It Looks Sort Of Familiar,

but what is it?

photograph The Vintage Purse Museum, that give it away! it is a purse made of telephone cords,

in Google just type in 'telephone cord bag' and this is roughly the selection you will see, 

photograph Love Too Junk, in 2016, the ESSE Purse Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas, told USA Today that the bag was a direct product of wartime rationing, as companies looked for “alternative materials for making [a] product that weren’t essential to the war effort [like a] telephone cord. It came in a variety of colour combos including, of course, red, white and blue. Functionality and patriotism ruled, and handbags became larger and more practical to hold all the necessities of a self-sufficient woman.” By the 1950s, they sold for around $3-$10, the contemporary equivalent of $30-$100, 

a couple of advertisements, 

for Plastic Coil Purses, 

a cord purses © the.elegant.giraffe, from Jessica at the elegant giraffe, “Because of their wide assortment and popularity back when they were produced, it’s not too hard to get your hands on one,” Jessica says, “The primary colour combination is the easiest one to find, and depending on the size and style they can go for $50-$150, However, rarer pastel colours can be much more [expensive] and harder to find.”

fellow collector Melanie, has 120 of these purses and has been collecting for over 10 years. “I love the 40s and 50s and that’s why I came across these extraordinary handbags and started my collection,” says Melanie, who runs an online shop for some rather wonderful vintage jewellery, “My bags are not for sale though. I’m from Germany and I can’t find them in flea markets over here. I only find them on Etsy or Ebay. It’s getting harder and harder to find rare colours and styles. And the prices have risen dramatically over the time.” You can browse her full collection on Pinterest, and can be reached for enquiries about her jewellery via her Etsy shop or Instagram, I wonder if coil handbags and purses will be the trend for this summer?