Vintage Purses with a History by Leah Loverich

This morning's guest post comes by way of one of those ravishingly lovely ladies for whom the word ethereal was invented. From the moment I first discovered Leah's beguilingly beautiful blog and enchanting vintage fashion sense, I was royally smitten. Leah has a great passion for Victorian, early and mid-twentieth century fashions, accessories, jewelry, shoes, ephemera, photographs and other related treasures and an artist's touch when it comes to display and photographing some of her collection for her splendid blog.

Sweet, dreamy, instantly inspiring site that it is, I've been hooked on her blog since that aforementioned first encounter and was thrilled when Leah kindly took me up on my offer to guest post while we're off on our fabulous Vancouver Island holiday (many sincere thanks for doing so, dear gal).

Today she has put together a terrific guest post that shines the well deserved spot onto two sublimely pretty vintage purses, and some of the fascinating history behind them, from her own personal collection. Whether this is your first introduction to Leah or you're a long standing fan as well, I think you'll agree me that there truly is an ethereal quality that runs though every last thing that she shares, writes and creates.

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Hello lovely followers of Chronically Vintage, my name is Leah and I can most often be found blogging over at leahloverich.blogspot.co.uk or sharing the occasional photo over at instagram.com/leahloverich, however today I am absolutely delighted be posting to this wonderful blog of Jessica's, it is an absolute honour and I do hope you all enjoy what I have to share!

THE HISTORY: A VISIT TO A LONDON THEATRE IN 1935

I like to use my blog as a place to document my vintage and antique collecting, and so I often make posts dedicated to sharing photographs of an item, along with sharing details of what I know about the items past, how I have come to own the item, and how I use it, and today I will be doing just that within this post with two of my favourite little sparkly purses...




 







 


 
 


I purchased the dainty purse above at the very beginning of this year along with a few other beaded purses within a box, this one was the very last one I cared to take a look at after having purchased as it was least favourite, though that soon changed when I discovered the little pieces of history within it; two Theatre tickets for the Lyceum in London on the 27th of December 1935! I think this may be the first time/only time so far that I have come by an item of vintage with a piece of evidence attached which proved exactly when the item was used. It does make me wonder though if that was the last time this sweet little purse was ever used before I became the owner...


THE LUCEUM THEATRE FACTS:


- The Lyceum Theatre is a 2,100-seat West End theatre located in the City of Westminster, London.

- There has been a theatre with this name in the locality since 1765.

- The first London exhibition of waxworks displayed by Madame Tussaud was displayed in the Lyceum.

- After a fire, the house was rebuilt and reopened on 14 July 1834 to a design by Samuel Beazley.

- In 1904 the theatre was almost completely rebuilt and richly ornamented in Rococo style by Bertie Crewe, but it retained Beazley's façade and grand portico.

- It played mostly melodrama over the ensuing decades. The building closed in 1939 and was set to be demolished, but it was saved and converted into a Mecca Ballroom in 1951, styled the Lyceum Ballroom, where many well-known bands played.

- The Lyceum was closed in 1986 but restored to theatrical use in 1996 by Holohan Architects. Since 1999, the theatre has hosted The Lion King.

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THE HISTORY: THE BRIDE'S PURSE ON HER 1930s WEDDING DAY

The above copper sequin purse joined my collection a couple of years ago when I purchased a 1930s wedding dress, at the time I hadn't realized that a glitzy little bag and matching wax flower hair crown was included but it certainly did make a lovely surprise! I love the idea of a 1930s bride adding some copper sparkle to her attire in the form of a purse, and well I just adore the idea of this bag having attended a 1930s wedding in general!

It does have some wear, especially to the handle but I always feel that sort of wear can add charm to a vintage item, it shows that the item has been enjoyed enough to eventually cause wear, it must have indeed been loved. I added some history to this purse too when I took it along on a visit to the Ritz London for Afternoon Tea a little over a year ago ...Now that is something I recommend all vintage loving lovelies (and even those who are not so fond of vintage) to place on their "to visit" list.

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Have you ever found a little pieces of history like a ticket or receipt before in an item of vintage?

Thank you for viewing / reading! xx Leah Loverich

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Clothing and handbags launch in my Etsy shop + a special coupon code discount

When this year kicked off, some eight months ago now (hard to believe, I know!), I wrote a post detailing many of the different things that I planned to do in 2014. Two-thirds of the way through the year, I can very happily and confidentially say that I've made progress on every front, very much including the sixth entry on the list: trying new things and pushing myself outside of my comfort zone.

