Guide to Vintage and Collectible Handbags

Book Boy

Book Boy

Member
Aug 22, 2008
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#1
There are currently no pocket-size guides with up-to-date prices for vintage handbags. Would you buy such a guide if it was available? What eras should be covered? Are you more interested in the background on designers, style details of their bags, or simply a value range?

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to discuss!
 
#2
:confused1:

This forum is for authenticity questions only please.

I'll move this for you but please take care in choosing the correct forum when posting new threads.
Thanks :biggrin:
 
#3
my answer is no, I wouldn't buy a guide. This website offers more info than any guide could for free. Hopefully people will stop stealing info from us though.
 
#6
You have to ask who exactly would buy such a book. Antique dealers? Vintage clothing shop owners?

I think most collectors are interested in one or two brands or a certain type of purse (bakelite say) and don't have much interest in the pricing of say 19th century beaded bags.

And I suspect--although I can't say for sure--that most "collectors" stop their "collection of vintage" at about six bags because who has a bigger closet than that?

About a dozen years ago I did see such a book but didn't buy it for all the above reasons.

For most vintage bags you can find far more information simply by watching ebay than you can in any book. Or by talking to other bag-a-holics on web sites like this one.
 
#7
I would be all over a book like that. Now and then I see some discussion about vintage items on the purse forum, mostly questions about this or that, but I haven't found a tremendous amount of knowledge yet. Most research I try to find on line just leads leads to someone wanting to sell something. I have found books in my local library, but only 3.
 
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#9
Hmmmm, it depends. I recently inherited a vintage Gucci and despite searching the Gucci forum, I was not able to find the info. I wanted. Nevertheless, would I actually pay for a book to find out the info? Not sure but probably not.

I do not think there would be a huge market for it. Generally, this forum is excellent with regard to authenticity, dating, etc. A very well known consignment shop recently had an older LV and they were advertising it as the wrong color. I remembered seeing the color and info. about it on this forum and advised them that they were wrong. They researched it again and corrected the info. they were telling people!

So, this forum is probably the best authority on handbags.
 
#10
Thanks, snibor, you're right, this is an excellent resource. The book I'm envisioning would have solid auction results, reflecting what buyer's are actually paying, with descriptions by an expert in couture and accessories.
 
#11
I think a website that could be kept as current as possible would be much more beneficial than a book. That way there could be search features and up-to-the-minute pricing. It would also be useful to have currency conversions on the website as well. You can do so much more with a resource like a website than a book that will be out-of-date the minute it gets printed!

The only benefit of a book is that you can bring it with you when you are out shopping. But if you already have an idea of what you want in mind, you could just print that out from the website before you go. And with all the technology these days, people could just access the internet from their cell phones or PDAs and get the information right in the palm of their hands.
 
#12
My apologies for off topic, but meggyg8r, your darling little dog just touched my heart! She (or he) is so precious!!! I had one of those when I was a child and she was the runt of the litter and very very tiny when we got her, as well. (We called her Pixie as she was so very tiny.) Because of her large head, she would always plunge head first into her food when trying to eat. Thanks for the memory!!!!
Sorry for interupting the thread!!
I really would buy a book like that if I had the chance!
 
#14
I think a pocket guide on vintage handbags might do very well. I authored the book The Little Guide to Vintage Shopping. It was published about a year and a half ago and sales are still healthy. As a matter of fact I just heard it from my editor that it has been translated to Korean!
Anyway there are a lot of vintage shoppers out there who would like info on vintage bags in book form (especially if there are lots of nice pictures and interesting tidbits). Forums and websites are great but so are books. I belong to the Vintage Fashion Guild which is an amazing site and forum but we love our vintage books as well. As for stealing info from a forum that is a no-no in any ethical writers "book". However it is perfectly fine to solicit information from experts and aficionados and then give credit where it is due.

Personally I would buy a good buying guide to vintage bags. My advice though...don't just make it a price guide. They are boring and go out of date quickly. Good luck to you.

Melody
 
#15
Personally, I wouldn't buy for the value only because I really don't buy vintage for that purpose. I buy because I like the bag.

On the other hand, I suppose it would be handy for a collector.
 
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