My Favorite Purse

[Johanna]

The zipper on my cheap Wal Mart purse has given out, and I need a new purse. I've been looking around, but none of the stores have what I want. This is my favorite purse ever, and I don't use it for lots of reasons.

It's made from an old Tandy Jeans bag pattern, and the bottom is sturdy biker leather. The top is a carved panel buckstitched onto the bottom. I could not buckstitch it when it was made, even with the pliers. I had to get the old man to do it. It was his idea in the first place, and he's already punched the holes. The top also has the wrong initial now. (Yes, I know it needs cleaned and oiled, but it's been hanging in the closet for years, okay?)

It also needs repaired. Simple stitching, but why bother on a purse you aren't going to use?

The things I like about this purse is that it's deep. I can get all my junk in there, plus a book and a lunch. It also has an extra long round braided strap that will either loop over my neck or my shoulder, and never pulls my hair. I have no idea why the old man did the strap that way, but I liked it from day one. I stood still for him to use a tape measure to get it exactly the right length, too. The magnetic clasp has always snapped shut, but I'd rather have a zipper inside. I like the outside pocket (just think- this was made before anyone had a cell phone!)

Now, it's twenty years later...and I just don't think it's worth trying to fix this purse, even if I could carve, which I can't. I don't particularly want jailhouse acanthus scrolls anyway. What I want is a new purse, similar to this one, but I don't want to make it, either.

I explained all this to Wade and he said, "Ummm, you know quite a few leatherworkers..." How would you guys make a purse like this? Would it require a second mortgage or could we work out a deal? Or do you guys think I should just go spend $15 on a new Wal Mart special and get a couple of years out of it, and hang this purse back up for nostalgia?

I was kinda spoiled when the old man was living. I'd say "I want!" and he'd make it. If I didn't like it, he'd make me another. He enjoyed dressing me up with leather, and one look at my stuff sold more stuff when we were out and about. I have to admit I didn't realize the value of what I had until I started going to shows. But the old man did teach me to appreciate custom leatherwork! So I understand, this ain't gonna be cheap!

Johanna

[hidepounder]

Time for a new and improved one Johanna....

[rawhide1]

Johanna

I agree with hidepounder time for a new one! Only problem is I cant carve or sew yet!!! But I can braid a little bit. So if ya get someone to build ya a new purse I would be more than happy to braid the shoulder strap or any handles to your specs as a small token of my appreciation for this site.

Mike

[broncobuster]

Hey Johanna that almost like mine. heres mine. it was a throw together cause i needed a purse so its really not all the way done. suppose to have a strap with clasp but its not on yet. tooling not the best. hide n clay could do much better. I could too but there way better than me. this is just the way the pattern is made. no alterations or additions.

[Johanna]

BB- I like yours! I didn't realize how much Jon modified the top of the purse! How does yours fasten? Do you have inside pockets? I think yours is terrific, and I like the bottom with the soft leather better than the jeans style, don't you? It seems a little more "formal" (is that the right word?) or maybe "not casual" is better. Don't ever sell yourself short- you do nice work, and you are a lady of many talents.

Soon, you will be able to add websites to that list!

Johanna

[broncobuster]

thanks Johanna. no pockets its just wide open. like i said i just whipped together. it suppose to have a stap over middle with a clasp but i never put it on. it can easily have inside pockets. or outside one like yours. or the zipper on top. Ive had lots of complements on it plus orders to. its one of my favs for my patterns. should see people look when i need to unpack it for some reason lol 3 checkbooks, wallet, business card holder, calculator, pens n on n on lol. they wonder how it all goes in there cause it dont look that big. ill scan the patterns for ya for the top part. there is like 4 of them i think. or design your own.

[broncobuster]

hey Johanna, sorry it took so long but this is the pictures from the original pattern of your purse.

hope that helps a bit.

[Johanna]

In January the zipper on the purse I've been carrying for a few years completely broke.

I went to Penneys and bought a new purse with faux leather trim and it's now June and it's junk.

That's what it looked like new.

