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‘It’ Bags Are The Classic Cars of The Fashion Set

Posted by: Brad Lithium  /  Category: Fashion




Handbags are the new shoes, the must have’it’ accessory that’s all the fashion-istas clamoring for the latest offering from favored designers. It’s also a market that has more in common with the male-dominated arena of classic automobiles than you’d realize.

Few of you will have missed the fuss a couple of months back when Sainsbury’s sold 20,000′I’m not a plastic bag’ Anya Hind-march totes for [pound]5 each. Inside hours those same unbleached cotton bags were selling for in excess of [pound]150 on eBay. ‘Every girl has a handbag,’ claims Christie’s consultant Monica Turcich,’and each girl wants one. They’ve always been well-liked and they’re the section of our 20th-century fashion sales for which we get the maximum telephone calls, but now they’re doing particularly well because everybody wants purses, while 10 years back there were not the ‘it’ bags like we have today, simply the classics.’

Like autos, most of the more current designer handbags which sell thru dealers and auction houses make noticeably less than their original retail price, shedding value the second the opening purchase has taken place. That is good news for both collector stockholders and handbag fans, but there are some exceptions to the rule.

Last March Christie’s sold a red Hermes crocodile skin Kelly bag for [pound]10,800, this had only been bought in 1994 and was originally a bespoke product.

There’s little question that most handbags are being bought to be used, it is not an investment market in the same way as many other collectables such as paul smith,Abercrombie and Fitch,dsquared etc, but again there are parallels to the auto market. By buying a classic bag and taking care of it, you are not likely to lose cash, rather see a steady gain with the added return of enjoying using it.

Hindmarch’s'I’m not a plastic bag’ bags are unlikely to make it to’classic’ status, they’re after all mass-produced cotton totes, but other handbags from her range might well do so. ‘Kylie Minogue was pictured carrying a Chloe bracelet bag around 1 or 2 years ago which sparked a fashion and now we’re selling a similar thing at auction.’

there’s a pristine one in the subsequent auction which is estimated at [pound]800 to [pound]1,000 together with another Chloe handbag in the same lot. ‘I think Chloe has started the ‘it’ bag scene’ adds Turcich,’I do not know how long it will take for them to become classics of their own, but I’m sure these will hold their price in five or 10 years’ time. There are shoe designers that are artists and so too with handbags.’

it isn’t always about gigantic names, a couple of weeks ago Ms Minogue was at the shop of Tony Durante, a handbag dealer at Alfie’s in London, and got a white raffia bag with a pony’s head on the front for around [pound]200. Durante says that his clients are looking for this’unusualness’ factor.

If you do want to retain the value in your handbag then you should go for one that is in top condition, is a good design and lovely. Some’it’ bags will undoubtedly go down in value as fashions change, but the classics should stay steady.

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The Luxurious but Little Known 541S Classic Car

Posted by: Brad Lithium  /  Category: Classics




Not much is known or has been written about the 541S Jensen British classic car. The classic car that was made in Britain in the sixties is often ignored by the enthusiasts of the classic cars perhaps because not so many of them were made and also because their automatic version earned a very poor reputation as it never performed as it was expected to. The 541S Jensen British classic cars were designed by a Briton, Eric Neale of a company that was at that time owned by Alan Jensen. The first of their models were; Jensen CV8, that was created prior to the Interceptor and with a six-liter V8 engine, as well as 541S. The cars were hand built and had minimal maintenance requirements and in addition, their bodies were rust free. In 1965, CV8 was rated as the speediest four-sitter car. Before the production of the CV8, the other favorite model was the 541 (chiefly the Jensen 541S) that had a four liter straight 6 Austin Princes engine.

It is so surprising that despite the fact that 541S Jensen British classic car received more awards than any other classic cars of the time; it has not been comparatively expensive. The CV8 that was designed by Dave Horton and Jensen Owners club are credited for having won awards such as “Car of the show,” “Best club stand, “and “Best of the master class” among other awards. The awards were deserved because the West Bromwich-based Jensen brothers designed and made cars that were extremely good. They are also credited for having being the pioneers of the disk brakes for a four-wheel drive that was the first to utilize the wind tunnel on the car’s body design. The brothers are also praised for stressing on the importance of car safety. The fist car to be designed with standard safety belts was the 541S and was also padded with soft material below and above the dashboard. In addition, the window winders and the door handles were made to fit the recessed panels so as to minimize any possible harm.

Jensen brothers also won the “Silver medal for coach work” for producing a four sitter car that was also the fastest then. For a long time afterwards, the Jensen brothers’ work on polyester resin coach and glass fiber has continued to stand the challenges of time. The car has a straight six-liter engine that has been designed with three SU huge carburetors and that is also connected to Jaguar Moss synchromesh gearbox which has an override. More over, the car servo works well with Dunlop disk brakes, a combination that places the car in the class of its own. The CV8’s power is peculiar as very few cars which were produced in the early 1960’s can be utilized as daily cars many years later.

Out of the one hundred and twenty seven 541S cars that were made from 1960 to 1962, only twenty two were of manual drive version. Though the car is little known today, it was at that time regarded as the most luxurious model of 541S.






Antique Classics

Posted by: Brad Lithium  /  Category: Classics




The term Antique Classics is used in reference to old cars. According to Antique Automobile Club of America, an antique car is generally defined as a car over 25 years of age. However, the exact legal definition for the purpose of antique vehicle registration varies widely from State to State.

With about 12 years being the normal design life of modern cars, 25 years is about double and therefore a car that’s reached 25 is a rare survivor, and probably not economic to maintain as regular transportation.

The term Classic Car is often used synonymously with the term Antique car, but the formal definition of that term is restricted to specific high-quality vehicles from the pre-World War II era which began with the Great Depression in 1930 and ended with the recovery after World War II in 1948.

The Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) defines the term Classic as a ‘fine’ or ‘distinctive’ automobile, either American or foreign built, produced between 1925 and 1948. A Classic was high-priced when it was introduced and was built in very limited quantities.

Although, by 1930′s most of the manufacturing technologies had already been invented, certain factors like including engine displacement, custom coachwork and luxury accessories, such as power brakes, power clutch, and automatic lubrication systems, help determine whether a car can be considered a Classic.

Some exemplary pre-war Antique Classics are: 1. 1934-1940 Bugatti Type 57. The Type 57SC has become the singular classic car. 2. 1934 Citroen Traction Avant. Has the distinction of being the first mass-produced front-wheel drive car. 3. 1936 MG T series, a sports car meant especially for American soldiers fighting in the war. 4. 1938 Volkswagen Beetle, the most-famous automobile of all times. It was a pre-war design that continues to exist even in the present times.

The CCCA Club keeps a thorough list of the vehicles they consider Classics, and while any member may petition for a vehicle to join the list, such applications are carefully scrutinized and very rarely is a new vehicle type admitted.

They also acknowledge the fact that their rather exclusive definition of a classic car is by no means universally followed and hence they generally use terms such as ‘CCCA Classic’ or the trademarked ‘Full Classic’ to avoid confusion.

After 1930 the number of auto manufacturers came down sharply, as the industry consolidated, and developed after the war more advances in engine design were made, like the compression V8 engines and modern bodies from General Motors, Oldsmobile and Cadillac brands.






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