Category Archives: accessories

MORE FUN! A SISTER PAIR TO THE PUMPS SHOWN YESTERDAY – TRUE VINTAGE POST-WAR BEAUTIES HARDLY EVER OUT OF THE BOX!

TRUE VINTAGE BEAUTIES HARDLY EVER OUT OF THE BOX!

The original price is still visible on the soles, written in grease pencil.  $14.99.  Looks like they may have been tried on and that was it!

Dark coffee brown leather, with pert little bows on a v-shaped vamp – this pair comes from the late Forties to early Fifties.  The Naturalizer brand was a closet staple for well-dressed women.  It was the flagship brand for the Brown shoe company of St. Louis, MO since 1927.

It’s always important to do a background check . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG;  MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

EARLY ’50’S NATURALIZER SHOES IN A TIME CAPSULE! WHAT A FUN, FUN, FUN FIND!!

EARLY '50'S NATURALIZER SHOES IN A TIME CAPSULE! WHAT A FUN, FUN, FUN FIND!!

I absolutely LOVE discovering fashion finds with original documentation – what fabulous clues to many things about them! Original packaging, tags, sales slips – heaven!!  And, fortunately, I’m there many times a year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Here we have pumps about 60 years old (and very well preserved) in their original box and tissue paper with a small card from the Brown Shoe Company telling about their business and the quality of their merchandise.  The price of $14.99 is even hand-written on the box!

Black calf-skin leather mid-heels with crisp grosgrain bows on the vamps – insoles very neat and clean. Notice how many exclamation points I’ve used as I write about this.   So great to have such beautiful, well-cared-for items with all of these original pieces of the puzzle . . . . . . . . . . . . All the long hours, vague directions, dark alley’s, dusty corners and encounters with shady characters are worth it!

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG:  MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

ANOTHER ITALIAN CUTIE – TRUE VINTAGE HANDMADE SUMMER PURSE FROM THE 1960’S

ANOTHER ITALIAN CUTIE - TRUE VINTAGE HANDMADE SUMMER PURSE FROM THE 1960'S

Woven raffia bag with beaded decoration. One old feature that is fun to find once in a while – a snap purse compartment which is a part of the lining. I’ve pulled it up so that you can see it.

This is pure fun and frivolity, in a refined and European way. Perfect with my bright yellow sundress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG:  MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

ANOTHER CACHE OF WONDERFUL MID-CENTURY HANDBAGS – UNUSUAL FINDS

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Although the purse in the top left corner is similar to others that I’ve come up with recently, I’m glad to have it in a less-often-found silver fabric.  The others are worth telling you about one at a time.  Let’s start with the white beaded bag on top:

a very lovely little convertible clutch bag that can go from dressy day to summer evening and also would stand out as part of a bridal ensemble.

Just to the right of it is a fabric coin or lipstick purse made in Italy.  Though it is just a purse accessory, the black satin and art print on front, as well as the filigree hardware make it a special keeper.  Italian-made purses and shoes from the Fifties and Sixties were of the highest quality and design and are to die for.

At the bottom is a pretty little brocade purse that could be an accessory but is meant to stand on its own, when only the barest essentials are necessary.  It’s very tiny, but unsnaps again to allow room for just a little more than the coin purse alone.  Although you probably can’t read it, in the corner to the left of the top snap is embossed in gold script “B. Dainty”.  Sweet!

Finally, the duchess of the lot is a fully-beaded clutch with a zipper top and silk lining.  Of the finest materials and displaying the most hand-done workmanship, it’s probably the oldest.

Although I’ve been happy to discover so many evening bags recently, especially with thoughts of this year’s holiday season beginning to creep into mind, I most love the special pieces like these – makes the day’s adventure really fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG:  MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

TRUE VINTAGE PURSE BONANZA! FANTASTIC LEATHER CLUTCH FIND

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I’ve had really good fortune finding clutch handbags recently and several have been leather.  It’s always fun to find party bags like the one below but most are made of cloth or vinyl – even the old ones – a true vintage leather bag is a real treasure!

The bag on top, however, is my greatest love.  It’s from the Forties or Fifties and is SO elegant.  The style is superbly simple, but the design is unusual.  Picture holding the bag with both hands, with the front facing you as in the photo.  Place your thumbs on the metal tabs at each side and push gently – that releases the clasps to open the bag!  I love the creative closures that are on many of the best vintage handbags.  Some of them locked in place, and it was a puzzle to figure out how to release them the first time.  This bag posed that problem to me for a few seconds.

Both these handbags have smooth, clean linings and pretty pockets inside.  I’ve been fortunate enough to discover accessory items which were really well cared-for by their original owners so have hardly any damage.  Many women used to tuck them away in drawers and closets with tissue-paper wrappings and stuffing, saving and protecting them for the next special occasion – or for the next woman who would love them. . . . . . .

More to come . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG:  MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

A MAGICAL FIND – PRETTY TRUE VINTAGE VEIL ILLUSION HAT

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Couldn’t be simpler, but that’s what makes it so elegant and lovely.  I also like the midnight navy color – a nice switch from black.

Velvet and netting – nothing is more flattering and alluring while adding a touch of mystery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG:  MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

FOUND YESTERDAY – CUTEST EVER 1950’S CLUTCH HANDBAG

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It was just a vinyl bargain bag at the time, but oh-so-sweet novelty for carrying with summer dresses.  This one may have come from the “five and dime”, but some girl loved it and it held up well over the years.  Plain zipper opening on top with a bit of bead chain to hold a key.  I’m off to the carnival!

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

WILD FIND – I LOVE ‘EM! MID-CENTURY “SCHOOLTEACHER” EYEGLASSES

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These are a little bit scary, but I wear them once in a while for fun and the prescription is almost exactly what I need, too!  That’s a real plus, not having to remove or change the lenses.

What a rare find.  Still a cats-eye style, but not as exaggerated or embellished as some were.  I was lucky enough to find, several years ago, a pair of Ray Ban Cats sunglasses also with a prescription that suits.  Ah, the delights of skulking through dark alleys in search of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG:  MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

MORE CLASSIC TRUE VINTAGE HANDBAG FINDS

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Of course, the two bags on the right are elegant essentials forever but I’m really thrilled to find the mid-century souvenir summer purse on the left.  So bright and cheerful!  It’s in perfect condition, was handmade in the Philippines, and is of a shape that I’ve never encountered before in a handbag of this type.

So practical and roomy – styled like a classic handbag rather than a beach bag or tote.  I’ll use this for a long time as an everyday summer purse.

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG:  MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

SOPHISTICATED 1940’S LADIES’ HAT OF SUEDED WOOL FELT

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This hat is made of the most wonderful fabric that feels almost like fine suede leather! It’s so hard, sometimes, to photograph black items – I hope that you can see the two bows under the brim in the first photo.  The hat is almost a beret, but has stitched decoration on top and a kind of souffle’ construction so that it can puff up or lay flat on the head.

I suspect that it would be worn more like the first photo, in order to expose the bows above the hairline.  Tricky to do with any kind of hairdo and probably would require hatpins.  What women used to go through to get the “right” look!

So, maybe it was designed to be worn with a sleek head and hair coiled up underneath or massed beneath at the nape of the neck.  It’s fun to wonder what the milliner who designed this beauty had in mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG:  MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM