Tuesday, April 08, 2008


A handbag tale....

Many, many years ago I saw this style handbag in Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. They went well with Lilly Pulitzer style clothes that are and were very popular in that area of South Florida. I remember my mother's friend had one and I was intrigued with the pretty painting. I wanted to get a handbag just like it.

Recently they have been showing up in shops around here in New England. I have spotted them in CT, MA, and RI. My guess is that they were brought back here after the winter season by "snowbirds."

They are decoupaged and/or painted and have a label that says "Anne Laurie Originals, Palm Beach."

The one I have is hand painted. They all have quilted lining and felt glued on the bottom and braid around the velvet trim. Sometimes the Lucite handles have been removed and they are sold as "boxes" or "chests." They were originally sold in Saks Fifth Avenue according to one dealer's tag in a shop in MA.

This is the particular style bag that I wanted and I remembered. It showed up on eBay a few months ago and I forgot to bid on it. Two weeks later, it showed up here in a local auction and I "won" for less than half the auction start price.


Right now it is holding some dolls on a shelf. At the time I wanted one, I would have had lipstick, a compact, all the accouterments one would expect to find in a hand bag.

Finding an item from the past unexpectedly was a real joy. Perhaps you will come upon an unexpected item from times past, too.

Enjoy your day.

2 comments:

Eileen said...

What a TREASURE! I don't think I've ever seen this. It looks beautiful holding these dolls. Very very pretty, looks like springtime.

Dixie Redmond said...

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