I love  Mulberry’s shoe boutique featured in instyle this week. The Spring/Summer show had a fabulous balloon filled  backdrop inspired by fairgrounds featuring this seasons shoes and handbags.  As usual filled with celebrities endorsing their products. This season we can snap up the Alexa bag (named for one Ms Alexa Chung, of course). As my lip curled at the thought of being  told to be inspired by yet another celebrity, I have to remember I still yearn for my old favourite the Kelly bag.  If  I go out with a beautiful vintage bag the comments I get  tend to be more along the lines of ,” wow,  how gorgeous and interesting” (sadly the bag not me) rather than “God you must be minted, you can buy dinner.”

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The Mad Men series on AMC has brought about a fashion craze returning the HOT look of the 60’s to today’s fashions. I think we reflect this with our hot new 60’s bags.

Writers tell you there are only three stories in the world:
well, as a buyer of vintage fashion, I can assure you that is simply not true. Every bag I have bought comes with a tale to tell. Some I can only surmise- the 80’s clutch would have enjoyed an evening being danced around to the tunes of the likes of Wham and A Ha; the beautiful tango purses from the 1920’s would have witnessed the flamboyant parties of the time; the 1940’s bags holding the letters from their owners’ loved ones fighting in the war.
I was introduced to a lady of Kensington recently. She was a sprightly, bright-eyed woman in her 80’s. We took tea with madeira cake (I had 3 slices) in her kitchen and she regaled me with stories of her holidays on the cruise liners in the 1950’s.
Every evening there was a party and one could never wear the same dress twice. She had kept every dress, every accessory, all of which was stored in a cupboard in the spare room. It was all in immaculate condition. One could only marvel at the workmanship of the ball gowns, every bead sewn on by hand and the detail and delicacy in the design of the bags were second to none. One of the bags I bought from her is an Asprey bag from the 1940’s . An exquisite patent leather bag, it was her mothers. She never had children, so had no one to hand it down to. It is up on the website waiting for a new owner to take it to a party and be glamorous again.

Well , we only have one more week of our summer sale, so hurry up!

I am going to be very honest now. The outside of my bag does not really reflect the true me. Pristine ,sleek and stylish- the persona I would like to show to the world. Inside is however a very different matter. I think chaos is the word that best describes it. I am always rather amazed by what is actually inside my bag. Well, life should always be full of surprises don’t you think?