Vintage Metal Basket Purses with Some Lucite Thrown In Too...

One of the original bling purses...shiny and eye catching...the vintage metal basket purse.  Popular during the same time period as my beloved lucite lovelies, these purses were crafted out of woven metal strips and often had lucite or plastic details.  Dorset Rex was the best known producer of this type of bag, but Majestic and Tyrolean also produced boxy purses using metal detail with plastic.

These purses tend to age better than the all lucite bags in that the metal holds up better.  Lucite and Bakelite can become brittle, chipping and cracking easily. For this reason, I do not use my lucite purses very often.  The metal purses are much easier to throw a wallet, cell, and sunglasses into without worrying about damage.  They also tend to be lighter weight than solid lucite.

A great book for pictures is:

Plastic Handbags  
Sculpture to Wear                                       
                      by Kate E. Dooner

It's an older book, first published in 1992, but the pictures of all lucite and lucite/metal purses are incredible...definite eye candy for purse fiends.  It's also a great resource for a purse collector because it lists the major manufacturers from the late 40's through the 50's, gives you a chapter on each, and gives you a sense of each company's style.  I often have a good idea of who made one of these vintage purses just by looking at it because most companies did have a unique style.

These purses also tend to be less expensive than their lucite counterparts and ship better if you're buying off the internet....two great reasons to start collecting these beautiful purses.