One of the biggest happened just a few days ago, when I launched my YouTube channel and started sharing videos with all of you there (the feedback for which has been incredibly supportive and I really, sincerely want to thank everyone who has left me a comment or sent me an email about it - you guys have had some fabulous ideas for posts as well, which I also hugely appreciate!), and earlier this year, in May, another major new happening was when when my Etsy vintage shop opened its doors.

Now, nearly three months since that happened, I'm flat out giddy with excitement to share with you that, on top of vintage jewelry, hats, gloves, accessories, compacts, and ephemera, Chronically Vintage is now stocking vintage clothing, stockings, and handbags as well (and shoes will be following very, very soon, too!). Below are four of the garments and four of the handbags that are on the virtual shelves there as we speak!



From top left to bottom right: 1960s ladies plaid cotton blazer | Circa 1960s pink plus size dress with matching scarf | 1940s sheer ivory and gold tie neck blouse | 1950s green wool floral print wiggle dress





From top left to bottom right: Vintage black velvet 1940s/1950s box purse | Vintage black and gold metallic thread brocade purse | 1940s black crochet handbag | 1950s brown marble swirl lucite handbag



There isn't a time in my life, no joke, when I can't remember wanting to sell vintage items, especially clothing and accessories, so I'm over-the-moon elated that fashions have joined the team, so to speak, in the shop as well.

To celebrate this fact, I'm offering all my readers a special coupon code that will save you 15% off everything in my shop for the five days (today until the night of Friday August 8th). There's no minimum order and you apply this coupon code to absolutely anything you purchase from me between today and the 8th.

Use coupon code Fashionlaunch15 at checkout

to save 15% on everything in store!

The vintage fashions and handbags I’m selling have all been sourced from around my province of British Columbia are just some of the many I'll be continuing to list in the coming weeks and from here on out.

One point I want to mention is that I vow stock as wide a range of different sized clothing as possible. If, like most people, you have a waist size bigger the 23 inches, you're in luck, because my shop has, and will always have, a range of different sizes, from XS to plus size and everything in between. We, as the gorgeous ladies we are, come in all manner of shapes and sizes and it's deeply important to me that I provide fashions that as many people as possible can avail of and enjoy wearing.

A quick second point that I'd like to slip into this post, and this applies to everything in my shop, not just clothing, is that I offer super low combined shipping on order where two or more items are purchased at the same time. I can't do anything about the base postal rate, I'm afraid, as that's what Canada Post charges (I don't make a profit on my shipping at all), but I can offer you super low rates on each additional item you add to your order from me to give you the most bang for your shipping dollar buck.

Happy shopping and thank you, everyone, as always for sharing in all of the exciting beginnings I've been experiencing this year - very much including the launch of clothing and handbags in my Etsy shop. Here's to plenty more super cool firsts still to come in 2014 and beyond!

Wearing a dress that has been in my family for no less than seven decades

Outfit details

Circa 1940s wide brimmed black hat with netting: etsy seller Vintage Toledo
Silver tone metal and glass stone drop earrings: Claire's
Circa 1950s/60s black Persian lamb's wool style coat: Yard sale find (blogged about here)
1930s/early 40s pink crepe dress with rhinestone detailing: Amazing gift from my cousin Sylvia
Circa 1940s brown gloves: Jardin Antiques in Okanagan Falls
1950s/60s black handbag with floral needlework: etsy seller St. Augustine Vintage
Black seamed stockings: eBay
T-strap suede peep-toe heels: Nine West
Lip colour: MAC Diva



Photography by Antonio Cangiano

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This is a post with a past, or more precisely which came to be because of lives lived long before I came into existence. As vintage fashion lovers we wear the world's yesterdays, and for many of us, most, if not all of our vintage garments and accessories landed in our wardrobe by way of strangers - sellers and original clothing owners alike. Once in a while however, if we are exceedingly lucky, we may be blessed to receive the gift of a vintage item that one belonged to someone in our very own family.

While neither of my grandmas held onto their clothes from the mid-twentieth century, far away in a corner of the country I long desperately to visit myself (as I touched on recently here), tucked away lovingly, and completely unbeknownst to me until very recently, in an attic belonging to one of my first cousins once removed, Sylvia Burkhard, lay an assortment of vintage garments that had been in our family for decades.

