Lady Violette

Lady Violette's Darling Golden Picnic Basket Basket Purse Topped With Pink Silk Roses Lined in Yellow Satin!

Spring is hopefully going to come! So I’m getting ready! I”ve been sorting out my purses making the change from winter to spring/summer appropriate bags.

I’ve emptied out my entire closet and the bags are all spread out. I’ve quite a witty assortment! And I’ve never really looked at them all at once before. A friend told me there is a blog site called The Purse Forum and I should register. It’s a place where handbag enthusiasts can show off their bags and share their collections with other purse fanatics. So I went over there to take a look. It is interesting but there is no section for my type of vintage purses! They focus on designer name brands rather than artsy interesting and unusual pieces such as the ones I collect and sometimes make myself. I do have some of those, but I do not decide to collect a bag just because it is produced by a certain design house. I choose to acquire and use bags that I like. Period! Often they are from unknown artists or obscure origins and I like that.

I did register on The Purse Forum and will return to check it out further, but it focuses on a different area of bag collecting than I do. So, I have decided to photograph and post some of my personal favorites from my own collection on my own blog so that people who like these sorts of bags can see them. The great thing about some of these is that they are gorgeous and they are affordable. Sometimes you can even make one yourself. The purses I show will give you lots of good ideas for collecting or embellishing or making unique artistic bags. You will see that it is not necessary to spend a fortune to acquire a great collection of fun bags.

This one is a little straw and wood picnic basket purse probably made in the 1960’s. It was natural colored straw and plywood when I acquired it for $2.98 at a thrift store. I carefully removed the gold faux leather buckle tab and the plastic tube handles which are screwed on. Then I spray painted the bag gold! The inside was rough and not very attractive, so I made a simple drawstring bag out of some left over yellow satin lining fabric and a yellow ribbon and put it inside the basket as an interior lining. I reattached the handles and buckle tab and, as a finishing touch, glued four pink silk roses with buds and green leaves on the lid! I already had the artificial roses. That’s all there is to it! And the total cost was less than $15. Basket purses such as I used are easy to find at Japanese dime stores and often show up at thrift shops. I think it is one of the cutest bags ever! I love the fact that it is easy to make yourself! It’s absolutely perfect for spring and summer! And I get lots of compliments whenever I carry it!