What's in a Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet."

--Spoken by Juliet to Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet"

Juliet would be lying if she lived today and said she would still love a Louis Vuitton bag just for itself, for its workmanship. It had better have that "LV" logo or the girl's not going to buy it!

The fashion world is obsessed with big-name bags: Hermes, Chanel, Judith Leiber, Gucci, and more. The bigger the name the bigger the price tag. Ordinary women and girls are even paying good money for the fabulous fakes, just to get that cherished name or logo on their arms.

That quest for the ultimate name is also present in the world of vintage bags, of course. What collector doesn't yearn for scoring an early Whiting & Davis?

But only looking for the big-names blinds you to the no-names. It's like only having crushes on the airhead, popular athletes in school and ignoring the solid, somewhat geeky guys. But this week I eschewed the big-name hunt for the no-name bags. My weekly hunt scored a few good examples of vintage bags, and my pleasure with them was not diminished the least by the fact their makers were unknown.

These "orphan" bags, as I like to call them, have everything going for them but a name. The one pictured here is a unique straw bag with a rope handle and wooden beads. It's unique for its twin sides--each side has the same lovely decorative metal twist lock, beaded flap, and inside pocket. It couldn't be any cuter if it had a well-known pedigree.