It is now a disaster- except the zipper still works. The cheap leather's finish is rubbed off, the inside liner (cloth) is ripped, and I can never find anything in there anyway. This is a pic of the junk that has to fit, plus my book or whatever:

Ed Santoro's thread today of the designer handbags has got me thinking- I WANT A PURSE I LIKE! I want a purse that I can take to the opera or the beach, and I want it to be sturdy and not some imported cobbled-together expensive crap. If I'm going to pay designer handbag prices, I want a purse designed for me! I don't want a purse from a warehouse, and I'd be more impressed with a makers mark than a fancy designer label. Why? I don't want to have to worry about my purse- just grab and go. Because I don't want a purse that is going to dump out all the contents when my son learns how to drive a car. I don't want a purse I have to keep on my lap instead of tucking on the floor in a restaurant. I don't want zipper failure, and I want to be able to find things in it immediately without rooting aaround like a baglady at the checkout. That $1500 purse Ed posted wouldn't last 6 months, and neither did my Penneys special. But I carried my old purse (the one at the top of this thread) for 10 years? or so, and I'd fix it and carry it again if it didn't have a big "A" on it. There has to be a market for women like me who can appreciate the quality of a real purse and are willing to pay for it. Oh yeah, and I want a real leather laptop case too, but that's another rant for another day.

Johanna

[Rawhide]

Johanna,

do you (or anyone else for that matter) still have the pattern for this purse (tandy jean purse) they wouldn't mind sharing? This is a perfect fit for a purse I need to make.

Thanks, (sorry for the hijack)

Edited June 29, 2009 by Rawhide

[Suze]

I'm with you cuz

I need a new something too and can't figure out what I want -- that tinkerbell one I found at goodwill is not what I need

Think Jane might like it?

How do we manage to carry so much junk around anyway? And guys get away with a pocket and a wallet

and no I don't have anybody handing me stuff to put in my purse

dividers that are sewed down would be nice instead of just sewed at the side of the purse leaving a big hole at the bottom for things to go from one side to the other.

[UKRay]

I think one of the problems women face (and I generalise horribly here) is that bags tend to be designed and made by men... To be honest, it wouldn't do male leatherworkers any harm to listen (no, really listen) to what women actually want before they make any more purses!

I'd personally like a copy of that Tandy Pattern too, because it looks like a good foundation for some creativity - but what could be really useful are some kind of 'female focused' guidelines on bag design. What works and what doesn't.

I accept that this would be extremely subjective but that never stopped a good survey!

Ray

[tonyc1]

In January the zipper on the purse I've been carrying for a few years completely broke.

I went to Penneys and bought a new purse with faux leather trim and it's now June and it's junk.

That's what it looked like new.

It is now a disaster- except the zipper still works. The cheap leather's finish is rubbed off, the inside liner (cloth) is ripped, and I can never find anything in there anyway. This is a pic of the junk that has to fit, plus my book or whatever:

Ed Santoro's thread today of the designer handbags has got me thinking- I WANT A PURSE I LIKE! I want a purse that I can take to the opera or the beach, and I want it to be sturdy and not some imported cobbled-together expensive crap. If I'm going to pay designer handbag prices, I want a purse designed for me! I don't want a purse from a warehouse, and I'd be more impressed with a makers mark than a fancy designer label. Why? I don't want to have to worry about my purse- just grab and go. Because I don't want a purse that is going to dump out all the contents when my son learns how to drive a car. I don't want a purse I have to keep on my lap instead of tucking on the floor in a restaurant. I don't want zipper failure, and I want to be able to find things in it immediately without rooting aaround like a baglady at the checkout. That $1500 purse Ed posted wouldn't last 6 months, and neither did my Penneys special. But I carried my old purse (the one at the top of this thread) for 10 years? or so, and I'd fix it and carry it again if it didn't have a big "A" on it. There has to be a market for women like me who can appreciate the quality of a real purse and are willing to pay for it. Oh yeah, and I want a real leather laptop case too, but that's another rant for another day.

Johanna

You're a handy girl to know with 3 lighters in your bag!

Tony.

[Johanna]

You're a handy girl to know with 3 lighters in your bag!

Tony.

Hmmmm I count 4 in the pic, plus I know there is one in my cigarette case.

I think one of the problems women face (and I generalise horribly here) is that bags tend to be designed and made by men... To be honest, it wouldn't do male leatherworkers any harm to listen (no, really listen) to what women actually want before they make any more purses!

YES YES and YES!!

