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| The Lucite handbag is one of those rare accessories that just seems to be a symbol of the time in which it was created. Lucite had been developed by Dupont in 1931, but it wasn't until after WWII that the hard plastic was used to make jewellry and handbags. It was a new age, and modern materials and design were thought to be the wave of the future. Lucite handbags were introduced in the late 1940s, and they quickly became the evening bag of choice. |  |
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Lucite was in many ways an ideal material for making bags. It could be made in many colors, it was easily shaped and carved, and things, such as glitter and rhinestones, could be embedded in it. On the downside, while the material itself was not expensive to produce, the processes in making the handbags were labor-intensive and costly. As a result, the handbags were not cheap, a fact that often adds to an object's desirability! There was also a great deal of competition within the plastic purse market, which led some companies to develop even more costly additions such as built-in compacts and satin linings. |
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It was the development of a cheaper process, plastic injection molding, that led to the demise of the Lucite handbag. With this process, hard plastics could be shaped into handbags at a fraction of the cost of the older methods. When hard plastics were within the reach of all consumers, they lost a great deal of their appeal. By the 1960s, hard plastic handbags were passé. As a little girl in the early 1960s, I can recall one lovely bag sitting on the old dressing table of an aunt who had married in 1958. She had left at her parents' home those things she no longer needed, and one was that beautiful bag on which she had spent quite a bit of her secretary's salery! |
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Today, there are many collectors of Lucite handbags. This is one area of collecting in which condition is most important. And while Lucite bags are durable and quite sturdy, when stored under poor conditions, they tend to develop cracks, warping and the overall breaking down of the plastic. My colleague Leigh of Cosmiccowgirl Vintage is a longtime collector, and she has 10 questions she needs to have answered before investing in a handbag: |
2) Are there any scratches, cracks, warping, chips, or repairs? If so, where are they and what size are they?
3) Does the bag have an odor, particularly like vinegar, or a chemical smell?
4) Is there any fogging, smearing or smudging of color or transparency anywhere on the bag?
5) How clear is the lid? Is there any "sun shattering" (spider vein type cracks within the Lucite that cannot be felt on the surface?)
6) Are all the hardware and parts functioning as normal (nothing loose/bent/missing)?
7) Are all the metal parts shiny? Are there any signs of corrosion, discoloration or other damage to the metal? Is there any discoloration, buildup, or tarnish on the interior hinge? If so, what color is the discoloration?
8) Does the lid snap tightly on top of the bag and the clasp hold soundly? Are there any spaces between the lid and body of the purse when closed? If so, how big are the spaces?
9) Any other flaws or signs of wear?
10) If the bag is not as described, may I return it for a full refund including shipping?
