Handbags: the lost, the replacements, the found again

The thrifted leather doctor's bag I gave away: wah!!

This is a photo of me from a few years ago, pre-hubby. I'm wearing a thrifted 70s coat that I gave away to a pal when I moved. It stank of smoke so I don't miss it much. But I do miss the thrifted leather doctor's bag, pictured here, more than I care to admit - does it sound superficial to say that I regret getting rid of the MASS of thrifted items that I did before I moved overseas? This little number would have been perfect in France - the French ladies do tend to carry handbags such as this over their wrists, just SO - so stylish!

Another thrifted bag I gave away.

This all-leather baby was also thrifted for a couple bucks in Canada. It was given away too (note the passive voice? I can't even handle the guilt). Now, in France, with the cooler weather approaching, I find myself brown-bagless. How could I have given them all away? Was a completely nuts??

The replacement bag: 7 Euros on Etsy.
PHOTO: The Vintage Goody Shop, Etsy.

An obsessive troll on Etsy.com ensued the other night after yearning reveries of my lost bags, in which I tried to track down a worn brown leather bag. I found plenty of options at 40-50 Euros, a price I didn't want to pay to replace two bags that between them cost under 10 CAD. The Vintage Goody Shop came to the rescue with this uber distressed leather bag, on sale for the equivalent of just over 7 Euros! It's Liz Claiborne, not a vintage make or anything, but I've owned them before and the bags are well-made. Plus this one is banged up enough to constitute a Grunge Queen fave, I'm sure.

A second replacement bag, to make up for the ones below that I thought I'd lost.
PHOTO: The Vintage Goody Shop, Etsy.

For that price (so the shopping rationale goes), I could afford to buy another from the same shop, in this case a handmade bag from the good 'ole US of A, by SAS, in a tan distressed leather. It was a little more than 7 Euros but a ways off from 40 Euros, my cut-off point, so I snagged it. It will be my go-to every day bag, I can see it! I can't think of too many bag companies that are still manufacturing in the US, so I'm happy to have this little piece of  history.

Lost, then found again: hiding in my Mom's basement in a box!

The SAS bag was to replace this bag, a thrifted leather beaut I picked up in a Toronto vintage shop for a song last fall, which I thought I had lost forever ....

Remember the box of handbags I thought had gone missing somewhere between Toronto, Ottawa, and the UK, which I was hoping were hiding somewhere in my Mom's basement in Canada?

Another lost but found again leather beaut: hope we'll be reunited soon.
But in the meantime I have my replacement bags!

Turns out they're alive and well: Mom emailed (ironically right after I'd purchased the Etsy bags) to say she'd found the handbag box in the basement!! I made her show me every single one in the box over Skype, a total of 12 missing bags!! Whohoo! I ignored Mom's comment that she hoped I hadn't bought any handbags as I already had enough? (Well, how was I to know? I thought these bags were forever lost. It was only natural that I'd replace them, n'est pas?).

A Goodwill find that is in the bag box.

When I was working in Toronto, I used this 70s clutch as my lunch bag - most stylish lunch bag ever or worst fashion mistake ever?

And who knows when we'll meet again, since there's an ocean and expensive postage separating us? At least I know they're safe and sound at Grandma's, now residing in her cedar chest.

So glad I didn't give this 70s carpet clutch away.

Ditto for this wee patent baby found at Goodwill for a few dollars.

Vintage Missoni-esque carpet bag I will see again soon: can a gal love a handbag any more than I do right now?

It may seem silly to be so attached to my handbags, but I can't help it. They hold life's important baubles, everything from under-eye concealer to I.D. We should revere them, in my humble opin.

I gave away the wonderful patent bag and the plaid clutch behind it, but the wee suede doctor's bag in the front, which I found for .99 cents in a Toronto junk shop, made into the lost-now-found-again-box.
 It's got a red leather interior and is, simply put, utterly glorious.

I may need to ask Mom to ship a few of the lost tribe over to me. The rest can be stowed away in my sis (and her family's) luggage when they come on skiing holiday in the winter.

Isn't it nice to find stuff you thought was forever gone? Sometimes I'll even put things away, so I can experience the rush of finding them again.

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Redeemed: orange velvety

Ok, so I missed my chance with the red velvet couch I saw in the trash last weekend. But the very next night on my way home, I spotted this baby: orange velvety.

He was sitting on the sidewalk with a "FREE" sign on it. I stood there looking at him, wondering how I'd get him home, when I heard a voice from the bedroom window of the house it was in front of.

Turns out, the family had bought the chair years ago for 20 bucks at a garage sale, and they were getting rid of it only because they had bought new furniture and had no room.

As the lady and her daughter came down to the sidewalk and started chatting with me, it became clear that there was a whole family history woven around this chair, funny and beautiful moments of children barfing  while in the chair but not actually hitting the chair, of grandfather sitting in it - I'm telling you, I almost teared up on the sidewalk.

The lady of the house called him "orange velvety," which I thought was so cute. They offered to drive him to my apartment as they knew I loved him. Before they did so, we snapped a pic of Mom and her teenage daughter on the chair.

And so that's the tale of orange velvety. It's a much nicer story than red velvety, don't you think? Just goes to show, when one trashing door closes, another opens.

