Handbags

[Chi-town girl]

@1Professor - like you, I enjoy a variety of handbags for seasons, styles, events. I love the new Nash wicker bags, need to take a closer look! 

I don't have a wicker bag, but for Spring/SummerI have a treasured Kate Spade structured straw bag (before she sold her company) and a unique Buntal bag from my travels to The Philippines.  It's the one on the far right in the vibrant color. 

[Meowingkitty]

Not for me. The bags are way to big for me. Plus my cats might decide to use it as a scratching post, mush like they use my laundry basket. 

[hicindy2]

Betsey Johnson has a shell shaped straw Wicker over a Amaz*n

[1Professor]

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@Chi-town girlwrote:

@1Professor - like you, I enjoy a variety of handbags for seasons, styles, events. I love the new Nash wicker bags, need to take a closer look! 

I don't have a wicker bag, but for Spring/SummerI have a treasured Kate Spade structured straw bag (before she sold her company) and a unique Buntal bag from my travels to The Philippines.  It's the one on the far right in the vibrant color. 

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@Chi-town girl: Oh, wow! On both. Reminded me that one of my university students was from the Philippines and she gifted me after the last class a year ago with a handmade woven bag. I've kept it in the box; her family made it. I'll have to break it out.

[1Professor]

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@hicindy2wrote:

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@1Professorwrote:

@hicindy2: Oh, lush! Is it a small drawstring or a large one?

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@1Professor The Brighton Sierra

• Width: 16"
• Height: 12"
• Depth: 4"
• Strap: 10"
• Top Closure: Magnetic flap
• Interior Pockets: 3
• Exterior Material: Straw
• Interior Lining: Cotton
• Features: Key holder

 They have a Raffia bucket bag that says Girl's Night Out to me

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@hicindy2: Oooh, tempting, that's the size I like! But the Raffia is also toooo much fun!

[Chi-town girl]

@1Professor - the craftsmanship on the Philippines woven bags is exceptional.  They had so many styles and colors, I should have bought more and shipped them home! I also bought a bunch of woven napkin rings for hostess gifts. The pricing was awesome. 

[software]

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@1Professorwrote:

@Nightowlz:

In my life, it was the 1960s.

Here's a blurb on the history of wicker handbags, from a collector's blog:

In the early 1950s, the casual handbag emerged, as women demanded purses that were both fashionable and capable of holding all their cosmetics and accessories. Large shoulder shopping totes made from straw seemed to capture the spirit of summer and vacationing on the beach. Soon, affordable and sprightly little baskets of woven rushes were all the rage, like those made by the likes of Los Doradas. These often resembled small handheld picnic baskets with ribbons and decorative elements on top, like plastic or fabric fruits or flowers. This down-market trend, started by Dorset Rex of New York, never appeared on the pages of Vogue, but were well-loved by the “dance hall crowd.” Such bright, colorful straw bags remained popular well into the '60s, when whimsy became the new black. Straw handbags made of plaited raffia, rattan, rushes, willow, cane, and dried grasses didn’t remain the domain of the plebes for long. In the mid-1950s, sophisticated straw handbags appeared in southern France. Eaton Bag Company issued elegant raffia baskets, as well as trunks made of black-lacquered straw closed with a gilded lock and key. Elizabeth Arden even created a high-fashion take on a shrimp basket, outfitted with a compass in 1956. By 1958, giant hand-woven basket bags were finally staples of high-fashion magazines. Nantucket, an American company that had been selling straw baskets since the turn of the century, began producing rattan purses, and these became status symbols for the wealthy yachting set who would sail between Nantucket Island and the Riviera. These bags were coveted for their tight weaves, tops and bottoms made of hardwoods like walnut, hand-carved bone ornaments and fasteners, and leather hinges closures wrapped in rattan. Coach, meanwhile, made the straw purse classy and affordable for office workers, adding durable leather trim and handles.

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I would agree with this.   I recall my mom having one back in the 50s

[trenet]

These are gorgeous handbags @1Professor @hicindy2

A wicker rectangular tote was popular during spring when I was in junior high and high school in mid-late 60’s.  The main problem with them was if it bumped against your leg, they would snag stockings or pantyhose. 

[1Professor]

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@trenetwrote:

These are gorgeous handbags @1Professor.

A wicker rectangular tote was popular during spring when I was in junior high and high school in mid-late 60’s.  The main problem with them was if it bumped against your leg, they would snag stockings or pantyhose. 

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@trenet: Oh, I remember the snagging. We weren't allowed to wear pants, let alone jeans, in high school, so it was legs . . .

I didn't know anyone in high school who had more than ONE handbag, in fact. 

Seems utterly sad, now!! *winks*

[Nataliesgramma]

Gorgeous handbags @1Professor .......brings back memories...