Ready for Take Off From Esse

Esse's display of 20th century travel bags is delightful. Oh how travel fashion has evolved. Here's just a glimpse into a small sample you'll see.

Confronting  my own packing to return to Seattle, I found I was a bag short for all I was bringing home. What better predicament to be in while browsing the Esse Gift Store! I found this modernized version of the classic Pan Am carry all. It's all the classic lines and logos, but stepped up with more pocket storage and softer/lighter materials but with a very sturdy structure. Carry this over the shoulder with the most comfortable shoulder strap I've run into for some time, or carry by hand. Strong straps too!  Believe me, I really stuffed this bag, but it showed no strain. When I was straightening out after the TSA security, one of the inspectors had a chuckle at my expense and mentioned that he'd never seen so much stuff packed in a bag this size.



I had so many compliments on this bag at the airport, from employees and from other travelers. These pictures are taken at home in Seattle, and the bag is still in mint new condition despite the voluminous packing and the long trip across the country, from Little Rock to Memphis / from Memphis to Dallas / 3 hour delay for the connecting flight / from Dallas to Seattle.

You can see lots of the roomy pockets in this picture. The zippered side pockets are so handy as you're carrying it to grab things out, or to put things in.  The front pocket is almost the full length of the bag, with a velcro closure.  And look on the left side to see the zipper pull for the hidden pocket inside that front slide pocket. And don't forget, the other picture shows the back which has its own big slide pocket with a velcro close. Great!

Check out my big, fat notebook calendar with all my works and writings zippered inside easily fitting in the back slide pocket. Easy access so I can work on it at the airport or on a plane. This pocket would easily fit a full size laptop. This picture shows you the duo zipper pulls for opening the main, center section of the bag.

Here you see the inside. Don't you love the airplanes lining! The light color makes it easy to find everything you have inside. See the side pocket on the one side.



In the process of slipping my phone into the side pocket. It easily fits all the way inside and securely zippered in, but quick, one-handed access.

Here's the inside pocket on the other side. Suddenly these pictures are making me think, I need to pack and take off on fun travels again.

Esse Vintage

Back to Esse Purse Museum, & Store in Little Rock, Arkansas. This time my browsing nets a wonderful, Vintage find. 

There she sat before me, just behind a couple of other pretty handbags, I was drawn to this lovely Vintage White and Floral Beaded. She called to me and I answered. The tag said (as is), I didn't want it any other way. This has been a loved bag. In the spirit of the museum, I could vividly imagine the interesting women that had carried this purse in the past.

Here's a close up of the intricate beading, showing off the delicate flowers. Turns out this is a Lumured handbag from the 1950's. This was a very popular handbag maker in New York, for that time

See the thick beading on the straps! Here's the purse from one side when it's closed.  In the next picture, check it out when it opens!

That's right, it opens from both sides!  There's so much room for carrying all you want, yet not looking bulky. And on one side there's a forward thinking slide pocket.

See how the sturdy center panel is fully beaded, and that's on both sides.

Just think of all the places this purse has been.  And now its' travels continue from Little Rock to Seattle.  My Lumured and I were cutting edge Vintage at the Chihuly Museum 10th Anniversary Party last weekend.

Here's the Space Needle as seen through the glass ceiling of the Chihuly Glass Pavilion, part of the museum.  Framing the Needle is part of a tremendous, suspended glass sculpture of vines and flowers that is stunning all along the entire ceiling of this very large Pavilion.

Esse Gift Shop and Luxuriously Lingering Over Decisions

On my trip I was lucky enough to have time on two separate days to visit Esse Purse Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas.

http://essepursemuseum.com/

  Thank goodness I had time because contemplating my purchases in the gift shop took time.  This was truly luxurious lingering as I pondered what I'd take home to Seattle.  Well, I needed a new and fashionable bag to carry in my everyday, active life.  Something versatile, but eye-catching.

Sort of like these fun mannequin displays in the Esse Museum.

And I pondered some more.  I'm so interested in expanding the barely existent Vintage presence in my personal collection.  I'd love to take home a fabulous, Vintage find.

And I definitely needed a new big bag to take home on the plane because of the wonderful, fun time I had in Little Rock and nearby Memphis, Tn on my trip.  How else to get my great souvenirs back to Seattle.

Did I mention that I love a bag that is truly a work of art?  That's what I found in this beautiful, all material, woven, fabric purse from a Los Angeles designer called "Material Things". 
http://www.mthandbags.com/

This bag is amazing art, and the most practical, functional fun I've carried on my arm, and back!  Yes, here's the surprise.  With the fabric handles slid through like in this picture, I can carry on my arm, so comfortable and light weight.  But you'll see, with the handles slid through the back, in the wink of an eye this is an urban backpack.  So convenient!  This bag is all natural, and also a natural.

