Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-01
BEAD BAG HERE AGAIN
AND AT PRICES RANGING FROM
rs CENTS TO sl75.
The Latter Antiques Mounted In Sill
yer Set with Jewels and
Pretty in Coloring.
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
An Illustration Of the law OF compensa-
ton IL found in the pocketbooks and hand.
bags now spread out temptinsly in the show
cases Of jewelers. and silversmiths. In de-
partment stores. In shops which deal chiefly
In leather goods. r,
In the old days women had pockets in
their gowns and jackets. but they certainly
did not have the tremendous assortment OF
hand receptacles for money. samples and
the other odds and ends a woman loves to
carry in a handbag. now placed at their dis
posal-an assortment this year larger. more
beautiful, more costly and also cheaper
than ever before. -,
Given the choice between q pocket in her
dress and one Of the newer handbags there
would prefer. She might like to have both.
but In making choice the dress pocket
wouldn't have q chance.
A remarkable feature Of this seasons dis
play is bead chatelaine bags and card cases.
which In price run from IS cents to $175.
The former price would purchase a card
case or a tiny bag Of domestic make and
pressed beads mounted in imitation gold or
silver. For $175 you can buy an imported
antique bag, beautiful as picture, any
where from seven to ten inches in diameter,
mounted in sterling silver, gilded and stud
ded with water pearls and limitations Of
fancy stones.
At ss5 the mounting has no jewels and the
bag Is not always an antique, although
equally beautiful. In fact, many purchas-
ers prefer the moderns to the antiques, be-
cause trihe fresher in coloring.
Rarities in Bead Work.
At one store an antique bead bag was
displayed with pride by the wholesale buyer
who had picked up few in Paris. 1t was
about nine inches long and almost as wide
at the lower edge, which had rounded cor
ners. The upper edge was fitted to slight
ly bow shaped mounting and was perhaps
trifle less than eight inches wide.
Both sides of the bag were worked in a
pattern of deep pink roses and green leaves
on cream white ground and finished with
a bead fringe one inch deep. The mount
ing of the bag. 1t was explained. was new.
although the carving and jewel finish were
reproduction of old styles, as was also
the gold chain and the chatelaine hook.
Inc thing was very dainty and effective
and worn with carriage, theater or lunch
con gown would be very smart-but $175!
When the buyer was asked If he expected
to sell the bag at that price his answer
was:
I'VE have sold several already and indi-
cations are that the supply of the hand
somer, imported bead bags will fall short
of the demand"
Color and Design.
Dark rich colors in conventional designs
are shown in the hgh-grade bead bags, as
we'll as lightest shades, some Of which COM
bine pale pink, white and gold. One bag
has the upper half of black and gold beads
In irregular blocks and the lower part In
pink roses on white ground.
Stlll another very effective pattern sug-
gests the Japanese, with its mingling of gay
flowers on bright blue ground Again
some of the most popular are self-toned
For instance, at a 9Th avenue silversmith's
there are exquisite examples Of mauve
touched up with a tracery of white, of soft
green relieved with an outlining of gold
beads and of reddish tint, which Is the
outcome of flower design done by mingling
beads of almost every shade of pink and red
from the palest to the deepest At this place
$50 would purchase by S-inch bead bag
of fine quality, and smaller sizes could be
had at corresponding figures. 20
Bead card cases at the same store cost
from IS up to $25, for a AZ by 81 inch or
by inch, which are the correct Sizes An
exquisite example was of pale green, white
and gold beads combined in small leaf de-
sign and lined with white silk. The price
was $22.
AS the various dealers point out, the work
on the imported bead bags and card cases
tricate designs taking several months to
finish, because the workers must often stop
for three or four days at time in order
to rest their eyes. This accounts for the
high prices.
A close second to the bead bags in cost
and picturesqueness are bags of tapestry of
silk, of satin and of suede embroidered in
beads and mounted with a chatelaine or
with chain without the chatelaine.