A passion for antique purses

Mesh purses, once carried by flappers in the 1920s, are among the 2,500 handbags some dating back to the 1600s in the collection of Lori Blaser. Photo by Elyse Glickman

Lori Blasers home is a shrine to womens handbags. With 2,500 pieces in her collection the oldest of which dates back to the 16th century she displays her treasures with the eye of a skilled interior decorator (which she is). Beaded and mesh bags nonchalantly dangle from the edges of painting frames. Tiny mesh vanity purses hang from a multihook stand to form a small chandelier that rests on a desk.

The co-author of the book A Passion for Purses, Blaser has come to understand that these items are more than simple fashion accessories. They contain fascinating histories about their owners, the times in which they lived and the craftspeople who made the bags.

But the Thousand Oaks woman long has had a personal affection for them, too.

I am just drawn to purses, Blaser said, offering as proof a photo of herself at age 2 in her native Michigan, decked out in a puffy snowsuit and clutching a small purse.

I cant tell you why, but I know it is something inside of me, she continued. Our family had modest means, and although I did not have the money to buy brand-new purses, I realized I did not want what everybody else was carrying. I bought 50s purses made with alligator, crocodile and snakeskin with my babysitting money.

Blaser, who is in her 50s, explains her passion for purses truly ignited around the time she turned 40 and went to Europe for the first time. On a visit to the London Silver Vaults, the worlds largest retail collection of fine antique silver, she bought her first antique mesh purse, which was more than 80 years old. By then, she had retired from her telecommunications career to raise her youngest son, Brian.

In 2003, about a decade after her London trip, she stumbled upon one of the most beautiful antique purses she had seen in her life.

I did not win that purse, but my heart started palpitating, and I thought at that moment I died and went to heaven, she recalled. There is something about this purse that marked the beginning of my obsession in earnest.

As her collection grew, Blaser built a network of fellow collectors from around the world. It led to her co-authoring a book with Georgia-based collector Paula Higgins, covering the history, art, design and functions of handbags through the ages. Both women are founding members of the Antique Purse Collectors Society. This year, the group met in Amsterdam at the Museum of Bags and Purses at the invitation of its director, Sigrid Ivo.

Read more here:
A passion for antique purses