White Basket Bag with Bird Motif. 1950s. Maker: Midas of Miami. White-painted wicker purse with Midas of Miami’s trademark gold rope handles, green velvet facing, gold trim and darling mother bird with baby bird appliqué, slightly padded for a three-dimensional effect. This purse is unusual in design, but also in that it has a second tag inside, which reads: Jane’s Boutique, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Something else that should be noted: while it’s a great purse, the online seller indicated that it was in excellent condition, which it isn’t. There’s some major scarring and dinging of the paint, plus, when it arrived, it smelled of cigarette smoke, which is a HUGE peeve of mine. Sellers, please advertise honestly and, if you can avoid it, don’t smoke around the merchandise.

Vinyl Train Tote. 1960s. Maker: Debbie – A Division of John Wind Imports. Adorable, glitter-painted train with three-dimensional metal wheels, faux gems and gold trim on a burlap-type fabric. This purse, its handles and closure are made of textured vinyl. It's similar to the kit purses of the 1960s—of which I have many—but, I was surprised to find the manufacturer’s label inside, which also says it was "Made in Japan." I Googled John Wind Imports and found that there were several different styles of bag made by the company, some under the “Debbie” name. I wonder if Debbie was a real person, or if they chose that name because it was such a typical ‘60s American girl moniker.

Wooden Painted Birdie Box Bag. 1960s. Maker: Unknown. Handmade wooden box purse, possibly from a kit, with brass-colored hardware and faux mother-of-pearl handle. Hand-painted yellow flowers with green leaves and what I thought was a ducky, but, upon close inspection, looks more like a yellow songbird. Sorry about the soft-focus. And also my mannequin’s finger issue. It was a tragic accident. We don’t talk about it.

Pair of Picnic-Themed Baskets. 1950s. Maker: Midas of Miami. I first wrote about this chianti/fruit/flower purse in September 2007, but I got another for my birthday from a wonderful vintage-loving friend of mine. What’s cool about having two of these is that you can see the subtle differences in the artwork: the placement of the appliqués, the uniqueness of the paint squiggles, and these purses also have different flower appliqués on the side—one has closed petals and the other is open. Another reason it’s cool to have two of the same? Because two purses are always better than one!