Retro Vegas Baby!

Today, I went out to the post office to collect the mail.  Monday's are always busy; but not today.  I had one blue pick-up slip there and that was it.  The parcel was from the USA and inside it was a lovely surprise of Reeces Peanut Butter Cups (one of my favourite chocolates come out of the States and Canada) and a very retro coin purse one of my Bookcrossing friends picked up on a recent trip to Las Vegas.

 She told me that she was looking around a shop, saw it and immediately thought of me.  Inside it is two 1c American coins and 10 yen.  How cool is that?  I love this cassette tape coin purse!  I may yet use it tomorrow when I'm out and about at Garden City.  It's big enough for my uses; and interesting enough to be stared at by people besides me... and yeah, I'm still looking at it in amazement!

Back In Gotham City...

This is a wallet for any die hard fan of Batman.  I found this wonderful wallet in my usual haunt:  a Life Line store.  It still had 5 cents in it and it's in lovely condition.  However, I don't think it's been used very much.  What a great piece to have for a growing collection - or a young Batman fan in the making!  Or any Batman fan for that matter.

I'll add this to my collection of wallets; but I'm not sure when I'll get to use it as it's a particular type of wallet.  You never know when a super hero wallet will be needed in life.  But when it has been used... you will be the first to know!  Or I'll send the Bat Signal into the night skies!

All The Colours of the Rainbow!

I have loved finding great bags wherever I go; and today I one that looked like something from a 'Lifesavers' commercial.  It's a crocheted one and it is just the most lovely bag to take places as it's bright and cheery.  It's a rainbow bag.  I loved it the moment I laid eyes on it and will test it out soon and let you all know how it goes in life.  
The handle is long enough to sling it across me and wear it down on my hip.  It's got a lovely little zip-up affair and a little zip on the inside pocket too.  Quite bright and eye-catching bag if I do say so!

Tested: 9, October, 2010
Test Site:  A dinner at my brother's house.

This little bag was the most colourful thing I wanted to take with me last night.  It suited my outfit nicely, didn't drag at my clothes and fitted in my mobile phone, meds, house keys, MP3 and coin purse (but alas, not a wallet, it's too bulky).  What a great little bag!  My niece loves it and thought it was the coolest little bag she's ever seen.  So, it looks like I'll be keeping an eye out for another just like it soon.. as she'll want one as well.  Seeing it's crocheted, it didn't take long to dry out when it got damp, and I liked that it didn't feel heavy either.  A great purchase for an evening out; will most definitely use it again.

Spencer & Rutherford Wallet

I bought this little beauty some time ago and tried it out one day when I needed something to use to go shopping with.  Well, I never really changed back to any other wallet or coin purse.  It became my main wallet to use every day.  So, when I go out, this is the once I change from into another.  It does have a slight problem holding a lot of change, but if you work it through the change area right, it will be okay.  There's plenty of space for all kinds of credit cards and business cards - as well as hiding things too.  I saw that the I.D. section is brilliant and big enough for just about any kind of picture identification; and this dear wallet will hold any size folding money along with receipts and notes you may have written to yourself.

Spencer & Rutherford is a Melbourne brand that has been around for a long time.  They purses, wallets and handbags are worth a lot of money (this one would have cost between $35 and $55 in its time; which was the mid to late 1990's).  Wallets and pursesnow cost around $65 - $100 at David Jones or Myers.  And the handbags cost between $300 - $500 each.  They are very much sought after if you're into the fashion industry and major-brand bags.  

However, I bought this little beauty from a Life Line for $5.00.  When I told them in Melbourne, the lady there told me that I got a very good purse for a brilliant bargain; and you know, she's right.  I don't know why people throw away such things when they are a little out of fashion.

Tiny Apples

Last Wednesday was a great day for coin purse hunting.  I came home with quite a few purses and wallets; and this one with tiny apples all over it was one of them.  Isn't it just the cutest?  I love the vibrant colouring of the apples with the silver background!  It's the shine that caught my eye first and then the apples with the smallest hint of the green quick on the top so perfectly drawn there.

I've yet to test this one as well.  I might yet use it this week while I'm out and about doing my usual shopping around the ridges; then let you know how it goes. 

Betty's Purse

I was out and about last Wednesday in my usual haunt of a charity shop when I came across this lovely little purse with Betty-Boo all over it in a very cool, arty way.  Despite its size, I loved how it was set up and didn't know why somebody would throw it out.  

This cool little purse was from a time of bright colours and absolutely not of a person who is shy and reserved.  And this is why I bought it.  Once I wiped it over with a damp cloth, the colours really came out.  I haven't used it yet, but I'm sure I'll find an event to soon.