Though I've never had the pleasure of meeting Sylvia in person, I know her and some of her siblings through my genealogy research and via Facebook, and when she found out that I lived for the past, she gathered up some of those pieces of vintage clothing, most of which I'd venture to guess hadn't been worn in many a year, and so incredibly sweetly sent them my way this year.

She let me know that it was okay to pass along those things which weren't to my taste or didn't fit, and that I did as gifts, to some of my very dearest fellow vintage adoring fans the world over. When the items that weren't my size or style had found new homes, I was left with a selection of several of the most wonderfully lovely late 1930s to early 1960s garments one could ever dream of receiving out of the blue from a relative.

Most of the items are dresses, of which the beautiful coral meets carnation pink late 1930s/early 40s frock pictured today is one of my very favourites. This dress is unlike any other presently in my closet, in terms of style, and I love it all the more because of that. I don't know which of my family members would have owned and sported it back in the day, but whomever she was, she had excellent taste.

Sylvia's parcel is the first and only time to date that I've ever received vintage clothing that belonged to a family member of mine (my maternal grandma once presented me a lovely little c. 1950s/60s opal pendant necklace of hers that I treasure to no end, but that was the only other vintage piece belonging to a relative that I'd been given). Even now, a few months after that package arrived (and brought me to tears of joy and gratitude as I opened it), I'm still in a bit of shock to be have been given the honour of preserving, and wearing, these wonderful yesteryear garments that once shared some of those aforementioned yesterdays with my very own relatives.

A dress like this is something of the star of the show unto itself, but that doesn't mean it need go accessory, or coat, less in the least. Instead of much in the way of jewelry, I partnered this elegant frock with an equally lovely 1950s/60s floral needlework handbag, which I was very kindly sent from awesome etsy seller Kara Pound's shop, St. Augustine Vintage.

I am smitten with this bag. It's larger than many vintage handbags, sturdily crafted, captivatingly pretty, and more than roomy enough to hold all of the modern day accoutrements most of us are keen to tote around with us when we're out and about. I really appreciate that Kara bestowed this gorgeous handbag on me, and am delighted to let you know that we'll soon be holding a giveaway for her etsy shop, so that can have the chance to add a treasure from St. Augustine Vintage to your old school wardrobe.

Did you know, that while I've worn suit jackets and blazers here over the years, this is the very first time I've sported a coat, let alone a winter weight one, here on the blog? It's true, and I rather love that for the premier of such an event, I sported none other than the awesome Persian lamb's wool-esque, fur trimmed coat that I purchased for a killer price from a local second hand clothing dealer last summer (which I chatted about in this post). Realistically, I think that this coat is from the early 60s, though there are elements to it that feel older, and when you view it from a bit of distance, I'd even go so far as to say it has a certain charming Edwardian vibe, though of course, I know it's no where near that aged.

It's warm, cozy, stylish, and fits me terrifically, and as such has quickly become my most frequently reached for coat this year, now that the temps are dipping below freezing again and heavy duty outerwear is a must again most days.

So where does one take a fabulous 70+ year old dress, a beautiful mid-century handbag, and a snazzy vintage winter coat? That's a darn good question, and one that Tony and I pondered for a while before settling on a location, which we both felt should have a lot of history to it.

Unfortunately, a massive number of historical/vintage related sites or buildings around our corner of the Okanagan, let alone ones we haven't shoot at before, so scouting a suitable location became quite the interesting hunt that particular afternoon.

After much deliberation, we decided it was high time we paid a visit to one of the oldest spots in all of the Okanagan: the Father Pandosy Mission in the nearby city of Kelowna. Named after the first missionary to set establish a community in the area, Father Charles John Felix Adolph Pandosy, the Mission traces its roots all the way back to 1859.

Today the Mission, which is jointly administered by the Okanagan Historical Society and the Catholic Church, is comprised of historical buildings from around the Okanagan, including some that were part of the Father's original Mission, which, since the 1960s onward, have been lovingly and expertly preserved and transformed into a small self-guided historical park. In 1983, the Mission was designated as a British Columbia Heritage Site, and can be visited year round, for a small fee ($2.00 per person; with higher fees if you wish to use the site for an event or professional photo shoot - hobbyists and those taking snaps for their own enjoyment, need only pay two dollars).

Almost unbelievably, given my unending zeal for the past, I'd never visited the Pandosy Mission before, though I certainly knew of its existence. On the day we were there, we had the entire place to ourselves, save for an adorable flock of quail who were zipping around in group formation as we took photos. We shot in two spots in particular (a historical home called the Christien House and the small two story chapel), but enjoyed taking a look around each of the handful of different buildings (including a blacksmith's shop and root house) that make up this fascinating location.

