Favorite Fridays!

Favorite Fridays!

Today's favorite comes from Catwalk Creative Vintage, located in the UK. If you shop like I do, then the ownership and the way a store is run is just as important as the products stocked. This shop happens to be run by a fabulous lady, Louise, who via the internet and our fields of work, is a good friend of mine. She makes shopping a delightful experience and is always willing to help and chat with you - that to me is a sign of a proud shopkeeper. Wish we had more of those today!

 

Vintage 1960s brown silk & corded purse with gold tone hardware, made in Italy. $19

All Things Gucci

I'm about to shoot myself in the foot. I'm in the vintage fashion biz, but am often stymied by the prices of high end labels. Granted, these items are consistently well made with exceptional detail and material. But $50 000 for a Hermès purse? Not on my watch.

The price for high end label items has become a marketing game. In the last 25 years, to splash a logo on a piece of clothing or accessory was (and unfortunately still is) a sign of being hip, in, wealthy, in-the-know. The problem comes with my old adage...is the item really, really worth it? Certain items are worth it, but most are not. Within the cost of that $50 000 Hermès bag is the splashy and fancy store it is sold in. The Parisienne address - the luxury magazine advertisements. It costs lots and lots of money to promote and that is what the consumer is paying for.

However, there are great deals to be had if you are in the market for a Gucci. I've just found this website http://www.guccibay.com/ that scouts, sells and finds auctions for only authentic Gucci items. Many are from ebay, but they do the work for you.

It's In The Bag

Do you know how important a purse is to a woman? It is estimated that $497 million dollars was spent on the purchase of purses in 2007.

That's a lot of purses.

If you are a woman reading this, no explanation is necessary, but I will forge ahead anyway.

A purse is a keeper of secrets, a protector of assets and, along with its contents, an object that can tell you exactly what a woman is about.

Purses began as pouches as far back as human memory records. Used to carry seeds and bones, the first incarnation of the modern accessory came in the late 18th century.

According to Farid Chenounne, curator of a purse exhibit at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, “What you put in your bag is very important to you. That makes a bag very personal because in it you have a secret. A secret gives you some sort of power. Traditionally, for a woman, a bag holds the things you need for the day but also your little beauty factory, which is very important to the identity of the woman.”

It's hard to disagree. My ebay picks.

Chanel Evening Purse

Vintage Clear Lucite Purse with Rhinestones

1930s Tapestry & Enamel Purse

Vintage French Tortoise Shell Purse

How to tell if a purse is vintage? If it has a cellphone pocket on the inside, it's NOT vintage.

Seriously.