Notice the beautiful and large zippered pocket on the front?  There's another one on the back as well for keeping necessities close at hand for fast access.

A sturdy snap holds the front and back together at the top.  When you unsnap you see the very secure zipper that will gain you access to the insides of my new bag.  Don't you just love the artistic mix of materials and the complementatary colors and patterns!

Unzipping!  See how the sturdy fabric handles automatically fall away and out of the way as you're opening this purse up.

Well, I love all bags, but in my everyday life I do gravitate toward being a big bag girl because I always have so much to carry.  I am a pack mule.  But the roominess of this bag even impresses me.  I have yet to fill it up more than halfway.  Yet, with the unique design, this purse does not carry like a big bag at all.  You can see part of the zipper for the zippered pocket just above the label in this picture.

Voila! In an instant its closed and the straps are pulled to be a material backpack.  Well, I guess I am a Material Girl after all.

Next blog I'll tell you all about the incredible Vintage find that I embraced.  In fact, I'll be carrying that with me tonight when I attend the 10th Anniversary Party at the Chihuly Museum in Seattle, right next to the Space Needle.

But I will tell you this, I'm going back to Esse and when I do I'll be picking up a wonderful Anya Sushko work of art, like this one front and center on Anita Davis' (Esse Visionary) desk.  Despite plans for a return trip someday, I can't wait until Esse has an online gift shop.

http://essepursemuseum.com/
 

Esse Purse Museum - A Dream Trip in Herstory

I'm so excited to tell you about my incredible trip to the Esse Purse Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas. What a wonderful destination; I highly recommend a visit!

Of only 3 Purse Museums, this is the only one in the United States.

A splendid collection spanning the entire 20th century, there's so much to see. Beautiful displays artistically capture the essence of women through the decades. As if its not enough just to see all these purses collected, they are really the vehicle for exploring the herstory of women.

This is the herstory of the real women, who have been the backbone of the family and society, not limited to celebrities. I greatly appreciate the way this museum brings our women's herstory to life.



The dynamic women who bring us the treasure of Esse are all so creative, friendly and engaging, I know you will enjoy meeting them on your visit.  Here they all are in the captivating gift store. From left, Lara Kahler, Anita Davis (Visionary), Laura Hardy, and Morgan Hill.

Morgan also has a beautiful jewelry line that is featured. Yes, I treated myself to two wonderful purses from the Esse collection, and a wonderful necklace from the Morgan Hill collection.



Owner, collector, and visionary Anita Davis in her beautiful office, which reflects her creativity and artistic appreciation.



This is just the tip of the iceberg of the incredible collection.

This is a different kind of weigh in that's lots of fun.  When you sign the guest book you get to weigh your purse and record the weight.  It's lots of fun to skim through the guest book and see what women are carrying.

The beautiful vision for Esse; a thoughtful tug at your heart.

It's really what's inside that counts, and reveals some of our herstory

Everyday woman on the move

Fascinating!  I have studied about war rationing in England, and am so interested to see the war rationing coupons at the Esse display.

A lovely evening bag, one of many displayed.

I was lucky to be at Esse during a temporary exhibit of vintage hats. Another piece of herstory that I very much enjoyed. 

Here's my favorite purse in the exhibit, although there were many that tied for 2nd place favorites. I hadn't seen a Whiting & Davis before, and it really grabbed me. Can you imagine, this intricate design is on both sides of the beautiful, metallic bag.

Yes, I did buy 2 purses and a pretty necklace, but you'll have to wait for the next blog entry to see the wonderful buys I brought home from the Esse gift shop.  To learn more about Esse, as you plan your own visit, take a look at their web page at http://essepursemuseum.com/

Any of you who have already visited Esse, blog in on what was your favorite purse?

It's What's Inside That Counts

Kristen Bell looked the epitome of class and sophistication as she walked the 2014 Academy Awards red carpet. But don't be fooled: Bell had a burrito in her purse.

This unusual -- but totally practical -- decision on Bell's part was revealed in a tweet posted shortly before the Oscars pre-show began:

Kristen Bell ‏@IMKristenBellMar 2

When you see me on the red carpet of the oscars tonight, just know…there’s a burrito in my clutch. pic.twitter.com/WwXQtMq10A



Conversation Starters

Jennifer Lawrence's Oscars Purse Was Full of Snacks

    

Jennifer Lawrence, brought snacks to the Oscars (via Us Weekly).
A noted enthusiast of snacks that are terrible for you, she told the magazine that she tucked Pop Rocks and a Slim Jim into her clutch so she could keep her energy up during the painfully long awards show. This is the fun celebrity version of you putting a baggie full of almonds in your purse so you don't get too hungry during the work day and start yelling at people.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. -
Dozens of celebrities who were at the Oscars last night have some very special goody bags thanks to an Allentown designer.

