Buffalo Check Is a Mate for Plaid

 

Buffalo Check which is also known as Lumberjack Plaid is a mate to tartan plaid. Similar to the Royal Stewart tartan plaid, the former is equally as popular. Just about anything that looks good in Royal Stewart looks great in this pattern, too.
black-red-plaid
Whichever you call it, it is one of my favorites and a very popular pattern. Getty image.

HISTORY

Historically, this pattern could include clothing, then bedding, now handbags and other items. Here’s a great story from Tartan Authority describing its history.

Buffalo Check - history 1
It’s Origin Part 1
history 2
History Part 2
history 3
History Part 3
buffalo-plaid
Bee & Willow sheets available at Bed Bath & Beyond

MORE OF THIS PATTERN

Continuing on from its Indian blanket trading history, it became a pattern for a man’s shirt. This design has been popularized on many items. Here is a sampling of its use in bedding above and then in a woman’s handbag below.

Coach gingham
Coach Chaise ‘gingham’ in Black/Red buffalo check

 

 

 

SOURCES & RESOURCES

Bee & Willow™ Home Buffalo Plaid Flannel Full Sheet Set in Red/Black

Online Fabric Store-Black/Red Buffalo Check Fabric

Here are the results of a search for buffalo plaid

The Origin of Buffalo Check of Lumberjack Plaid

Buffalo Plaid – It’s Origins

 

 

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A Passion for Plaid

 

model in tartan outfit
Royal Stewart Plaid Kilt from the Scottish Kilt Shop
12538 Basque Pl Woodbridge VA 22192 USA

INTRODUCTION

My plaid passion began sometime in my youth although I can’t say exactly when. But plaid has been a favorite pattern of mine as far back as I can remember.

My earliest memory may have just been the pattern itself. But there is no question that I soon developed a taste for anything with it.

I had clothes, a jacket and tartan plaid sheets and towels. My mother even had a plaid bathrobe.

But it was not until I was an adult that I learned about the Scottish plaids that represented the clans. They proudly wore the tartan and it was not just for decoration.

I later learned that there are many different tartan plaids as well as plaids that are unrelated to Scottish clans.

 

plaid passion
The Vermont Country Store is where you can get all kinds of plaid sheets and other bedding to your heart’s content

There are two types of plaid that I love. They are tartans plaid and lumberjack plaid aka buffalo check. The former come from the clans that wove this fabric and made their garments from these ancestral patterns.

plaid-passion
This toddler’s dress is in the Royal Stewart Dress plaid. It is by George and available on Poshmark.

Their history is described here in this post. In addition, images above focuses on bedding and clothes in the Royal Stewart tartan plaid while images for lumberjack plaid aka buffalo check are on the next blog post.

 

CONTINUE

My plaid passion has never worn out. In fact to this day, I have found a new object for my love of plaid, handbags. I don’t think I ever owned a plaid one. But that is about to change. Searching online, I have discovered an abundance of plaid handbags. This actually includes those made out of wool and cotton. Then there are my outstanding favorites, patent leather plaid.

patent leather plaid
This is an outstanding example of a patent leather plaid handbag found on poshmark.
Although the above handbag is not in a traditional plaid, it is still beautiful. Here is a tote that is in a traditional Stewart plaid.

 

stewart plaid
This tote was found on Etsy and is decorated in Stewart plaid.

CONCLUSION

In the next blog post, Buffalo Check Is a Mate for Plaid, I will present another of my favorite patterns.

 

SOURCES & RESOURCES

Yarn-Dyed Plaid Portuguese Flannel Cotton Sheet set

Toddlers holiday dress by George 24m

Burnside Yarn-Dyed Long Sleeve Flannel Shirt, M, Red/Black Buffalo, M

Royal Patron for The Scottish Tartans Authority

Scottish Clans and Tartans

Scottish Kilt shop 12538 Basque Pl, Woodbridge VA 22192 USA 1(800)999-0100

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Affordable Handbags Inspired by Extraordinary Luxury Purses

 

INTRODUCTION

It is a well known fact in the fashion industry that haute couture can only be afforded by the very wealthy. Thanks to the world of ‘knock-off’ fashion, the extraordinary becomes affordable. Therefore, this blog post provides some really surprising financial examples of this in the handbag industry.

extraordinary becomes affordable
Anne Hathaway’s famous blue sweater that Meryl Streep lectures her about in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’
As Meryl Streep deliberately explains to Ann Hathaway in, ‘The Devil Wears Prada‘, the extraordinary births the ordinary. Meryl Streep describes the origins of a shabby blue sweater that Anne Hathaway is wearing. Its history is from glamorous haute cuttiere. Anne Hathaway is totally oblivious to this. At this stage in the movie, Anne has no idea that the the ordinary is inspired by the extraordinary.

 

WILD ABOUT HANDBAGS

Although I am not devotee of high fashion clothing, I am wild about handbags. Therefore I have been studying the world of glamour in this industry. One of my favorite companies is Rebag. I have been introduced to luxury handbags through their social media and website. This adds to the knowledge I already have to what I consider affordable quality handbags including Coach, Dooney and Bourke, and Kate Spade.

extraordinary becomes affordable
Luxury Gingham bag on left and two less expensive bags to its right

 

HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS

Since I have only been able to encounter handbags in the hundreds in person, I can only surmise the difference in the cost of those in the thousands.

My favorite Coach vintage bag is called the Willis bag. Because it is a classic, variations of it have been made over many decades. A recent version, in green, and two original designs are pictured below.

They are all high quality Coach products but their age can impact the price by several hundred dollars. Due to its rarity, the vintage Willis is about twice the cost of the new one.

extraordinary becomes affordable
Three Coach Willis bags are pictured here. The green one is the latest version. Photo from Coach. The two on the right are classic version. Photos from Etsy.

 

THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS

I had no idea that there were handbags that were more expensive than new automobile or even a house. Even those designer bags have imitators or want-to-be handbags. The designer bags include the Hermes Birkin bags which are six and seven figures. Their inspired versions cost a few hundred retail like the totes from Coach and Kate Spade.

extraordinary inspires affordable
Three pink totes ranging from nearly a $1 million Hermes Birkin Bag, a five figure Prada bag to a Coach tote on sale for about $100.

 

WHIMSICAL

Both very expensive and less expensive handbag companies make whimsical purses. Great whimsy inspires affordability. The most famous of this is Judith Leiber handbags. They are very whimsical as well as expensive. In similar fashion, Kate Spade came out with its frog bag. The former retails for a few hundred dollars. The latter goes for between about $5,000.

whimsey for all
A Kate Spade Wicker Frog Bag next to A Judith Leiber Frozen Marguerita Clutch. The Judith Leiber is over 10 times as expensive as the Kate Spade bag.

 

ALMOST TWINS

These two totes are so similar. In fact, I took a double take when I discovered the Burberry Remington tote. It’s hard to believe that it can cost up to five times as much as the Kate Spade on the right when this designer ‘knock’ goes on sale.

almost twins
Two bags that look so similar. The Burberry on the left can be five times as expensive as the Kate Spade on the right when it goes on sale.

 

GUESS WHICH BRAND THIS ONE IS

Sometimes the affordable bags are so well made that one can’t tell the difference between luxury, ‘working girl designer’ (like Coach and Kate Spade) or a total ‘knock off’. This example is from the best knock off company I have found. If you’re curious, the answer is in the Sources and Resources section.

guess which brand
Guess which brand this is. The answer is in Sources & Resources.

 

CONCLUSION

As a handbag collector and flea market stalker, I am always on the prowl for that special but accessible bag that the seller is practically giving away. Wouldn’t it be great if someone was selling an extraordinary purse for next to nothing. That is my dream. So I continue to search and collect in the hope my dream comes true.

 

SOURCES & RESOURCES

Anne Hathaway’s Cerulean Blue sweater in The Devil Wears Prada

Coach Gingham Purse

Mansur Gavriel Gingham purse on Rebag

Judith Leiber on Rebag

The 8 Most Expensive Birkin Bags Ever Sold

Coach Pink Mollie Tote

Dasein – Affordable Fashion Design Handbags

Kate Spade River Large Bucket Bag

Coach Leatherware

Coach Black Willis

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My Designer Purse Gems

 

Selecting My Gems
My designer purse gems were not difficult for me to select from my rather large collection of favorite designer and style bags. Some are on my studio wall to provide a decorative view of this room. Others decorate my bedroom, and the rest are housed in their own cabinet. Four of my designer purse gems are featured in this blog post. Indeed these four are my favorites even though I have many others that I love.

