LEVI Strauss & Co. saddle bag

Levi Strauss was born on February 26, 1829 in Bavaria, Germany as a Jewish German Bavarian. Levi Strauss was born as Loeb Strauss. In 1847, Strauss, his mother and two sisters moved to New York, to join his brothers, Jonas and Louis Loeb, in their dry goods business.

By 1850 he adopted the name “Levi Strauss” and in 1853, Strauss moved to San Francisco, California.

Levi Strauss died in 1902 but his family business continued and now the word Levi is synonymous with denim jeans. A few years ago, a pair of original Levi jeans was found in an old mine in California, buried under a lot of rubble. They were cleaned and sold at auction for several million dollars. From the 1960's Jeans have become a universal garment worn by men and women the world over. They were first featured in Vogue magazine in 1935.






Here are some suggestions on how to care for
your jeans & help the environment too.

Love the message.

Allen Edmonds

Based in Port Washington, Wisconsin. The company was established in Belgium, Wisconsin in 1922.
It manufactures the vast majority of its shoes in the United States and several pairs in Italy. It is one of three American shoe companies, the others being Alden and Johnston & Murphy, that still make men's dress shoes domestically.

 Allen Edmonds are an expensive brand of shoes that men typically wear for a very long time and repair rather than replace. The company offers recrafting services, rebuilding a pair of shoes for a fee, replacing soles and heels, creating a new cork base and strip, and reapplying the finish.

Upcycling, refurbishing, made in USA. I like it !  This is a vintage "Boot Skos" boar skin chukka boot.

Dooney & Bourke

Dooney & Bourke started in 1975 when Peter Dooney and Frederic Bourke launched their namesake in South Norwalk, Connecticut. The duo started off with two introductory products: surcingle belts, which were popular due to their unique vibrant colors and stripes, and classic suspenders.

In 1981, Dooney & Bourke branched out into the handbag business with the release of the Tack Case and the Equestrian Bag, both made from bridle leather. Along with their original distributors such as Nordstrom, Brooks Brothers, and Saks Fifth Avenue, they opened The Company Store in Norwalk, Connecticut which sold among other things Dooney & Bourke Merchandise.

 In 1983, with the development of their famous All-Weather Leather (AWL) bag, the first AWL handbag collection was released featuring a duck logo with a russet leather trim.

Brighton

The concept for Brighton began over thirty years ago when Terri Kravitz and Jerry Kohl, high school sweethearts, opened a specialty retail store. Together they learned the importance of customer service and beautifully made products. In 1991, Terri and Jerry launched Brighton Collectibles with a single collection of belts. 

Many of their products are adorned with a heart, symbolizing the company's mission to offer creative and inspired products that will touch people's hearts.

The belt in the photograph is dated 1991. It may be one of the first belts crafted & sold by Brighton.

You only need to feel the weight of the silver to realize this is a vintage piece, handcrafted & quality made.

Joan & David

Joan Halpern identified the need for a stylish shoe without fussy detail, that looked smart and would not date too quickly.  Her market was the active women with a diverse and fastmoving lifestyle.  She designed what she wanted, and with her husband founded the company they named Joan & David.

Her first shoes were an oxford style tie and lowheeled pump created to go with the pants and separates which were in fashion in the late 1960's.

They became very popular indeed.
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Kookai handbag

This rich cognac leather Kookai satchel bag traveled here all the way from France.  

Did you know the satchel became a fashion accessory and was popular during the 17th century?  It predates the backpack. In literature, the satchel is often associated with the classic image of the English schoolboy: "And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel" is a phrase from Shakespeare's monologue. 

This satchel bag definitely defies its age...and its warm patina has become better with age.

Kookai is a  French fashion label founded in 1983 by Jean-Lou Tepper, Jacques Nataf and Philippe de Hesdin.