Bawdy and Beaded!

Ingrid isn't so much a vintage bag, but I can tell you she's been around the block a few times. Why, just look how she's showing off her nip of tequila and a wad of bills. But then there's the prissy fan and the black-and-white mid-century photographs stuffed inside. Is there more to this bawdy and beaded character than meets the eye.

What I think we can all agree is that Ingrid cleans up well for birthdays, special occasions, and of course, Valentine's Day. And she's looking for someone to take her off my hands. Oh she's got a price, for sure. Just email me at theelegantthrifter@gmail.com and I'll tell the real story!

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

The Elegant Thifter

A Golden Girl

Marilyn, Marilyn, what can I say about you, you vivacious, vintage gold lamé goddess. I packed you up for a friend's momentous birthday and you filled up on pills, booze, cigarettes!

Oh I know you have a naughty side. Why, you can't even keep your necklace straight. But you certainly make a nice gift for the saucy gal inside everyone.

Welcome to the ranks of The Hooch Bag!

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

The Elegant Thrifter

I can customize a Hooch Bag for you or a special occasion -- Mother's Day, Valentine's Day or even a wedding party. Just remember, The Elegant Thrifter doesn't have a liquor license so the nip is just a serving suggestion! Email me at theelegantthrifter@gmail.com.

Old Bag, New Tricks!

Here's another oldie from the past, but with gift-giving time coming up, I thought this might give you some ideas.

As you may know, I make Hooch Bags that make a perfect little something for that saucy, someone special in your life. Basically, they're vintage bags filled with funny money, a nip of booze, a vintage surprise and candy cigarettes making for a naughty-but-nice gift. It's like a party in a handbag -- all concealed in pretty wrappings

This is one of the first bags I made last year out of a 1960s satin, beaded clutch in perfect condition that I ran across at a Housing Works thrift shop. And since my best gal pal Bevy Smith's birthday was coming up, it seemed predestined for her.

About the same time as finding the bag, I was dumfounded to discover a heap of vintage shopping bags in the recycling pile. I gasped when I spied among them a Bonwit Teller bag from the famous department store that closed its doors in 1990. Now this bag held special significance for me, since it reminded me of the stories Bevy shared with me about her parents purchasing school clothes for her and her siblings at Bonwit Teller and the warm memories she holds for a department store that only lives in memory.

From there, everything started to fall magically into place. I took the beaded bag and filled it with miniature bottles of rum and vodka and nestled them among bills of faux dough. Bevy's own Hooch Bag had finally started to materialize! Enough money in the world couldn’t buy Bevy the jewels she deserves, so I settled instead on the gloriously photographed book, Alchemy: A Passion for Jewels by Temple St. Clair, the inimitable jewelry designer, and wrapped it up in lavender tissue. The crowning moment came when I propped a vintage fan from the 1960s honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. and Bobby Kennedy inside a bed of silk violets that I bought in Manhattan’s floral district, all peering out of the top of the shopping bag.

If you'd like me to make a Hooch Bag for a special occasion or even a holiday gift, email me at theelegantthrifter@gmail.com and I'll give you all the details.

And remember, on Monday, November 30th, my first ever mystery giveaway begins at The Elegant Thrifter. I'll be giving clues all week long, reveal the prize on Friday, December 4, and finally announce the winner on December 7. I hope your Thanksgiving was a wonderful moment shared with family and friends!

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

The Elegant Thrifter

Hellooo Valerie!

Oh my! Valerie is off the chain!

When I went about creating a hostess gift for Cheryl Maedor of Gardenhouse who hosted a fab event in West Palm Beach last week for The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating With Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details, all I had to do was open my wardrobe trunk full of

vintage handbags for another Hooch Bag creation!

She looks all innocent and proper from the exterior -- her chic Parisian frame crafted especially for Saks Fifth Avenue back in the day. And why, she is even sporting a vintage Pierre Cardin scarf. But release her dainty clasp -- and woaaaah -- you discover she's a party gal packed with on-the-go margaritas, maraschino cherries, a TGI Fridays cocktail shaker, packs of candy cigarettes and a cordial glass to boot.

When it gets messy, she has a rain bonnet from Simmons Funeral Home in Kansas City, Kansas; if it's too hot, she's got a fan; and if she's looking for a travel destination, there's a 1940s brochure about Ponte Verdra on the Florida Coast.

Let's just say this daring lady is ready for anything!

If you'd like a Hooch Bag for a gift or special occasion, send me an email at theelegantthrifter@gmail.com.

The holidays are on their way!

A Revolutionary New Bag

When putting together one of my Hooch Bags, I sort of let the thrift gods lead the way. This bag is a very special one, made for LeAnn Stephenson, The Vintage Laundress, as a hostess gift for putting together a tremendous Bastille Day party at Uptown Modern in Austin, Texas....and for being such a wonderful, new friend.

I didn't have my normal cache of funny money, candy cigarettes or discrete nips, but I didn't let that stop me as I perused the Allemany Flea market in Los Angeles. First, the blue suede bag appeared, then the fan fron Air France, and he vintage Parisian postcards and finally the French books. The hilarious vintage nylons showed up in a Goodwill in Austin, and my friend Deb Kelt donated the French dictionary and the red and blue ribbon.

Et Voilà! A bag fit to cause a revolution!

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous,

The Elegant Thrifter

Oh Judy!

It's a Hooch Bag by the Elegant Thrifter kind of moment, especially when Mother's Day is peeking around the corner. Now this lovely Judy is smokin' today, made for a special order that's going to be overnighted to a mom who apparently shares my gal's passion for funny money and a discrete nip.

Now you don't have to be as naughty as Judy to please your dear, sweet mother. You can fill a vintage handbag full of candy, brownies, a gift certificate or even a shimmery piece of jewelry....sure to make your mama proud. 

For more thrifty ideas, buy  The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating With Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details  at Borders, Barnes & Noble,Amazon and Powell's.

Puffing on a candy cigarette -- The Elegant Thrifter -- Always frugal, always fabulous!

Ferocious Fifi!

So you already met the sassy Sabrina at The Elegant Thrifter, but get to know her sassy gal pal Fifi. Oh she's a fine specimen of a Hooch Bag, filled with a ton of cash, a gallery map of Paris and a nice-old nip of Absinthe. They say too much of the sauce will make your crazy, but Fifi, like her pal Sabrina, are good time gals ready for a night on the town. Oh they're pretty gals, but look inside their stash and you might just flip your wig!

For more information on The Hooch Bag by The Elegant Thrifter email theelegantthrifter@gmail.com