1940s Plastic Tile Purse

Plastic Tile Clutch. 1940s. Maker: Jorues. Raised ivory-colored plastic tiles comprising a large clutch bag. Held together by light brown leather cording, which you can see through the tiles. Lined in brown fabric. Plastic zipper. Brown ribbon at the sides; one of which seems to have come loose, possibly because someone used it as a handle.

I particularly love purses with shape and dimension. These Jorues bags are similar to Plasticflex purses of the same era. The second pic shows more of my mini-collection.

1960s Simon Brothers Brown Raffia Half Circle Purse

Half Circle-Shaped Raffia Bag. 1960s. Maker: Simon Bros. Co. NY, Made in Italy. Wonderful unusually-shaped brown raffia bag with leaf-like detail on the front. The clasp is actually another piece of woven raffia that folds over and latches via a loop and button-like raffia piece. There’s a metal zipper at the top. Circular raffia handle completes the look.

I saw this many times at a local antique store and kept passing it by, but finally took the time to closely check it out. It was love at fourth—or maybe fifth—sight. I don’t have anything like this, and I realized it was a really great find.

1920s Beaded Drawstring Flapper Purse

Beaded Drawstring Flapper Purse. 1920s. Maker: Unknown. Hundreds of ivory-colored beads sewn together to form a bag. Drawstring closure. Very delicate.

I don’t have many of these very old, utterly gorgeous purses, simply because I like being able to use my vintage clothes, purses and jewelry rather than just have them for display. However, this lovely little bag found its way into a photo my kids and I were in about ten years ago. That’s us, in clothes from my collection, on my husband’s 1928 Ford Model A. The kids have since grown up, the Model A is now an awesome hot rod, and I still have those three purses. You can see the drawstring one in the lap of that angelic little darling, who’s now a junior in college!