We love handbags having written extensively in the past about the Hermes Birkin bag and having visited both designers and craftsmen to learn more about handbags and what makes them more or less expensive.

Judith Leiber The Queen of Bags

But without a doubt the queen of handbags was Judith Leiber, who past away last month at the age of 97. Her handbags were the beginning of BLING.

First Lady Mamie Eisenhower

From Holocaust survivor to the designer whose bags appeared in photographs of First Ladies, Judith Leiber was both artist and designer and brilliant visionary. She said in one interview that she wanted her bags to look good both full and empty. She designed a bag that looked like Barbara Bush’s dog, Millie. Her first First Lady, Mamie Eisenhower, caused a stir at the Inaugural Ball clutching her Judith Leiber bag.

Fashion has never turned back from the bag as THE must have accessory. Young women today will spend two paychecks to have a designer bag. Even in tights or jeans, women want a designer bag.

The Leibers established a museum in East Hampton to house Judith’s bags. Beverly Sills donated 200 of her Leiber bags to the museum. Her jeweled minaudières make us smile, from bejeweled asparagus to wonderful creatures including an outstanding penguin.

Her artist husband, Gerson, died within hours after her passing. The following Vogue story is a fitting tribute:

https://www.vogue.com/article/obituary-judith-leiber-handbag-designer

Ciao,

Lucy and Claudia