“La Marquise” 1950s Italian Tapestry Bag:
This bag made me fall in love with vintage shops. I found it on a vintage glass table in a small town’s vintage boutique, when I was visiting different small Canadian towns back in 2018. It was love at first sight. I opened it slowly, fascinated by what might be inside, and found a small mirror in the bag’s zip pocket. Somehow, it made me feel connected to its previous owner. I was surprised to find a simple, cheap mirror in a used condition, unlike the bag. I put it back where it was and decided to keep it, thinking it will always connect me to its previous owner somehow.
The bag features a “La Marquise” tag with a description that says “Made of the finest Italian Tapestry.” which piqued my interest. After researching it, I discovered it is an Italian tapestry evening bag from the 1950s.
The bag followed me in every country I’ve moved in. Always placed on a shelf where everyone could see it. I always felt proud of this first vintage find. I however never wore it, too scared of damaging it and unsure of how to style it.
The tapestry jacket:
The vintage La Marquise bag made me appreciate the use of tapestry in fashion accessories and garments. This jacket was passed on to me a few years ago and was initially found in a charity shop. The tag did not appear to be luxurious or vintage in any way, but I still felt like the jacket was an interesting rare find as it was entirely made of a tapestry-like fabric. I felt connected to it.
Looking closely at the tapestry patterns, I could tell that it features very typical Canadian landscape and wildlife which I found very unique compared to the Italian vintage tapestries which feature European and Italian landscapes or noble figures in rococo dress.
Treating this jacket too preciously, I never wore it and am still waiting for the right occasion to do so.
The silk scarf:
This scarf was purchased from the silk museum in Valencia, Spain. It was gifted to me as I am developing an interest for silks and starting to incorporate silk fabrics in my work as a young designer. Instead of purchasing a silk scarf from a fashion brand, I felt like this piece had a deeper connection to crafts and silk-printing, which make it special and unique.
I was attracted to its colours of light blue, yellow and brown which are usually not very present in my wardrobe’s colour palette. I thought of this item as a very versatile piece and felt excited to style it as a light summer top , wrapped around my neck or waist – more than its intended use as a scarf. It seemed like the perfect addition to my upcoming summer wardrobe.