2023 Resolution: Shopping my Own Bags and SLG Collection

[Vintage Leather]

A long standing tradition in this thread is to remind ourselves of how wonderful our own collections are by showcasing them. We can see how far we have come, collection wise, and we reminded that we have all (or most of) what we need making it easier to shop our own closets.



• New theme weeks start each Sunday

• Don’t jump ahead but, if you miss a week, please do show your bags “late”.

• Show bags individually or in a group

• You do NOT have to wear the bags that week

• For added fun, show old pictures from previous years to demonstrate how you have curated it over time.

• This is completely voluntary. There is no pressure to post at any time.





So what are the showcases? In the Fall, we group our bags by makers! Feel free to show bags, small leather goods, or however it is easiest to organize!

August 13 - Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta

August 20 - Burberry, Celine

August 27 - Coach, Chanel

September 3 - Chloe, Dior

September 10 - Dooney & Bourke, Fendi

September 17 - Ferragamo, Givenchy

September 24 - Goyard, Gucci

October 1 - Hermes, Kate Spade

October 8 - Loewe, Longchamp

October 15 - Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs

October 22 - Michael Kors, Miu Miu

October 29 - Mulberry, Prada

November 5 - Proenza Schouler, Rebecca Minkoff

November 12 - Saint Laurent, Tods

November 19 - Tory Burch, Valentino

November 26 - Bags by Jewelers: Bulgari, Cartier, Tiffany Co, Van Cleef & Arpels. Alternatively, the pillboxes, compacts and other lovelies made by jewelers that fit in your bag.

December 3 - independent artisans and custom bags.

 

[papertiger]

Sharing my pink and blue bags late but at least as of tomorrow I’ll be caught up and ready to show green.

My pinks. I could probably have an entire closet full of pale pink bags, if I had PowerBall money.
View attachment 5738065

And blue - going to count my Coach Marlie as blue instead of green. It’s teal, or more truthfully ocean blue so it fits. Blue is not a handbag color I gravitate towards.
View attachment 5738066

You have the most elegant, grown-up pink bags I think I've ever seen

 

[papertiger]

In green week I almost bought the second only yellow bag I've ever bought. It's a Saint Laurent Nano eelskin SdJ. It's put on reserve whilst I think about it. I may solve some day to eve event problems. One of the drawbacks is it still needs zipped pouch because it doesn't fully close unless hand-help. I'll post a pic tomorrow.

 

[Jereni]

FYI - they’re all Coach.
Do you mean the domed one on top or the dark green one on the bottom? The domed one is the Katy in Marine, a pretty green-blue.
The bottom left is the Willow shoulder bag in forest green.

LOLZ good point on them all being Coach. My eyes locked hard onto the Willow apparently!!!

Thank you.

 

[Jereni]

You have the most elegant, grown-up pink bags I think I've ever seen

Aw that’s nice of you, thank you!

 

[Vintage Leather]

My beloved mother just gave me an additional three jewelry boxes.

Now, don’t get mw wrong. I am grateful. I am deeply appreciative that we were able to share this moment, looking through the pieces and talking about them. I do love my mother, even when tensions are high between us. And I do love jewelry.

It’s just an embarrassment of riches

A lot of the pieces are pendants on a chain, which is a necklace style that I am oversaturated on. I’m thinking of converting some of the necklaces into other pieces - brooches, a ring or a Pearl clasp. I also thought about making a tin-cup Pearl necklace with random icons - Chanel inspired but with precious stones.

Am I crazy? I want it to be wearable but recognizable. Has anyone done jewelry remodeling like this? Any advice?

I won’t actually be doing anything for a while, but I’m trying to figure out storage and what to keep, ect.

 

[880]

Has anyone done jewelry remodeling like this? Any advice

I have taken pieces to my jeweler to rework and remodel.. . Thinking I will like them better after the work is done. Usually I don’t. And, I end up giving the piece to my cousins or their children

I’m speaking of pendants, which is a category I do not particularly like, but I’ve also attempted to remodel other things.

ETA: I find remodeling works best when I genuinely adore the item, and it needs some modification to make it work

 

[Bag peace]

I’m thinking of converting some of the necklaces into other pieces - brooches, a ring or a Pearl clasp. I also thought about making a tin-cup Pearl necklace with random icons - Chanel inspired but with precious stones.

Am I crazy? I want it to be wearable but recognizable. Has anyone done jewelry remodeling like this? Any advice?

Not crazy to want to make things more functional! These are all great ideas. I think that Chanel-inspired you're describing could be an excellent take on the style (you could also go goth if you wanted, and use oxidized silver/ rhodium for the precious stones and chain).

