Behind the Bag: Vintage Inspiration

Whenever I am in need of some inspiration I like to browse unusual places for inspiration. One of my favorite places to go to inspire that little spark of an idea is the vintage clothing section on Etsy. Here are a few purses that I have sewn and the vintage item that inspired it.

First, here is a dress from LuckyPennyWares on Etsy.
I thought that the gold fabric covering the bust is just fantastic. I mimicked that same effect with gathered gold lame on this black velvet handbag:

And here is another dress from that same Etsy seller (both dresses are sold now, sorry!)

I loved the fringe and wanted to make a fringe bag like this. However, a bright yellow fringe bag would probably have a very small appeal, so I did it in classic black:

And finally, I can't find the link to the dress that inspired this purse. It was a blue halter dress with lots of ruching.

And the back:

It's been awhile since I searched around for vintage dresses for ideas, since I have a notebook bursting with ideas for purses. But this week is Purse Week at the blog A Lemon Squeezy Home and I'm trying to decide on the perfect design of a purse to enter. I've already entered one, and I'm trying to decide whether I want to enter a bag that I've already made or make a new one for my second entry. I've only got until Friday!