There was a quiet, peaceful solemnness to the location, and I greatly enjoyed getting a chance to visit it at long last. It seemed incredibly fitting to partner an outfit so rich in history, made up of pieces from my own family members, acquaintances, and strangers alike, with the precise corner of the Okanagan Valley that would go on to spur early European settlers to establish communities here more than 150 years ago.

This historical site, much like vintage fashion itself, just goes to prove that there is always the possibility of discovering, or being given, a new piece of the past to explore or call your own waiting for you right around the next corner.

The vintage outfit that friendship built

Outfit details

Navy blue 1940s feather adorned felt hat: Gift from Tony ♥

Pearl stud earrings: Claire's

Pearl necklace: Birthday gift from Tony ♥

1950s swirling dot pattern dress: Gift from a dear vintage friend

Navy blue knit shrug: Sears

White and gold coloured leaf wreath vintage brooch: eBay

White vintage gloves: Gift from a dear vintage friends

Navy blue vintage purse: Thrifted
Faux pearl stretch bracelets: Real Canadian Superstore
Nude on nude seemed stockings: eBay
Navy blue d'orsay peep-toe heels: Gift from a dear vintage friend
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red

Photography by Antonio Cangiano

 























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Over the past few months in particular I have been the recipient of a rather tremendous amount of thoughtful kindness and generosity, so much so that it has routinely moved me to tears (happy ones, of course) and made my heart feel filled to the bursting point with gratitude and sense of just how blessed I am to have so many incredibly lovely people in my life.

It wasn't until I was sorting through the photos from the shoot pictured here today that it struck me that not one, not two, but three of the key elements of this vintage ensemble came from three different, completely dear friends, all of whom I'm met online through my blog. I didn't intentionally create my look with this fact in mind, it happened organically and perfectly illustrates just how amazingly sweet and thoughtful each of these people are.

The dress, gloves and shoes were each "just because" gifts, all of which I'm still floored by, and love dearly. This is the first vintage dress I've ever received from a friend, and it fits me so well you'd think it had been tailor made for my measurements. The gloves have become my go-to white pair and are worn so often, I now keep them in one of my bangle boxes on my dresser, instead of with the rest of my glove collection.

These timelessly elegant d'orsay peep-toe heels (which, while not vintage, look the part to a tee) fill a big gap in my shoe wardrobe - a navy blue pair, which is something I'd been trying to find for ages now (almost amazingly, these beauties fit my hard-to-fit feet perfectly, which is not a common occurrence at all, let me tell you!). I had no idea they were coming my way, as a the wonderful sender shipped me a box full of surprise items from her closet that she thought I might like, and these classy heels were amongst those stellar presents.

I'm not the sort of person who forgets thoughtfulness or generosity. If I live to be a hundred years old, I will always remember and hold dear not only these three gifts, but each of the many others not pictured here that I've received lately (and throughout my life) from some truly awesome people located all over the world. The mere words "thank you" almost seem to fail to adequately express just how much I appreciate the kindness that's been bestowed on me "just because", and want each of these precious friends to know how much I treasure and am grateful them.

To round out this outfit (which was sported a few days before I went in for my recent surgery), I added my trusty navy blue knit shrug (a Sears buy years ago that has been more than worth its weight in gold to me ever since), a great 1940s feathered hat (last seen in this outfit last fall) which was also a gift, this time hailing from my darling Tony; a thrifted vintage purse, and a charming white and gold hued leave wreath brooch (as well as my go-to pearl earrings, bracelets, and necklace, the latter being another gift - a few birthdays ago - from Tony).

We shot these snaps down at a stretch of beach on Okanagan Lake here in Penticton that's located just a few hundred feet to the left of where these outfit photos were taken on a considerably colder day last winter. Warmer though it certainly was that day, we’re still a little ways away from summer and the crowds of tourists and locals alike that will swamp the beach once more as soon as the water becomes even remotely toasty enough to stick your toes into (making spring the perfect time to take photos there without throngs of swimmers and sunbathers in background).

I adore all of the garments and accessories in my closet (they wouldn't be there if I didn't), but I reserve a special place in my heart for those that I received as gifts, and by extension the outfits - like this one - that I create with them.

Thank you again, my dear friends, for your incredible presents and for making a gal feel so gosh darned loved - this truly is the vintage outfit that friendship built.