John Romain Handbag

The thing about living on the West Coast is that we don't always get the colloquial style or fashion of designers from the East or South, particularly if the designer is from that area. At least, this is how it used to be before advertising was as big as it is now, which includes the invention of social media. But decades ago, a designer from the East Coast may not have been as popular on the West Coast, all because of locality.

Take Lily Pulitzer, which originated in the late '50s in Palm Beach, Florida. Ask the random girl or woman out here in California who that is, and they'd have no idea. Even today. Ask any random girl or woman in the south or east coast, and everyone would not only know who it is but would probably be wearing something Lily on their person. I've only found a handful of Pulitzer dresses over the years because I'm in California. Head over to Florida, and that changes dramatically. I went thrifting with one of my best friends when I was in Jacksonville last year, and Lilly was everywhere.

So, when I sourced this beautiful John Romain handbag, I had no clue who this was. The bag was worn out, needed a good cleaning and a whole lot of conditioner, and she perked right up. This bag dates back to 1968, and it remains challenging to find information about the Staten Island designer from the 1960s. There is no website dedicated to him and his designs, so all I can find are blog posts from people like me who own these bags, want them, or have a little more historical background. (If John Romain's family is reading this, PLEASE dedicate a website to him, his history, and all of his designs! The designing and fashion world, particularly the vintage world, needs it.)

This one post, written by Arlene Lassin a few years ago, was a fun read, and she gave me quite a bit of info. I also found this little blurb on a Substack blog, Handbag Designer 101,  which said this:

 Founded by John Romain, his eponymous handbags were a symbol of classic American style and rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s. John Romain Handbags were known for their distinctive combination of high-quality leather and woven fabric panels, paired with shapes and brass hardware, creating a signature preppy aesthetic that appealed to the collegiate and country club set. While the brand faded from prominence as fashion trends shifted, its legacy endures among vintage collectors who value its mid-century design and enduring appeal.

Below is the beautiful bag I sourced. Look at how well it was made, the rivets to the leather. Such quality. Purse is in the shop right now (and in two people's carts waiting to purchase), so get it while it's here! ♥

Have a wonderful weekend.

-Heather

This is the after! Beautifully restored.

This is what she looked like when I found her.
A little worse for wear and extra thirsty for some conditioning.

John Romain Handbag, from August of 1968

Gorgeous clasp

Beautiful rivet work

The backside of the finished product. She could use a few more conditioning sessions!

Perennial Vintage on Instagram

So, now that I've started my fifteenth year selling vintage on Etsy, I've finally given in to showcasing my finds on Instagram, as well as here, Etsy, and Pinterest.

To be honest, thrice I've started an Instagram account solely for my vintage on Etsy. And two of those, I gave up and deleted the account after a few weeks. Posting on Instagram is a mindset all on its own. And if you're not in it, not motivated, it won't happen. Which is exactly what happened to me.

This month's sales have been on the (very) low side, so the time I  usually spent shipping and sourcing, I've had a little extra time to set up my Instagram. I love it. I know what I want to post (the best of the best), and while it may not be every day posting, it will definitely be a couple of times a week.

With this Instagram account, I get to document the amazing vintage and reach a larger audience, and hopefully increase sales for the summer (which is notoriously slow... everyone in the world is on holiday. Most Etsy sellers loathe the summer because of it).

If you'd like to get updates on what's new in my shop, look for Perennial.Vintage.Shop on Instagram.

I look forward to connecting with you there.♥

-Heather

Vintage Hawaiian Clothing at Perennial Vintage │ Summer 2025 Vintage Tiki Wear

As soon as summer arrives or is knocking at the door (temps in the '90s), I shift to listing a lot of Hawaiian items. I pick up vintage Hawaiian things year-round, but this is the time I list them. 

Lots of folks go to Hawai'i for vacation (particularly here on the west coast), and people have Luau's as their themed party. Warm weather means we need cooler clothing.

Welcome, vintage tiki wear! I've just listed all of these fabulous vintage dresses and shirts, including kids' vintage shirts. Visit my shop for all the latest Hawaiian finds. ◄

Mahalo, my vintage friends.♥

Y2K Hawaiian Luau Dress

Isn't this an amazing shirt? It's in kids' sizing, a small one, made of barkcloth.

This is a kid's one too by McInerny.

Super colorful haul from last week of Hawaiian goods, along with some killer '40s items too - white eyelet dress and wool buffalo plaid shirt. And a Pyrex piece for $6.99, I didn't have!

This sold within an hour of listing it, but I had to give it some space here in the blog. Aren't the colors and pattern fantastic? By Royal Hawaiian, circa late '60s.

 

Flat Lay Fun│ Vintage Thrifted Finds for April 2025

My son got married a few days ago, which meant I'd been mentally preoccupied with many other things. And yet, I didn't stop thrifting. Thrift shopping is darn near therapeutic, so it was a wonderful distraction, and I got great finds for my shop. A flat lay a week shows me what I picked up and shows you what's headed to my Etsy store.

 Here are April's month of vintage finds from Tuesdays (my big thrifting day of the week). I love the diversity each week brings.

Okay, so this was the first week of April, and it was "red" day apparently, so it was not as diverse as usual. But still, a '60s dress, a  '70s dress, a '60s cardigan, and a '90s linen blouse and a '70s Frankoma mug (for myself), it was a nice haul.

