Perhaps we should ask,
what isn't? My Mother, Grandmother and Aunts never carried wimpy purses or handbags in their everyday lives. They toted
real pocketbooks that resembled huge bowling bags that could take a good licking. When Mom's bag was left perched on the roof of the car, all she had to do was drive back to the spot in the parking lot where it fell off. She'd retrieve it, dust it off and it was good as new! When Mom asked one of us to get her
pockabook from the other room, there were plenty of groans and spasms as it was heaved from one room to the next.
What he heck was in that thing anyway? we wondered. I don't think Mom ever
really knew either. If she had important things like keys in there she could never find them.
Even scarier was Gram's bag. You could actually see expired grocery coupons sneering out over the rim. And goodness forbid if she came at you with one of those crumpled tissues! You know the kind, dredged up from the black hole of her bag looking as if they had already been used. We'd protest and she'd say,
it's only lipstick, for cryin' out loud! And cry out loud we did, especially my brothers.
There were those rare occasions when the ladies of my family would scale down the bowling bags to more reasonable proportions. At weddings and funerals the
good bags came out of hiding. Rumage as they might in those little purses, they still couldn't find what they were looking for
Darn! I must have left it in my other pockabook!.
These family treasures were worn with pride and handled with care. It is from this respect and gentle care that many of Decotique's handbags exist today. Delicate beading, intricate crewel and crochet work are just samplings of many features that grace the bags and purses offered at our store. We are alway on the look out for others that bring back warm memories of our youth and the people we loved. Mostly we search for bags that are just down right fabulous!
I swore I would never encumber myself with the huge, unappealing, over-stuffed
pockabooks of my fore mothers. Instead, I carry a huge, unappealing, over-stuffed knapsack, but on those special occasions, I indulge myself with one of those great little bags from the past.
Need something fun to present to your Ladies' Group, Party or Special Event? How about a fun filled afternoon or evening with speaker, Kate Butler, who will present an informative and entertaining Talk on Antique and Vintage Purses. An historian of Flapper Era Fashion, she also offers this topic for presentation. 
