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Lady Violette

The Romantic Lifestyle

Archive for the ‘Handbags’ Category

How to Recognize Alligator Skin

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2019

In the past owning a real alligator purse and/ or a pair of alligator shoes was something elegant women aspired to. Lately, vintage aficionados have been seeking them out again. I have been a connoisseur of the real deal for a very long time and have managed to acquire a few choice specimens. Therefore, I become passionately enraged when I see reptile skins incorrectly identified. For this reason I have decided to show some examples of real reptile skins and correctly identify them for people who are interested in the real thing so that they can learn what it should look like. If you are looking for an alligator purse or a snakeskin handbag or a pair of real alligator shoes be sure you know what it should look like because one of the places I have seen a profusion of misidentifications is on vintage sellers websites! Yes, people who claim to know what they are selling frequently misidentify different types of reptile skins – calling lizard and python alligator for example.
It is not really difficult to tell the difference once you have seen a few good examples and it is fun to impress people with your knowledge! Plus, it is important to know what is what if you are trying to acquire the real thing. I think the best way to learn identify alligator is to look at a few examples of the real thing. Lets get started with:

A GALLERY OF ALLIGATOR PURSES AND SHOES!

Three Real Vintage Alligator Purses From The Lady Violette Vintage Handbag Collection

Three Real Vintage Alligator Purses From The Lady Violette Vintage Handbag Collection

Beautiful Petite Black Alligator Bag from Bellestone circa 1960

Beautiful Petite Black Alligator Bag from Bellestone circa 1960

The backside of the little Black Bellestone Bag: note that the size of the scales differs on each side of the purse. Is t is not uniform. This is an indication that this is a real skin.

The backside of the little Black Bellestone Bag: note that the size of the scales differs on each side of the purse. It is is not uniform. This is an indication that this is a real alligator skin.

A label such as this one is a great help in identifying what type of skin this is! Many vintage items are labeled inside because saying they really were alligator helped the seller get a higher price for then. Alligator was a real a

A label such as this one is a great help in identifying what type of skin this is! Many vintage items are labeled inside because saying they really were alligator helped the seller get a higher price.

These are labeled Genuine Alligator!

These gorgeous Butterscotch shoes from the 1940s are fortunately  labeled Genuine Alligator!

Green alligator shoes made in Italy in the 1980s. Again note how the scales change sizes -

Green alligator shoes made in Italy in the 1980s. Again note how the scales change sizes – a sure indication that the skin is real, not calf leather embossed with an alligator looking faux scale!

A beautiful pair of classic alligator pumps from the 1950s

A beautiful pair of classic brown alligator pumps from the 1950s – these were the ultimate status symbol shoes to own and could be worn with everything – this pair was made by Foot Flairs.

The Ultimate score! A pair of Alligator Springolators by Herbert Levine

The Ultimate score! A pair of brown Alligator Springolators by Beth & Herbert Levine – 1951

The ultimate 50's Bag was a Bellini to go with your alligator pumps and springolators

The ultimate 50’s Bag was a Bellestone to wear with your alligator pumps and springolators! You could get your alligator shoes at Henry Bendel’s Shoe Salon for about $1500 and then head over to the Bellestone showroom  and find a co-ordinating real skin handbag for $3.000 to wear with them. These bags and shoes were so expensive that women wanted to show them off all the time – thus they could appropriately be used all seasons and worn with everything else in your wardrobe.

This is the Bellestone label which is always stamped discreetly inside the bag on the lining!

This is the Bellestone label which is always stamped discreetly inside the bag on the lining! This company used only real skins for their creations. If they said it was alligator it was. Familiarizing yourself with the names of the designers and manufacturers who made the status goods will help you locate the real thing.

 

 

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Vintage Bags, with Vintage Liberty of London scarves for Fall 2019

Saturday, August 31st, 2019

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After viewing the Liberty of London Foulard Handbag Collection I had to pull out a couple of my own vintage handbags and tie them up with my vintage Liberty of London Scarves. The black frame bag is a vintage snakeskin purse from London made in the 1950’s. I can’t tell you the maker’s name as it has worn off, but it is a darling little lady-like purse. The green clutch is a vintage Brahmin leather bag embossed with a faux alligator skin print. The Liberty scarves are silk and quite old. The black edged one on the black frame purse shows the Liberty of London logo.

I used a scarf clip to help me attach the scarf to the green clutch. I got the idea for doing a scarf on the front flap of a clutch from the Liberty of London Stevie Clutch which has a built on ring on which you attach your scarf. It is a cute idea! Almost every handbag you own should be able to be decorated with a scarf. I can’t tell you exactly how to attach each one, because each bag is different, but I can give you hints. I attach the scarf initially where the strap is attached to the purse on the inside of the flap where it won’t show when the purse is closed. I then pull the scarf out to the front and access how I might be able to wrap or tie the particular purse I am working with. In this case I decided to utilize a scarf clip to add a touch of golden hardware to the front of the purse and to bunch the scarf up and hold it tightly together on the front surface. I moved that around, experimenting, until I found a position I liked. I then brought the ends back to the underside of the clutch flap and figured out a way to tuck tie them up and tuck them in to conceal the extra fabric. I can open and close the purse to get things in and out easily without disturbing the way it is wrapped. You do want to be sure you can use your purse normally once it is scarfed. It could be very inconvenient if you managed to tie your bag shut and you had trouble getting into it in a hurry!

The black frame bag is a simple design that is easy to scarf. I simply looped the scarf over and through the loop on one side, then adjusted the tails of the scarf to make them look pretty.
I love to utilize my scarves. The colors and textures make me happy! And I get a lot of compliments on how pretty my bags look when I have added scarves to them.

People, even Liberty of London, have asked me where I find my vintage scarves! I can’t really send you to any particular place. I have found them at charity shops, thrift shops, estate sales, consignment shops and rummage sales. I have seen them for sale in online vintage shops on Etsy and eBay so you could try there. It is really just a matter of keeping your eyes open so you see one if you are in the right place at the right time. The same advice applies to finding interesting vintage handbags…

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A Lovely Update on Scarves and Scarves on Bags! The Foulard collection from Liberty of London

Friday, August 30th, 2019

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I’ve been advocating personalizing, decorating  and updating your handbags with scarves  for years so I was delighted to receive a tweet from Liberty of London on their new Foulard Collection of Handbags. They have put out four new styles of handbags designed to be decorated with a scarf. A Liberty of London scarf, of course! The bags are simple sleek designs with rings attached that make it easy to add on a scarf. Check it out and then take a look at the foulard scarf tying guide which gives instructions on how they tied their scarves onto their bags.

I have written several previous posts explaining how to decorate your vintage handbags with scarves which I will link below if you care to reference them for ideas and how-tos along similar lines. Here are some of the ways I do it!

Here for reptile bags.

Here for spring and summer bags.

And here is one on my personal collection of Liberty of London vintage scarves.  I think fall 2019 is coming and it is time for me to get these out and use them to redecorate a few of my precious vintage handbags with my own favorite Liberty scarves!

I think, if I am clever, I can be at the height of this fall’s fashion using precious things from my own collection. Liberty of London scarves are total forever classics! I’m freshly inspired now to get them out and use them this way for fall.

Thank You Liberty of London! For these stimulating ideas for upcoming 2019 fall fashion! I will post pictures of my own Liberty Scarves on bags 2019 as inspired by their new collection over the next few days.

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