clipped from query.nytimes.com

The Bags Aren't Fake Anything, They're Real Plastic

Published: February 23, 1992

By ELAINE LOUIE

The hard plastic handbag of the 50's has been reinvented for the 90's.

Forty years ago, the bags were cut and molded into shapes resembling bowties, pagodas and even coffins. They sold for $50 to $60, about the same as an alligator bag at the time. By the 60's, the hard plastic had virtually disappeared from sight, supplanted by lightweight vinyl.

But in 1988, a book by Robert Gottlieb and Frank Maresca, "A Certain Style: The Art of the Plastic Handbag, 1949-59" (Alfred A. Knopf), revived interest in these zany creations, and the bags suddenly became popular collectibles. They promptly went up in price. Six years ago, Mr. Maresca paid $10 for vintage bag at the flea market at 26th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan.