Vintage handbag at the bag doctor

From time to time, Francine from Antwerp organizes a private sale. She rents a nice location in the city and displays everything as in a real store. She sells her clothes and accessories that literally and/or figuratively no longer fit her. Since Francine has a preference for black and I have tried to avoid that color in recent years, she did not have clothes I was interested in. But with this bag, I immediately fell in love, so I took it to Haarlem. At home, I immediately made an Instagram photo of it with matching shawl and beret.

 

French style

The bag is from France and is beautifully made, also much care has been taken on the interior. There is a blue/white striped lining with lots of (hidden) pockets. The model is quite tight, a bit minimalistic, completely my taste. Unfortunately the fun did not last long. Already after the first time I went out one of the handles broke off. Very sorry, I thought I could only use the bag as a decoration in my closet. Until about one month ago I came across a message from the Bag doctor on Instagram. How lucky I was.

Bag doctor and more

The bag doctor appears to have a practice in The Hague, where not only bags are patched up. It is a recognized vocational school, where different courses for beginners and advanced students are given. There is an annual training for people who ultimately want their own label and drop off as a skilled bagmaker. But there are also workshops of a few hours for making your own sneakers or sneakers for a baby. Or for making a Memory Bag. For example, you can use an old jacket that you are attached to and turn it into a bag.

Proces

The doctor was kind enough to take pictures of the entire recovery process. So I could ‘watch’ during the operation, see how carefully one worked and I also kept informed of the progress. I have no idea how old the bag is, I think it’s made somewhere in the sixties. On the pictures, you can clearly see that the leather from the handles was completely dried and a bit pulverized. This also shows that a shoemaker – no matter how good in his profession – could not do this job in this way. It is a profession apart. A nice bag deserves to be carefully repaired, that takes a lot of time, so it is perhaps a bit more expensive than at a shoemaker.

Result

 

This is the result. The bag doctor has succeeded in finding leather for the newly made handles in almost the same shade of black. The handles are firmly (by hand) attached. So I do not have to worry about letting go. I am so happy with my beautiful renewed vintage bag!