Three Of The Most Popular Vintage Bag Styles

 

Group of 6 bags

Vintage bags were far more about style than practicality.  Nowadays we tend to haul huge sacks about to transport our phone, tablets, makeup bags, hand sanitizer, anti-bac wipes, glasses case, a bunch of keys, water bottle etc.  Sometimes it's nice to ditch that stuff for a day and travel light.  The following three styles of vintage bag are the most popular with Revival vintage customers.   

Buying a vintage handbag means not only will you get better value for money compared to buying something brand new, but your bag will be a real talking point too and in line with current thinking to limit our fast fashion purchases.

1 The Vintage Clutch Bag

Vintage Clutch Bags

A clutch bag will add style and sophistication to any outfit, whether you’re having dinner with friends, heading out to the theatre or off to a wedding. Buying vintage over a modern high street brand makes it near enough impossible to bump into someone with the same choice. Like everything else, materials and designs have altered over the years. In the 1940s ladies favoured floppy over-sized crochet and cordé varieties like the one pictured below. In the 1950s they were long and slender for daytime or small and beaded with metal snake chain handles on little hinges to allow them to be swung inside when a clutch bag was preferred. In the 1960s and 1970s these were replaced with squashy vinyl ones in all colours to coordinate with your outfit. They had hard celluloid look plastic frames. In the 1980s envelope styles were all the rage in brights and pastels alike.

2 The Vintage Frame Bag

Luggage makers developed the first leather handbags for women in the 1800s to travel with their essentials closer to hand. A good, everyday handbag is a wardrobe staple we all need, but that doesn’t mean it should be boring. The classic frame bag has been around for decades and still looks fabulous. They are our number one selling bag on our website. We have fabulous original frame bags plus a range of vintage-inspired ones available in a wide range of colours. The one thing they have in common is that they have a metal frame across the top that extends halfway down the sides to form the hinge that allows the bag to open wider when opened. They have a catch at the top usually a push back catch or kissing catch. There are others but I would say they are the most common two.

They have one or a pair of grab handles at the top. In the 1930s and 40s, animal skins were very popular to indicate wealth and travel. As the decades rolled by faux leathers and other materials have been introduced along the way.

 

Vintage Frame Bags
Several people come to mind when I think of frame bags, who do you think of - the Queen, Margaret Thatcher? Someone more glamorous like Audrey Hepburn? They are often called Kelly bags on the vintage scene but that isn't entirely accurate. The vintage handbag that Grace Kelly popularised was slightly different. It had a fold-over top and decorative front strap.  It is still a popular style today: a Hermes trademark bag.

The Vintage Vanity Case

Sometimes you just can’t fit everything into your regular handbag, and that’s when a vintage weekend or vanity case comes in. As well as being practical they make a huge fashion statement when worn with or without vintage clothing. They are also fabulous looking props to dress your bedroom at home. Some still have little containers to decant your favourite products. In the 1950s and 1960s, girls carried their dancing shoes in their own case. We have had a couple of teardrop-shaped ones with wrist handles on the top.

 Vintage Vanity Cases

 

You can see the full range of Revival Vintage bags at revivalvintage.co.uk.

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