For example, I own about a dozen Coach bags. These and others purses are the ones that serve as decoration on my studio wall. They are all still usable as pocketbook. They are truly my designer purse gems.

designer-purse gems
This wall displays most of my Coach Bag collection as well as others and is the view on my studio wall
My Gems
From the above and other purses that I have collected, there are four that are the absolute gems. The images below or either from my own collection or from the companies themselves. How I wish you could see them and touch them. Maybe one day, they will all be in a design museum or a handbag collection in a interdisciplinary one. Museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Modern Art, also in New York and The Smithsonian in Washington D.C. Then you will able to see them in person.

design purse gems
These are pictures of the bags that I posses or similar ones to my own. From left to right, Coach original Wills bag, new Coach Willis 18 bag, Dooney & Bourke teton bag, and the Furla round bag.
Public Gems
Did you know that there are other museums that do house outstanding everyday objects of superior design? Well, there are. Even though some of my bags are design to last ‘forever’, I hope that as many people as possible will be able to enjoy them by experiencing them. Then my designer purse gems, will be your design purse gems, too.
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All Weather Leather Bags

 

all-weather leather
The banner for Dooney & Bourke All Weather leather bags blog.

THE DUCK BRAND
all-weather-leather
the famous vintage style ‘All Weather Leather’ duck bag is captured here.
Acquiring an ‘all weather leather’ Dooney & Bourke bag started my collection. That is because a D & B bag was the ideal way to dress on rainy days and fun vintage bag days. So began my collecting. But it did not last forever.

Although this company had it purse beginnings in all weather leather, it have moved on to other styles and materials. When they moved on, I moved on as well.

But their all weather leather is still my favorite Dooney & Bourke. That’s why I want to focus this post on ‘their duck bag’.

Their original styles can sometimes be found on sites like ebay and Pinterest

MEMORIES

The bag shown below is similar to the very first one I ever owned. It was my first step into designer bags. From there, my story continues.

dooney-bourke
A New Vintage Dooney & Bourke Handbag found on ebay

 

COLLECTING QUALITY LEATHER PURSES
As I mentioned, my first love was Dooney & Bourke. Coach had not introduced vibrant color yet. Therefore I gravitated to the colorful ‘all weather leather’ that caught my eye when I began collecting. Because of the vibrant, colorful design of all the bags I bought, the one below has always been my favorite. It was the teton bucket purse style.

I found so many picture of ‘All Weather Leather’ Bags when I was researching this post. To be thorough, I am including this image from ebay.

vintage leather
Images of some of the Dooney & Bourke vintage bags that are available on ebay.

 

SOURCES & RESOURCES

History of Dooney & Bourke

To learn more about vintage Dooney & Bourke ‘all weather leather, visit the D & B Blog.

D & B AWL care

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TRAVELING COACH STYLE

 

Traveling Coach Style is a very fun and pleasant ways to coordinate a purse with an outfit. As a connoisseur of fine leatherware, I gifted myself a new purse each birthday for many years. In fact, the brand has either been a Coach or a Dooney & Bourke.
traveling Coach style
Above is the blurb about Coach on their Yahoo page. Note the Coach logo in the top right

Each company has a long history of quality leather goods. Although they both use primarily leather and fabric, their results are uniquely recognizable. So whether one is ‘traveling coach style’ or in ‘all weather leather’, with these products, it is always with fashion in mind.
traveling coach style
The original logo of a duck representing the Dooney & Bourke brand of all weather leather.

I have not always been able to afford the latest and newest creation of my favorite leather goods. Since our budget has changed dramatically in recent years, I have become a frequenter of thrift stores. I am always on the lookout for great buys. In this category I have found many.
traveling coach style
Rebag is newest, hippest, most affordable ways to acquire re(used) luxury handbags.

In fact, I recently discovered Rebag, re(used) purses that are not just for the shabby. They are very chic but less expensive than to buy them new.

For your viewing pleasure, future posts about this topic will feature pictures of great designs, colorful bags, and some of my very own favorites. Keep reading these fun fashion posts, to find out my most desired bag for my upcoming birthday.

Learn how I developed in detail a system of responsible and profitable credit cards use to make such purchases. There is a very affordable collection of Amazon Ebooks that I wrote that will teach you how to use credit cards responsibly and profitably.

traveling-coach-style
Here’s are illustrations of early Coach bags. When was the Coach Company founded and who designed their early bags?
QUIZ
To answer this Coach quiz question, ‘when was the Coach Company founded and who designed their early bags’?, or comment on this post, scroll to the very bottom of the page and engage in Disqus. If you do not find Disqus, click on the ‘continue reading’ box on the right hand side to reveal it.

SOURCES AND RESOURCES

Coach – The Early Years

Bonnie Cashin

First Dibs on Bags

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