I have done this. I had jewellery passed down from my gran that just wasn't my style at all (my mum also never used it because it wasn't 'her' either), so I asked a jeweller to rework the pendants into brooches for me. I'm happier with the brooches than the originals, but they don't get much use (only because my lifestyle flipped and I had no occasion). I fully intend to wear and enjoy when the opportunity presents itself.

I've also done it with silver jewellery and semi-precious stones, that is cheaper but sentimental. That stuff was all DIY; turned pendants into keychains, more often than not.
Once I combined a bunch of bracelets to make various necklaces. It was cute, in a white tee and jeans, casual sort of way. At least I used it all a lot more.
I have considered turning one of my mother's thin bracelets I don't love into a watch strap or having it soldered to a watch that matches, but I never had the money to follow through on that idea.

It's a bit of a gamble as per @880's post above, sometimes all that reworking does is confirm that the piece isn't for you. Other times, you can totally fall in love with the new piece. I think the most important question is do you like the pieces as they are. Are these stones you're fond of normally? If not, then no amount of reimagining will make them work. If you do, then an artistic jeweler can blow you away with creative ideas.

On a similar note, we're stuck with 3 tiny gold 'clothes pegs' that were gifted to mum decades ago. They're solid gold, 1 cm long, and they are functional pegs with springs. They are meant to be clipped on to your lapel or shawl, I suppose. They're absolutely gorgeous and totally unique, but we're terrified of using them because they can just slip off, or someone can swiftly remove them. There's no way to keep them secure. Can't think how to rework them into something better, so if anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears.

This is the closest I can find to ours. They don't have any holes or rings to pass a chain through. They're just pegs you squeeze to open and pop on.

This item is unavailable - Etsy

Find the perfect handmade gift, vintage & on-trend clothes, unique jewelry, and more… lots more.

www.etsy.com

 

[Vintage Leather]

I have taken pieces to my jeweler to rework and remodel.. . Thinking I will like them better after the work is done. Usually I don’t. And, I end up giving the piece to my cousins or their children

I’m speaking of pendants, which is a category I do not particularly like, but I’ve also attempted to remodel other things.

ETA: I find remodeling works best when I genuinely adore the item, and it needs some modification to make it work

Thank you. I love the idea of passing along pieces to a family member, but my family is small for being large. I have cousins and aunts, but few I’ve seen in the last decade. At this point, I have one aunt, and the Knight - and that’s the end of the line.

VintageMama has expressed some strong opinions about her jewelry going to Some Girlfriend of the Knight’s. So while I will be transferring more pieces to him once my mother passes on, not yet.

Not crazy to want to make things more functional! These are all great ideas. I think that Chanel-inspired you're describing could be an excellent take on the style (you could also go goth if you wanted, and use oxidized silver/ rhodium for the precious stones and chain).

I have done this. I had jewellery passed down from my gran that just wasn't my style at all (my mum also never used it because it wasn't 'her' either), so I asked a jeweller to rework the pendants into brooches for me. I'm happier with the brooches than the originals, but they don't get much use (only because my lifestyle flipped and I had no occasion). I fully intend to wear and enjoy when the opportunity presents itself.

I've also done it with silver jewellery and semi-precious stones, that is cheaper but sentimental. That stuff was all DIY; turned pendants into keychains, more often than not.
Once I combined a bunch of bracelets to make various necklaces. It was cute, in a white tee and jeans, casual sort of way. At least I used it all a lot more.
I have considered turning one of my mother's thin bracelets I don't love into a watch strap or having it soldered to a watch that matches, but I never had the money to follow through on that idea.

It's a bit of a gamble as per @880's post above, sometimes all that reworking does is confirm that the piece isn't for you. Other times, you can totally fall in love with the new piece. I think the most important question is do you like the pieces as they are. Are these stones you're fond of normally? If not, then no amount of reimagining will make them work. If you do, then an artistic jeweler can blow you away with creative ideas.

On a similar note, we're stuck with 3 tiny gold 'clothes pegs' that were gifted to mum decades ago. They're solid gold, 1 cm long, and they are functional pegs with springs. They are meant to be clipped on to your lapel or shawl, I suppose. They're absolutely gorgeous and totally unique, but we're terrified of using them because they can just slip off, or someone can swiftly remove them. There's no way to keep them secure. Can't think how to rework them into something better, so if anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears.

This is the closest I can find to ours. They don't have any holes or rings to pass a chain through. They're just pegs you squeeze to open and pop on.

This item is unavailable - Etsy

Find the perfect handmade gift, vintage & on-trend clothes, unique jewelry, and more… lots more.

www.etsy.com

Thank you for sharing your experiences! I’ve had some good luck with remodeling before - taking a twee childhood rose quartz and pearl necklace and turning it into a bold multi-strand bracelet, and a too-small lava bead necklace and adding pearls, and a few things like that. But that remodeling was, like your projects, work I could do.

