The real secret to having 140-plus purses is to spend as little as possible on each one. I never pay more than $25 and I often find beautiful bags in excellent condition for less than $10. I buy most of them on ebay, occasionally on etsy, and I figure it’s a small enough amount that if I end up with something awful, or seriously damaged, I haven’t lost much. Besides, you can hardly buy anything in a store that you’d be willing to carry for $25 so I come out ahead no matter what.

I always say I collect two kinds of purses, but it’s really more like five. The first is Bienen-Davis, made roughly from the 1930s to the ’60s and known for their beautiful hardware. This one, with a cherub clasp, is typical:And so is this one, with the bar handle:
Although a few shoulder bags show up in the ’60s, these are real lady purses, the kind you hold by the handle or slip over your wrist:In fact, that’s one of the reasons I started using them: I was tired of having something hanging off my shoulder all the time. And yes, I use many of the purses I collect. Some are too precious or impractical, but I love collecting things that are beautiful, interesting and useful all at the same time.

I also collect Delill box purses, which were popular in the 1960s and are shaped like little steamer trunks:
They’re covered with faux leather, fabric, raffia, plastic–even cork!–and come in a zillion colors and patterns. Delill produced a wide variety of styles (see below for my inability to resist some of the other ones) and I like these not only for their novelty, but because they’re hard-sided, just like a real trunk, and hold a huge amount of stuff: I can put everything that fits in a Bienen-Davis bag AND most of my lunch in one.

I have a few mini-collections of other Delill styles: clutches, sometimes in the same pattern as a box purse:
And sometimes not:
Then there are the dozen or so fruit-themed change purses. Delill made many styles of change purses, along with eyeglass cases and even belts, but I love the fruit:
I also have a group of brown Delill bags with various kinds of beading that’s almost become an official collection. Several are satin clutches but here’s the latest, in velvet, which I bought just last week:
Yup, can’t stop buying them, and that’s how I know I’m a real collector.

Next: The collection I started after I promised myself I’d never start another one.