This was a fun week. I loved the color palate of this one from '60s butternut men's shirt, to a '70s Pendleton wool jac-shirt, a '90s USA made women's jacket, a '70s thermal, and an '80s acid washed Guess jeans (holy moly this takes me back to my youth), this haul covered all the decades.

The bonus to this haul was the "pocket finds," as I like to call them. There was a receipt from February of 2000 from Safeway. (I was engaged by then and planning my wedding in early 2000!) A hair clip and $5.55 of pocket change, which always makes my day. These finds are a wonderful snapshot of times past. Who says you can't travel back in time? I do it all the time. ♥

You know what I love best about this flat lay? How truly diverse it is. There's a '60s Hawaiian dress (that I sold within an hour of listing it. It's headed back to Hawaii (as most 90% of my Hawaiian vintage finds do. I wrote about that earlier right here!) There's a '60s robe made in the USA, there's a '70s Irish sweater, there's a '90s Guatemalan skirt, and a '30s (!!) Chinese blouse. This is the conglomeration of four corners of the earth all within a couple of hours shopping period. How cool is that? What other kind of job can do this? I love what I do!

Happy May!

Coach Purse Clean Up │ Vintage 1995 Coach Willis Handbag Purse

At an estate sale last week, I found a beautiful vintage Coach purse for a fabulous price ($10). She is the "Willis" style with a strap and top handle.

She had seen years of wear (is from 1995) and didn't look like she'd ever had a good cleaning or conditioning. I've had many people ask me how I clean my bags, or what my process is, so, I took her home, and here's what I did:

Here is the beautiful "after" photo because I want you to see how pretty she is.
But keep scrolling to see the steps I took to get her this way.

Here is the before photo. The two "dots" on the left are from my wet hands, ha.
So ignore that, but this is how I found her. A little lighter than her "after" photo, she had fading and marks, and scars. And a big ink stain on the back. She was looking for some TLC for sure.

I started by using a classic perennial saddle soap by Fiebings. It's available here and isn't expensive, and will last for many uses. One basin can last for years. (They also have
a black saddle soap, which is great for black, dark brown, or blue bags.) All you have to do is mix it with water, and it will create a rich lather with your choice of horsehair brush. Once you lather a section, wipe it off with a towel. Do one section at a time.

This is the dark spot on the back of the purse. It ended up being an ink stain, which is quite common. I pretreated it for a few extra minutes with the cleaner and dabbed at it with a cloth, without spreading it into the leather. It will probably be there forever, but such is life with a vintage purse. There will always be patina! Which is lovely, in my humble opinion ...

Here I am lathering the soap onto the back of the bag, trying not to lather the ink spot. I don't want it bleeding into the rest of the bag! It's like waking a sleeping dragon... leave it well enough alone, if you can. Besides, this stain is on the back of the purse. I'm the only one who's going to see it!

Here is the wipe down of the soap and water mixture on the back of the bag. It may seem easier to clean the whole bag at once, then wipe it down all at once, but this is not recommended. It's best to clean the bag one section at a time. So, clean the front, then wipe it down; the side, wipe down; the back, wipe down ... etc. I use a basic micro-fiber cloth, and they're perfect for the job.

Here's the lovely "creed," as it is called, which is the patch on the inside of the purse that lists where it was made and its serial number. This is telling me it was manufactured in the United States in August of 1995.

The inside was very clean, so I didn't even have to treat it other than dust it and make sure all debris was wiped out. If I needed to clean the suede, I have a suede cleaner by Leather Honey that works fabulously. You can find it here.

While the bag is drying, I stuff it with newspaper to restore it to its original shape - a shape that will hold once the bag is dry.

Here is the ink spot... still drying here in the photo, but believe it or not, it is actually lighter than it was. It would take many, many treatments to get this to fade even more, so I probably won't do anything else to it other than love it just the way it is. This battle scars gives this purse all of its character.

Here is one of my favorite parts: conditioning! This is a wonderful conditioner called Leather CPR. (Many Coach and leather bag lovers swear by it, and I can see why!) It is not too greasy, dries well, and gives your dry purse a good drink of conditioning to last for decades more. I swear by this too and can't live without it now. I also use it on all of my leather boots! It's available here.

I use a horsehair brush to buff out the leather conditioner. After letting it sit for a minute, that brush buffs out the residual remains and works them into the leather. I love it. I was able to get a set of horsehair brushes inexpensively, and it comes with the smaller brush that I use to apply the cleaner. You can get them right here.

Here she is! A touch darker (this happens to lighter colored leather bags), but it's the drink of water she's needed for years. What a lovely bag in the British tan color. She still has a few marks and small stains, but as I said before, what's a good purse without a few battle scars? Just like we humans, the more stress, the stronger we become. And to me, the better we become.


So, I really only use six products for all of the leather purses I buy for myself, and for those I buy and sell in my Etsy shop. All of these items cost about $60 and will last for years. I clean and condition one or two bags a month, and have had this latest set of products for at least six months. The containers are still nearly full.

Here they are again: 

Saddle Soap
Black Saddle Soap
Suede Cleaner
Leather Conditioner
Microfiber Cloths
Horsehair Brushes

Thank you for checking out my Coach purse clean-up!
Hope you enjoyed it.♥




(Items listed are incentivized by Amazon)