My latest vintage finds are prized mid-century gems ~ 1960s Enid Collins jeweled handbags. These vintage handbags are beautiful treasures that look like wearable art. They were made with wood bases and heavy canvas that were artfully adorned with sparkling mosaics made from rhinestones and gems. Genuine Enid Collins handbags feature a styled "ec" initial on the exterior and the "Collins of Texas" logo inside. To add a fanciful touch, some bags were inscribed with a theme name that represented the handbag's mosaic design, such a "Jewel garden".
The history of the Collins of Texas handbags started on a ranch in Medina, Texas during the 1940s. To help support her family, Enid Collins started making handbags. A designer friend told her to show samples of the bags to Neiman Marcus, which launched a national craze. By the 1960s, the Collins of Texas handbags were stocked in high-end boutiques and department stores across the United States.
Enid Collins stopped making her iconic jeweled handbags in the 1970s, but these colorful mid-century gems remain highly prized and sought-after vintage treasures.
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| My Enid Collins handbags with jeweled peacock and floral motifs. |
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| Some handbags and themed inscriptions too. |
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| Proudly displaying my Enid Collins handbag. |
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| A vintage Collins of Texas newspaper advertisements. |
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Genuine Enid Collins handbags had the "ec" initials stamped on the outside and.....
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| ....."Collins of Texas" stamped on the inside. |