I was getting scared when a bench jeweler was getting involved.

Maybe a jeweler could add a tiny jump ring to the clothes pin, and then add them to a chain? You could then pinch little phrases or photos with the clothes pin. Is that making sense? Like this:




I have sold or gifted 181 pieces of jewelry in the last two months, and I have 15 more pieces on the chopping block, and I still have an embarrassment of riches. Most of my stuff is 1890s through 1980s costume pieces. I used to buy sealed jewelry boxes at flea markets. And I never really bothered to streamline and assess the collection until this year because it was always small enough to fit.

So if you’re wondering why I’m not a little more grateful- I am. I’m just also overwhelmed and questioning my life choices.

I’ve had plenty of opportunities to buy a Chanel necklace, and i haven’t. I don’t wear my opera length pearls. That’s a good sign that the tin cup idea is really stupid. Right?


I still might do the brooch and Pearl clasp idea, however.

 

[More bags]

It feels like the past couple of months have been rough for a fair few of us. I'm waiting for my mum's covid test results as I type this. I've never seen her this ill.
I just wanted to share some in case anyone needs them. Hopefully better days are ahead.

Thank goodness for tpf and the distraction it brings. The bags in the colour week showcase have been stunning, and I'm always amazed at how much our individual personalities shine through our bag choices.


Would you consider getting a third opinion? That's what I have done when I've had 2 different doctor's recommendations. It often clears things up for me.

How is your mom doing @jblended?

 

[BowieFan1971]

Thank you. I love the idea of passing along pieces to a family member, but my family is small for being large. I have cousins and aunts, but few I’ve seen in the last decade. At this point, I have one aunt, and the Knight - and that’s the end of the line.

VintageMama has expressed some strong opinions about her jewelry going to Some Girlfriend of the Knight’s. So while I will be transferring more pieces to him once my mother passes on, not yet.




Thank you for sharing your experiences! I’ve had some good luck with remodeling before - taking a twee childhood rose quartz and pearl necklace and turning it into a bold multi-strand bracelet, and a too-small lava bead necklace and adding pearls, and a few things like that. But that remodeling was, like your projects, work I could do.

I was getting scared when a bench jeweler was getting involved.

Maybe a jeweler could add a tiny jump ring to the clothes pin, and then add them to a chain? You could then pinch little phrases or photos with the clothes pin. Is that making sense? Like this:

View attachment 5739648


I have sold or gifted 181 pieces of jewelry in the last two months, and I have 15 more pieces on the chopping block, and I still have an embarrassment of riches. Most of my stuff is 1890s through 1980s costume pieces. I used to buy sealed jewelry boxes at flea markets. And I never really bothered to streamline and assess the collection until this year because it was always small enough to fit.

So if you’re wondering why I’m not a little more grateful- I am. I’m just also overwhelmed and questioning my life choices.

I’ve had plenty of opportunities to buy a Chanel necklace, and i haven’t. I don’t wear my opera length pearls. That’s a good sign that the tin cup idea is really stupid. Right?


I still might do the brooch and Pearl clasp idea, however.

Just because you have not bought the Chanel for the guaranteed high price for what it is does not mean you would not wear or appreciate a version containing pieces from someone you love. As a person who just lost their mother, I can tell you it could well become something you treasure more than any Chanel necklace you could ever buy. I would never buy a pinkie ring for myself, but the one piece of my mom’s jewelry that I really wanted was the gold initial signet pinkie ring she got for her 16th birthday. It is being sized as we speak and I will wear it every day. It is priceless.

 

[Bag peace]

Maybe a jeweler could add a tiny jump ring to the clothes pin, and then add them to a chain? You could then pinch little phrases or photos with the clothes pin. Is that making sense? Like this:

This is a great idea! I am a touch worried about someone ruining the pegs when soldering because they are so small, but I could always try one of them and see if I'm happy with the result. Thank you!

So if you’re wondering why I’m not a little more grateful- I am. I’m just also overwhelmed and questioning my life choices.

You don't sound ungrateful at all. You sound a bit overwhelmed but, you're also being so proactive in addressing this and tackling the clutter that I have no doubt you'll soon be feeling more at ease.
I find myself wondering why I bought all this stuff. It was cheap, it was my style, I wanted it. Yet here I am, constantly passing it on, and still finding more to give away. On the one hand, it's not much (because like you, it takes little space) and on the other, it is too much for one person. I think we all go through that stage of indulgence, then ultimately find that we'd rather have a small curated pile.
You're doing exceptionally well! Keep going; you'll find yourself feeling much lighter at the end of this process. It's just emotional in the midst of it; either because the pieces are sentimental or because, as you say, you start to second-guess decisions of the past.