Genny Perez, of Light Up Fashions, designed purses given out during the Academy Awards ceremony.

Each of the light-up purses contained goodies for celebrities' pets and it doubles as a pet carrier.

The charity "Support Your Pet" selected Perez for this special project.



Link to Red Carpet Inspiration Evening Bags

Purses Like Stocks - Buy Low, Sell High

  How is a purse collection like investing in the stock market?

If you can identify the future famous purse designers while they are at the beginning of their career, then you can buy low.  And, if you can bear to part with your treasured and coveted purse later, then you can make a profit when that designer is on the upswing and pinnacle.

Can you identify the "Bruce Makowsky's" before fame?  Buy low.
How about the "Michael Kors"?  Buy low.

Who are the current, undiscovered, new purse designers now?
There are places to look for them, and are you one of them?  Maybe you aspire to design? 

At the Independent Handbag Designers website the 2014 Application process is open, and look at past winners -
Link to Independent Handbag Designer Awards

 If you aspire to design, here's a book to get you started
Handbag Designer 101

And a workshop
Handbag Designer 101 Workshop


Here's 3 up and coming "who's" from 2013
3 Debut Handbag Lines in 2013


Check out Undiscovered.com to see who is registering and displaying their "unknown" wares
http://www.undiscovered-online.com/about

A Purse of Your Own, Financial Guide



Purse of Your Own: An Easy Guide to Financial Security, by Deborah Owens with Brenda Lane Richardson

Have you resolved to get your finances under control and make headway on defining and achieving your financial goals? Here is a very helpful guide for how to do just that. It is written especially for women, encouraging them to take control of their lives, their futures, and their purses by leveraging knowledge detailed in this book.
The author, Deborah Owens, is a wealth coach and has 20 years of experience in the financial services industry and is a Wall Street veteran. She is a former vice president . . . .

Link to My Recommendation for A Purse Of Your Own

Small Offices, Big Bags

As office cubicles continue to shrink smaller and smaller, there's no problem with losing file space since the work is mostly electronic. But we miss space for our family photos and concerns abound with no room to stow our big purses.  We're starting to see gallery hangings of gorgeous purses in the aisleways outside our offices. Is this the silver lining to losing our private personal space?  Our office aisles are becoming purse art galleries.

Here we see Louis Vitton hanging casually outside the Project Manager's office.  Notice the beauful, gentle leather pleating in this style,.  The pleating is on both sides.  In fact this bag is identical on both sides.  So comfortable to carry because it folds right in against your body.  The leather straps with the red detail accent alongside the stitching is eye catching.  Inside there's a matching shade of red lining, so you can easily see all you are carrying inside. There's no outside pockets, but a big inside zip pocket, along with two slip pockets for easy access to cell phone and glasses and keys. There is also a matching long shoulder strap, but that was not used today.

Here we see that the Relationship Manager has arrived at the office for the day, so LV has been joined in the aisle by Calvin Klein.  CK is a combined large bag/briefcase, easily accomodating a full size laptop, papers, notebook, and a novel for relaxed reading on the bus commute.  A big bag indeed, yet so easy to carry either by hand or using the comfortable shoulder strap.  The large outside pockets are great for easy access items, and even for stuffing in a tote umbrella.  Inside it's the signature CK lining.

CK and LV will be hanging around together all day.
 

Down the hall, a fleeting picture of a colorful, generic shoulder bag.  The electric blue is outstanding against the silver hardware.  Love the braided shoulder straps.  Just hanging around until time to head home.
 

Seattle Purses Celebrate the New Year

Decision to be made . . . An evening bag for New Year's Eve, but gold or black with the classic black dress? Which would you choose?

The Winner!

Setting the scene for the dance floor after the Seattle Symphony New Year's Eve performance



Setting the stage as well. Awesome show that was a mix of classical and jazz. Seattle Symphony, you even outdid yourselves! Ludovic Morlot and Jeff Tyzik creative conductors, and the unbelievably talented musicians!



Still very popular - Coach.  Here's a beautiful tote Coach making an appearance on New Year's Eve

Sleek, classic black purse is a lovely accessory on New Year's Eve.  Overwhelmingly, black was the most popular color at the Seattle Symphony New Year's Eve party

And yet, there were delightful splashes of color.  Like this cheery, burgundy leather clutch, as seen on the terrace level

And here and there a show of creativity, like this very furry, hot pink accent to welcome in 2014

Partying purses on the dance floor!  Mostly clutches, some shoulder straps, a few cross bodies, and even that surprising recent development of ladies with no purse at all.

Best wishes for a very happy, purpurseful 2014 to you all!