I think that's what I was trying to say. I could understand women paying designer label prices if they were getting what they wanted, but we DON'T! (However, I have seen some "man purses" that are a little closer to the mark than most womens bags.) I could justify that kind of money on quality, but not a label.

Johanna

[Crystal]

I think one of the problems women face (and I generalise horribly here) is that bags tend to be designed and made by men... To be honest, it wouldn't do male leatherworkers any harm to listen (no, really listen) to what women actually want before they make any more purses!

I'd personally like a copy of that Tandy Pattern too, because it looks like a good foundation for some creativity - but what could be really useful are some kind of 'female focused' guidelines on bag design. What works and what doesn't.

I accept that this would be extremely subjective but that never stopped a good survey!

Ray

I think that there will probably be as many different needs/wants for a bag as there are women who use them. I have been mulling this for quite some time -I need a new bag and am refusing to buy another one when I can make my own.

I bought a Coach bag at a "purse party" last September. I am sure that it was either a knock off or a line reject. There were a few construction flaws in the bag, missing a matching decorative piece, etc. It has fallen apart in less than a year. Zipper pull tab- gone. 2 construction rivets - gone. Inside fabric pockets - torn at seams (I stapled them back together). Bag straps- fraying at the edges. Strap keepers- coming apart where they were glued. All kinds of little things going bad, and I am not a bag abuser. If I had paid retail for a "genuine" bag (I don't know for sure that this one is genuine) I would be very dissapointed with them as a brand altogether.

I have never met my "perfect bag" anywhere. I like a larger "tote" style, but cannot tolerate the "pit purses" that seem to be everywhere. (Those bags that have handles too long to carry in your hand and too short for over the shoulder without having them tucked clear into your arm pit. Forget having enough room for over the shoulder with a winter coat on.) I want over the shoulder straps, with enough room for winterwear, but not so long that it becomes a knee banger. I want those straps to be adjustable.

It needs compartments and pockets. Outside and inside. Outside pockets for cell phone, pens, notes, shopping lists, sunglasses, keys.... Inside compartments to segregate all the little this and that's that I think I need. Everything from wallet to perfume. For me- this has to be a 3 compartment setup. There needs to be enough room inside for a bottle of water (I want a bottle holder in there) and everything else from a book to a file folder for documents.

I don't care for zippers, especially zippers for the main closure on the bag itself. I want magnetic closures. Easy access - quick access. A zippered compartment on the inside, would do.

I don't want it to weigh a ton - because I will pack enough stuff with me to give it some weight. So I will probably go with a leather outside and fabric inside. A detached fabric inside, so it can be turned inside out for cleaning.

I want it to look like a million dollars, feel like a dream, and wear like Samsonite luggage.

Now - if you were to ask my best friend what she wants in a bag, we're gonna get an entirely different list. She likes small.... very small - with zippers and built-ins for cash and cards and checkbook - no seperate wallet for her. She always puts her coins in a zippered pocket, she clips her cell phone and keys to her belt. She has a different purse for all occasions and changes out on a regualr basis. I don't like to fuss this much. I dump my change into the bottom of my bag and when it gets too heavy, I know it is time to dump out all those nickles and pennies.

So - the quest to build the perfect bag is on. Don't think I will get it right frist time around, but I will get there someday.

Crystal

[Ole South]

I know this is a "mature" post but I've been intrigued by this concept of Women and their Purses. Over the past year I've been asking various wimmen types... you know... gurls and female human beings about purses. (and yepper... I am a guy) I get the same reply every time.

"Oh I'm not really picky" Until you ask the next question...

Doesn't matter what the next question is....

An avalanche of preference proceeds.

"Pockets, Zippers, inside Zippers, inside pockets, dividers, more inside compartments...." were the most common answers to question #2; no wonder girls can't find anything in their purses in a hurry

I did a custom mold for a boutique designer for a wet form purse some time ago and that got me started on the quest for "The Perfect Purse". I drew four basic shapes and began asking women their preference. Not one person picked the most commercially sold shape. That was interesting.

Handles vs Straps vs Clutch? Never.

Color, material, size? Nope, never the same.

I think I do best when I just look at the girl and her style and don't ask too many questions. (we men confuse easily)

BUT... I have determined one thing

There Is No Perfect Purse!.... except for....

"The one I just wore out" and "The one I'm going to buy next"