The fabulous
fifties and early sixties in America boasted many special styles, accessories, music and unique fashion items;
Among them was the Lucite handbag.
In the 1950's
DuPont developed a wonderful new plastic that was to become used for the handbags we know today as Lucite box purses. This
sturdy new plastic could be structured, molded and carved into interesting new shapes never before
known.
Lucite was
created in many wonderful colors with interesting features such as marbling, added glitter, pearlized, clear, opaque
and transparent. Some had inset rhinestones and many had wonderfully ornate metal trim. Ladies fell madly in love
with these new modern bags.
There had
never been such revolutionary creative purses as these and they became very popular for about a ten to fifteen year period.
As with any
purse, these bags came in varying degrees of quality to accomodate any pocketbook. They were fun and unusual and remain so
today as collectors and lovers of vintage accessories snatch them up.
Most of our Lucite bags are in excellent vintage condition
and any damage is mentioned.
The most common names associated with Lucite purses are Wilardy, Charles Kahn,
Patiricia of Miami, Stylecraft of Miami, Gilli, Lewellyn, Maxim, Tryolean, & Rialto. There are others & many were
unsigned or have lost their paper tags.
