Beverly Baby

I think a lot of why people love vintage is because they appreciate craftsmanship, I was first star struck by vintage through Gucci. I secured the most beautiful 1970’s classic Boston Gucci bag on ebay and a love affair with finely crafted leather goods began. At the time it was a significant investment for me, as a junior in an office I didn’t have much money to play around with, but I loved the colours and the style of Gucci and to this day I am glad I made that investment. I still am the holder of that classic icon of style that looks as cool and relevant now as it did 40 years ago. But I digress, what I am really saying is that often what vintage gives lovers of fashion is the ability to own something that was crafted beautifully and once was very expensive at a fraction of the cost. So much of what is available now is so disposable, how many will be around in 40 years?

The same could be said for Irish brand Beverly. At one time Beverly stood for the same gorgeous design and quality that is associated with Gucci or Prada now. I have to be honest I had never heard of it until I came across one in a market. I did my research and quickly found a whole legion of fans of this brand, and soon I too was looking for various designs and classic styles from this company. I think as an Irish women of the 1970’s/80’s there is something strangely alluring about a high end accessory being produced in Ireland at a time of great economic depression. Who bought these bags? In my mind it was the ladies who lunched in Brown Thomas on Grafton Street, but also it was probably likely that many regular women invested in these pieces of beautiful leather, as investment buying was the norm. There just wasn’t the proliferation of high street throw away fashion that there is now.

Established by two German brothers from the Hautz family in Bray, Ireland, the quality of their work began to win them many fans such as Grace Kelly and Jackie Onassis.

In the 60’s and 70’s the bags were so famous that they were sold in Galleries Layfette in Paris and Saks Fifth Ave in New York. If you want to see an amazing example, Maeve Hillary had one made for a special outfit, and it’s in the Museum in Collins Barracks, Dublin.

The company wound up in the mid 1980’s but the bags are now collector’s items. I have seen many variations of bags and they are beautiful. So here is a picture of mine, so if you find one, appreciate it and love it as I do, it’s a wonderful piece of Irish style history.

Oxblood Lizard Skin Leather clutch / handbag