The Tale of Pal and Other Four Sided (Legged?) Purses

I've found that the hardest thing to collect is box purses. Hats are a close second but you can, if need be, squeeze several hats in one hat box. Box purses on the other hand don't squish. Trust me I've tried. I have a lot of purses, which is no surprise given any good collectorating fashionista knows that you have to have the right purse to go with the right pair of shoes. Alas, the purses keep multiplying. The expansion was manageable until that fateful day I bought my first box purse. It was innocently enough. It was almost an after thought. CollectoratorOne and I were at our old favorite sellers' house in Dallas, where we had been graciously invited to view the best stuff they had. I had several piles of clothes stacked up ready to purchase when I spied the little white purse with the pink roses. How much for that, I asked? oh, really that's it? Ok, throw it in... that started it all.

Since that day, I realized I cannot really afford the cost of admission to proudly carry the creme de la creme of the vintage box purses. Running $100 plus even $200 a pop make it next to impossible. Over the years,  I've found my share of lower priced, beat up, slightly damaged, and reglued ones to keep my desire fulfilled, thankfully. However, now with more of a disposable income I've ventured out into the slightly more expensive, "but I've never seen this shape/color purse" purchases (pure Collectorating justification there). Case in point this navy, Myles Original purse. Yes it's navy not black (how cool is that?)

Although I am most proud of my Myles Original purse, my sentimental favorite is my Enid Collins "Pal" purse. It's a later model after she had already sold the company to the Tandy Corporation, but that's ok by me as the twin Tandy buildings in Fort Worth were always among my  favorite downtown Fort Worth buildings.  There's no special story here, it's  just a City Wide Garage Sale purchase, but I love that little purse. See, one thing you should know about me, like it or not, I actually use the stuff I buy. It's not art alone, it's functional art. If I am going to take the time to recycle someone's wares to give them life again I am going to make sure people see it, eat off of it, or drink out of it.  I've put together some fabulous outfits around that Pal purse. Thank you Enid!

Of course as with everything, I have too many box purses already, but at least I found a use for that pesky shelf I couldn't figure out what to do with. See, this is why I keep more often than I rid.