I would never buy a pinkie ring for myself, but the one piece of my mom’s jewelry that I really wanted was the gold initial signet pinkie ring she got for her 16th birthday. It is being sized as we speak and I will wear it every day. It is priceless.

A wonderful way to honour her.

 

[Bag peace]

How is your mom doing @jblended?

Thank you so much for asking. I was holding off on posting an update about this because we're still in the midst of it.

The at-home covid test kits keep giving false negatives and positives, but her symptoms (and mine) are most certainly covid. We will be tested in the hospital properly in a couple of days once we're a bit more mobile; at present we are both barely able to get ourselves to shower. It makes no difference testing at this stage, we're pretty wrecked by whatever virus we do have, but it will be helpful to know later on if she has antibodies as that would make it safer for her to go back home/ get on a plane if she needed to.

I was in the hospital a couple of weeks ago and seem to have brought it home to her (though I was in isolation and masked up during my blood transfusion). I'm feeling tremendously guilty, as I'm sure you can imagine.

Day 6 for her, day 4 for me. We're managing the symptoms as they come up. It's a bit of a Fawlty Towers situation at home, with both of us being too ill to help ourselves or each other, and the cats looking on as though they're deeply disappointed in the fuss we're making!

Still, I'm doing what I did when I had covid previously. Meds on schedule, sitting/sleeping upright, plenty of fluids and lots and lots of TPF time to keep me sane.

Sorry for the long reply. I keep saying I'll be more concise but always fail!

 

[whateve]

Thank you so much for asking. I was holding off on posting an update about this because we're still in the midst of it.

The at-home covid test kits keep giving false negatives and positives, but her symptoms (and mine) are most certainly covid. We will be tested in the hospital properly in a couple of days once we're a bit more mobile; at present we are both barely able to get ourselves to shower. It makes no difference testing at this stage, we're pretty wrecked by whatever virus we do have, but it will be helpful to know later on if she has antibodies as that would make it safer for her to go back home/ get on a plane if she needed to.

I was in the hospital a couple of weeks ago and seem to have brought it home to her (though I was in isolation and masked up during my blood transfusion). I'm feeling tremendously guilty, as I'm sure you can imagine.

Day 6 for her, day 4 for me. We're managing the symptoms as they come up. It's a bit of a Fawlty Towers situation at home, with both of us being too ill to help ourselves or each other, and the cats looking on as though they're deeply disappointed in the fuss we're making!

Still, I'm doing what I did when I had covid previously. Meds on schedule, sitting/sleeping upright, plenty of fluids and lots and lots of TPF time to keep me sane.

Sorry for the long reply. I keep saying I'll be more concise but always fail!

I hope both of you are better soon.

 

[whateve]

Just because you have not bought the Chanel for the guaranteed high price for what it is does not mean you would not wear or appreciate a version containing pieces from someone you love. As a person who just lost their mother, I can tell you it could well become something you treasure more than any Chanel necklace you could ever buy. I would never buy a pinkie ring for myself, but the one piece of my mom’s jewelry that I really wanted was the gold initial signet pinkie ring she got for her 16th birthday. It is being sized as we speak and I will wear it every day. It is priceless.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Even though you knew it was coming, it still is a terrible thing to experience. I'm glad you'll have your mom's ring.

 

[papertiger]

Thank you so much for asking. I was holding off on posting an update about this because we're still in the midst of it.

The at-home covid test kits keep giving false negatives and positives, but her symptoms (and mine) are most certainly covid. We will be tested in the hospital properly in a couple of days once we're a bit more mobile; at present we are both barely able to get ourselves to shower. It makes no difference testing at this stage, we're pretty wrecked by whatever virus we do have, but it will be helpful to know later on if she has antibodies as that would make it safer for her to go back home/ get on a plane if she needed to.

I was in the hospital a couple of weeks ago and seem to have brought it home to her (though I was in isolation and masked up during my blood transfusion). I'm feeling tremendously guilty, as I'm sure you can imagine.

Day 6 for her, day 4 for me. We're managing the symptoms as they come up. It's a bit of a Fawlty Towers situation at home, with both of us being too ill to help ourselves or each other, and the cats looking on as though they're deeply disappointed in the fuss we're making!

Still, I'm doing what I did when I had covid previously. Meds on schedule, sitting/sleeping upright, plenty of fluids and lots and lots of TPF time to keep me sane.

Sorry for the long reply. I keep saying I'll be more concise but always fail!

This makes me so so sad for you both.

Please don't forget to look after you too, I wish you both well