Out With The Old - In With The New!

Today was it!  I was at the post office and found that I had to empty out most of my handbag to find my PO Box key... so I decided to find myself a good handbag that took all my stuff; and do it today!

So, once I was at Life Line, I looked carefully at some lovely handbags in the glass cabinet and a coin purse or two; then the other bags on the shelves.  And found the absolute one for me!  It has two compartments, a zip-up centre, a zip on the back, other zips on the front and there's a complete part that does up too.  So, I took it.

What did I do with my old handbag?  I emptied it out, transferred my stuff to the new one and handed it into Life Line where they checked it while I stood there to confirm I hadn't left anything in it.  I'm happy with my purchase and hope the next person who buys my old purse enjoys it as much as I did over the last two years.

Big Red!

I found this monster of a purse at a local charity shop and thought it would be something wonderful to add to my collection.  Seeing I've got a really tiny one, it would be a great irony to have a large, oversized purse; so I got it.  And I'm glad I did.

Isn't it lovely and big and just that little bit cumbersome?  I haven't used it yet, but I'm sure it will work just perfectly - if not better - to what I need.  However, I do like my coin purses to be cute and discrete things that hold my money and other people's attention just long enough for them to be wowed a little bit before I put them back in my bag.  This one, however it on the bigger side; I wouldn't know where to begin with its uses.  But it is something to behold with its colour.

Glo-Mesh History Mystery

A lot of people wonder where Glo-Mesh handbags come from; and why they are so hard to find after being so popular for such a short period of time.  I've done some digging around and found a few little-known facts about this very collectible, must-have for every woman.

As it was mostly produced in the 70s and 80s, but not exclusively – silver mesh had a bit of a following in the 60s with companies like the US-based Whiting and Davis that were producing mesh well before this.

The mesh came in a range of basic colours, along with some less common and more collectable ones.

However, the term ‘Glomesh’ is the official trademark of the company you asked about (Glo International Australia). If it isn’t labelled ‘Glomesh’ then the item should be referred to as simply ‘mesh’ or ‘alumesh'.  

‘Glomesh’ was manufactured in Australia and so, many Glomesh designs have a four digit design number somewhere on the label of the bag. This can be of assistance in dating the item.  However, if you've bought your bag at a charity or second-hand store, the tag may have been cut or worn out.

If you’re lucky enough to find a swing tag attached to the item, this will help in dating it. 60s bags have swing tags/sticker labels with a sort of rounded triangular shape, like a plectrum; later ones have a square tag with a gold ‘G’ on it.

If the original box comes with the item, this too can help you date it – older boxes have printed off-white cardboard that’s designed to look like glomesh; later boxes are grey with thin diagonal pink stripes and white lettering.

Cheaper mesh, which mostly seems to come from Hong Kong or China, will tarnish easily and is generally not worth your while (unless it’s an amazing shape or colour or something).

There are three most reputable brands of mesh:

Australia – Glomesh (Glo International Australia) and Park Lane
USA – Gold Crest and Whiting and Davis (USA)
Germany – Oroton

That’s about all it I found find about Glo-Mesh (alu-mesh).  Never underestimate the value of talking to the older generation. Even ladies (and some gents) who don’t take an interest seem to know the difference between Oroton and ‘Made in Hong Kong’. 

If you go into an antiques shop/fair/market where people seem to be selling loads of mesh, they will probably be wonderful founts of wisdom. You can also check fashion magazines from the 70s and 80s, which will probably assist you in identifying designs and trends of the period.

I got all this information from a wonderful website from Google.   All of this information was gleaned from a blog site; as I couldn't find anything about these particular types of bags.  I've been obtaining a lot of my history from my parents and other people who used to own Glo-mesh or other mesh bags.

Crete Coin Purse

I had a muddled up day; forgetting a multitude of things but it got figured out in the end.  And my day got even better once everything was unpacked at home and I walked to the post office to check the mail to find a little parcel sitting in the PO Box for me.

On the way to the service station (to buy some milk), I found one of my dear friends from Bookcrossing had been to Crete and has sent me a lovely little coin purse from there.  She had contacted me and asked what my address was about a week ago; but I didn't think this lovely little darling of purse would be waiting for me; she has such great taste!  

Immediately, I put my $5.00 note into it and tried it out.  I love how it has a definite sharp clip and none of the money pokes out the sides.  Then, once I received the change from the man at the counter, none of the money fell out the sides (sometimes this happens; it all in how the item is made and nothing else).  Definitely a great purchase made by one of my friends.  I will use this one again.