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Babushka, Babushka

Don't you love her? My sister had a Babushka, a set of Russian nesting dolls, when we were growing up in the 1970s. I always loved them.

I have a gal pal, a close friend and reader of this blog, who I call "Babushka" - not because she's an old Russian lady, the meaning of the word! It's def a term of endearment. When I saw these in (you know where!) I knew she had to have them!

OMG, bottom tag says USSR, pretty wild eh? There's a piece of history for ya.

My pal loves them, as I knew she would. Who says you can't find a meaningful gift in the thrift shop? Heck, can you even find these things new these days? Certainly not with the USSR tag!

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Minnie's purse

You may remember the story of Minnie, the lady I wrote about who passed away recently. Well, her dear friend contacted me before I went on vacation, asking me if I wouldn't like a few of Minnie's vintage pieces. What a tremendous compliment and honour. This purse was one of Minnie's pieces that is now mine - don't you just love it?

The horsie detail is just too darling. And the strap is long enough that I can wear the bag across my body, which I did the other day.

I still have to photograph the other pieces, but I promise I will soon as some are really special.

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The Gift of Thrift: Christmas

Tonight I gave a "Shopping on a Shoestring" talk to a lovely group of ladies who are part of a professional women's group associated with the local chapter of Dress For Success, a charity that helps clothe women who are preparing to enter the workforce.

The theme: holiday shopping. Natch, the topic of thrift came up. I brought a little tickle trunk of thrifted gift goodies to show during my talk, including this HUGE hardcover coffee table book on Van Gogh I found at Value Village for $5.99.This is at least a $100 book, more I bet. And it's in excellent shape - only a wee tear on the back jacket - and doesn't have that musty book smell that all too often accompanies used books. The cool thing: when I was carrying it home after I bought it, a girl stopped me on the street and told me it was an excellent book!

It's for my artist sis and I know she'll love it. Hope she doesn't read this post!

I'll be featuring more nifty thrifty gifty ideas for the holidays coming up!!

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Vintage shoes, never worn, my man bought me

Ah, le romanace. I'm not getting X-rated here, trust me: but I am showing off my sexy 'new' shoes my British mannie bought for me at one of my fave vinatage-esque shops (the latter of which I'll tell you about tomorrow) when he was visiting me a few weeks ago.

A pilot, he's now in Spain slumbering away through his birthday, so let this pic of my legs and the shoes serve as a little B-day pressie over the seas, tee hee.

But they are pretty sexy, aren't they? And only $25 (I'm a cheap date, what can I say). You know I have a thing for 1970s chic. Well these babies are '70s all the way: suede cross-over strappies with an open toe. Never worn. So boo-tiful. Thanks honey! I will def wear them for you the next time I see you!!

This could explain why they never sold: there's a different make on each pump! One says, "Celina, Made in Canada" ; the other, "Mugford  Shoes Ltd", an Ontario-based company that's been in existence since 1965 or so. Perhaps Celina was a make of Mugford? Or maybe the shoes were for different companies but made in the same factory? It's a mystery. What matters: I have my shoes, I have a good story about them, and yes, I have my mannie!

Tomorrow I'll show you the shop we found 'em in, which is, speaking of birthdays, celebrating its year B-day this month.

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Madame Vroom-Vroom

Meet Madame Vroom-Vroom.

I didn't find her - she kinda found me this weekend.

I was in a shop doing research and was having a great time chatting with the owner. I told her how much I loved her store, and she gave me this pin because as she put it, she always gives a gift to newcomers. Wowsers.

Or maybe it was because I asked to take pictures and the 20-somethings in there with me just starting snapping away.

No matter. I accepted the pin (and bought some items, natch, will post soon).

Now I love my Madame Vroom-Vroom.

I named her "Madame" because of her headdress, and the Vroom-Vroom part isn't just because she looks so saucy. As you can see the back of this pin is signed. Can't quite make it out but I think it says "Vom, 06" ... not so much of a stretch to go to Vroom is it?

Let's take another look at her.

She appears to be made of recycled pins and baubles.

I sure wish I knew who the designer was. The kind lady who gave me the pin said that a customer recognized the designer from the pin but she couldn't remember.

I wore her on my coat lapel last night, and she sure looked fab.

Have a vroom vroom day - 14 degrees C in Toronto today, yay!!

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Handmade hearts

The very best Valentines I've ever received were from my twin sis when we were growing up.

We used to make Valentines for eachother, and the tradition even lasted into our twenties when we were away at school.

This one was when we were 22. She was an art student and made the paper!! The one underneath was a pastel drawing of two hearts.

I used to love making Valentines for her. When we were young we'd cut out these huge hearts from construction paper, then layer smaller and smaller paper hearts in different colours inside them. Then we'd fold tissue paper like an acordian and glue it around the edges of the heart. So lovely. Wish I had one to show you but they didn't make it through the years.

My oldest friend made me this wood plaque with a painted cookie heart glued on top. It wasn't for Valentine's Day but she made it for me when I was sick and in the hospital. She carved "I care" on it; and I'll cherish it forever.

Just goes to show, if it comes from the heart, it doesn't matter if you're not crafty.

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