The super powers of the lucite purse!
What is the aesthetic appeal of these objects today? Their eccentricity,
certainly! but also a kind of unselfconscious inventiveness that's clearly
prepared to go all the way, yet is constrained by practicalities. There's
something both sophisticated and naive about these shapes, these wierd
combinations of color and material, the occasional lunacies! As pure
objects they can dazzle; they turn out, under inspection, to be small-scale
architecture. Their other crucial aspect, what makes them so touching,
in conjunction with their extreme style .. is that each was a highly
personal, intimate object .. they were used! From Hollywood stars to
expensive call girls! Women carried lipsticks and compacts, and keys
and photographs and handkerchiefs in them; bought them to go with a
particular dress or coat; carried them to dinners and parties and theaters;
and cared enough about them to store them away in closets in dresser
drawers for decades. Although they are related in design to the cars
and appliances of their day, they also seem related to our period ..
in a way that Cadillac tail fins and avocado refrigerators do not! From
the cylindrical, coffin, fishing tackle, triangular, and other esoteric
shapes .. as with Hollywood's golden-age films, these functional artforms
still Dazzle!
I have been collecting them for .. what seems like - forever!! - and
during the past 25+ years have had well over 2500. However, with the
superpowers of ebay, my addiction worsened, my collection lessened,
and my tastes and desires rose to higher levels. And as I continue fueling
this prodigious addiction, i do try to avoid buying any that I've had
in the past .. unless of course, it's a different color! which narrows
it down! . . . but, then again, if it's a purse I Really like, I've
been known to buy the same one three or even four times! ... or if it's
the same style purse .. created by a different designer.. then, of course
I Have to have it! Rules I follow: if it's cracked or chipped, I stay
away; if it's "cloudy", the clouding will probably 'grow'
over time; if it was cheap when it was new, it's cheap today; if it
was expensive when new, well .. that could merit selling a dog (and
throwing in the sapphire collar) to buy. When I bought my first Wilardy,
for $14.50 it was affectionately called a WILL'-ardy; my last one was
over $2000.00, and during this span of time, the name evolved to Wil-ARD'-y.
I still love these little jewels; keep saying, no more, and . . viola!
. . that special one comes along, gives me That Wink! and know I can't
possibly live without it. Bless you William Hardy!!
