As drawstring bucket bags come back into style and take their place on plenty of magazine editorial spreads for fall, I see it as a perfect opportunity to talk about women who carry a different kind of bucket everyday—a bucket full of water.
Just in South Africa alone, it is estimated that 16 million people have no operating water supply and it is the women who primarily trek the average one kilometer each way to fetch water for their villages twice a day.
So as you gaze at the admittedly beautiful selection of drawstring bucket bags in the August edition of Harper’s Bazaar, for instance, all priced from $825 to a whopping $3200, keep in mind that it’s just as easy to pick up a beautiful vintage version like today’s VPOD.
This vintage 1980s Coach bag is in great condition with plenty of fashionable days left to live. And, with a price tag of only $79, it leaves plenty of opportunity to indulge your desire for a fashion fix with your desire to show solidarity with the women of Africa. Just write out a check to CharityWater with your purchase, send it in and think of the African women carrying water buckets every time you carry your bag.
It’s a lovely little fashion reminder for a vintage fashionista.
Available at Oiseau Vintage.
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Shapiro, an Australian auction house, will be holding a vintage couture and accessories auction on Monday, July 26th at 6pm. The sale will include over 30 pieces of Chanel jewelry plus treasures collected by James Belger, who used to travel with British Vogue.
I’ve pictured some of my favorite lots including a stunning haute couture Versace evening gown, a 1990s Issey Miyake draped sleeveless coat, a Chanel necklace and a limited edition Louis Vuitton briefcase from 1985. But you can take a peek at all the offerings here. (Click on “Couture Catalog Online”)
Fortunately, if you want to bid, you don’t have to book a flight to the land down under. Just download their bid form, fill it out, fax it in and join the fun!
I find lots of women think vintage clothing is all about flapper dresses, Mad Men-style clothing and dazzling evening gowns that celebrities model on the Red Carpet. But because modern clothing takes its inspiration from the fashions of decades gone by, vintage clothing is also about pieces that could easily play hide-and-seek and hold their own against the merchandise displayed at mainstream shopping stores like J. Crew, Banana Republic and Anthropologie.
Take today’s VPOD for instance. This knit wool piece from the 1960s is part sweater and part blazer. Play up the orange color for summer when you pair it with shorts. Then, in the fall, focus on the cocoa brown when you layer it with your favorite denim.
For under $60, it’s a bargain of a find for a modern girl who’s also a vintage fashionista!
Available at LA Vintage.
(To receive the VPOD via email with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)
My sister is visiting this week and yesterday we ventured to the Getty Center where we marveled at the artistry and workmanship of the 18th century pieces in the Decorative Arts collection.
Perhaps that’s why this morning I felt so drawn to today’s VPOD, which also displays amazing craftsmanship.
This vintage pendant necklace of ivory beads has its large ivory piece enhanced with scrimshaw, or etching, in five beautiful patterns.
Of course, one must always be cautious when purchasing vintage ivory and seek out reputable dealers. It’s important to note that today’s VPOD is constructed of pre-ban elephant ivory. Since elephants are on the CITES list but are not on the Federal Endangered Species List, it is illegal to export elephant ivory but perfectly legal to purchase elephant ivory that was imported into the US before the CITES ban in 1989.
Now I certainly wish that we humans were never so greedy that we would dare harm a magnificent creature like an elephant and am appalled by the illegal poaching that continues today. However, I do believe that vintage pieces like today’s VPOD deserve to be preserved by individuals who will use them to champion the importance of conservation, who will speak out against the killing of all animals for fashion’s sake and who will honor the individual elephant who unwillingly gave its tusks for this piece rather than allow the piece to be recklessly lost to time.
So this is a beautiful yet controversial find for a vintage fashionista.
Available at Jewelry Kingdom. | Discovered at TheFind.com.
(To receive the VPOD via email with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)
