well preserved velvet for
prices like $25 and this way you can be sure you have a unique vintage piece in your
wardrobe.
The latest trend in fashion now is decorating your home using real vintage
collection bags and hanging them on your walls or arranging them in special created shelves
like any other forms of art. We must admit that some of them are more than artistically in
design, material painting, and decoration/accessories.
Although you may think right now that it is time to clean your closet and throw
everything you don’t need away, our advice is to think twice, you never now when you will
need your things to bring them back in fashion or decorate your living room. If you have a
storage place you might as well keep them, maybe one day your children are going to be into
vintages.
