Fraternal twins

Let me tell you a story about two fraternal sisters who were born in the late '50s? early '60s? and were separated soon thereafter. One was bright and flowery and ended up holding court at Maine antique mall, where a rather greedy out-of-towner took a shine to her and brought her down to New York.


The other sister was dusky and more somber and found herself at an East Village boutique. As luck would have it, the same greedy gal--traipsing about her own city now--saw her and immediately got all swoony for her familiar, yet new features.


Reunited, and it feels so good.


Just to be clear, I am talking about two purses pictured above, and not two poor 50-something ladies who I kidnapped.

Anyone out there among you, dear Readers, who can tell me more about this style of bag? My assessment of age is hardly professional, and I haven't had much luck in trying to find a match online. Neither purse has a tag, and it's very possible that the fabric bodies are homemade, but surely the handles are mass-made--maybe they were popular kit handles back in the day?

Thoughts, tips, leads? I wouldn't mind having a set of fraternal triplets, or quadruplets...

Update: Mystery solved in seven hours flat, thanks to Brianne Caitlin! They're knitting bags, which makes perfect sense and also makes me want to learn how to get my knit on. I never learned, which, I know, given my obsession with all things domestic, is shocking.

One more shocking/sheepish revelation to follow: I already have a third knitting bag. Seriously.


Although I had noted the, um, well, friggin' obvious similarities when I bought it, because the handles and body weren't eerily alike, well, I don't know what I thought. But there you have it.

But now I'm well on my way for a fourth bag (greedy greedy greedy!), and thanks to Brianne Caitlin, I know the exact eBay/Etsy search term to use. Bless you, you clever girl (and your grandma too!).