What does a hand embellished vintage 1970s Dooney & Bourke leather handbag (made in the USA) and a beautiful belle living in Sacramento, California have in common?
Simply put: LOVE, baby.
Antonia has been in my life for over twenty years; we met over a mutual ex-beau, and stayed for the smart conversations, shared love of thrift shopping and local bands. Our acquaintance has evolved into a deep and sound friendship, surfing the ebbs and flows of distance and changes that are par for the course in the deluge spanning two decades.
1990-something: she was a sweet young thing, a curvy bombshell, outfitted with a dry wit and sharply smart, a fresh faced creature of 17ish, intent on taking Midtown by storm. I was older, taller, my scrawny figure more akin to the minutes of choirboy than hourglass. My grunge era look was locked into a red lipsticked, goofy grin, and big blinky bug eyes tucked inside a pair of Malcolm X horned rims. And I was a whole 9 years wiser. She has since surpassed me on the wise part, using her powers for good, now a proud mama to 3 boys, a devoted wife and high school principal.
In spite of our very different body shapes, and age gap, we bore a strong resemblance to the other, frustrating us both when folks would approach each, confusing one
for the other. Sure, she could have easily passed for a kid sister, but it was confounding that people would actually take me for her! There were many an occasion when I was addressed as her, and by more than a handful of of peeps over the years.
In fact, I used to call her my doppelganger. When people would approach me, certain that they had previously met me at this party or that show, I would just smile and nod, confident that the Antonia- social-butterfly-experience had fluttered there.
Someone posted this 1924 picture of vintage badgirls on my Facebook page last week, wondering if I was a time traveler. When I saw the image, the first person I thought of was Antonia. So, my 1924 doppelganger appears to be a dead ringer for my Sactown one, circa 1993.
Over the years, Antonia's big heart has thrown its considerable weight behind many of my endeavors. In fact, it was a conversation with Antonia that launched me on the path that I am on now, in pursuit of creating a creative, sustainably minded artist collective.
And, she's been one of my most ardent of cheerleaders and best-est of customers. She has kindly populated her wardrobe with a plethora of our #freshpicks and we are ever on the lookout for more goodies to tempt our Sac-town doppelganger.
Her most recent acquisition is this treasured vintage leather handbag, originally found a decade ago in midtown Sacramento thrift store. I had since hand drawn the LOVE letters on the front in a bold black sharpie and embellished with gold paint. I adore the color of the leather- a toasty, rusty brown (official titled "British Tan" by D&B, so ya know) and the way its ages into a most lovely of patinas.
Kinda like a good friendship over the years.
Do you have #SECONDHANDFIRST vintage score that comes with a story?
Share it in the comments!
