Expensive Purses and Their Care and Feeding

I have a thing about purses or handbags.  Well, I'm cheap about them, actually.  I have never purchased a Coach bag at retail, or would I.  Unless it was from the Amazing Goodwill!

I like nice bags.  I like my purses to be nice looking as well as functional.  I just figure a bag from K-Mart carries your stuff as well as a bag from some fancy designer, and at a fraction of the prices.

I've made several versions of a purse called the BFF Bag.  I thought it was a Lazy Girl but I just checked their web site and if it is, it's no longer in print.  Or maybe I have the wrong designer.  It happens.

My cousins love handbags too.  They purchase a lot of Vera Bradley bags.  They go to the factory a couple of times a year for the sales and get all the pretty designs and colors.  I actually got a very nice brown and white patterned bag for my birthday one year from my favorite aunt!

Last fall I found a rack of VB bags at my local resale store... non-Goodwill variety.  I picked up a nice bag for $14.99.  Which is NO WHERE NEAR what they retail for, just in case you were wondering.

I am cheap about handbags remember.

The ladies checked on line and it was an old pattern for Vera, like 10 years old.  It must have been in someone's closet and got donated recently during a clean out or something.

I carried it most of the winter.  It was starting to show some wear on the handles.

The body of the bag itself was fine, but the straps were rubbed off.  And inside the straps was some sort of foam.  When I make a bag I usually line the straps with interfacing, whether it's the special stuff that's cut to size and slotted for folding, or just some regular interfacing.  I've never seen foam except in this bag.



I bought some webbing for new straps.



And some D rings.



Then I cut off the offending straps, sewed the D ring to the body of the bag, and added the new straps.





Clips held the straps so I could sew them to the D Rings.




After I replaced the straps there still were places where the bag was looking a bit worn, and I didn't like the look of that light colored foam peaking out from where I cut off the straps.  I zigzagged over the ends of the parts attached to the bag, but the yellow still showed.

 

Well, I guess that's why Sharpie Markers were invented!  I just colored over the light spots with a permanent black marker.  Voila!!

 

Here's the bag, all done, in all it's splendor, on my not very splendiferous desk.

 

 

 

I think Vera has a few more useful years in her life, don't you?

 

Sew on...