A love letter to the Walborg Poodle bag; one of the most iconic relics of handbag collecting.
Have you ever seen a Walborg Poodle bag in person? It’s the rare kind of shock to the system that would have any maximalist vintage fashion lover reeling with emotional feelings; faint, dizzy, palms sweating. Composed of thousands of dainty, teeny, tiny glass beads, Walborg Poodle bags are exceptionally unique. They are somehow beautifully creepy, almost breathtakingly glamorous in their composition. Shaped like the cartoonish poodle character so often associated with mid-century design, they are unlike any other object that one can easily find on the handbag market today.
Before there was Susan Alexandra and Staud, there was Walborg. For the uninitiated, Walborg was a company that produced beaded bags and these silly, delicate little handmade poodle bags in black and white colorways in Belgium in the 1940s and 1950s. Some of the bags were produced in Japan, likely in the late 1950s or early 1960s. The brand was created in the 1940s in New York City by Hilda Weinberg, and is mostly known for its more traditional beaded and acrylic bags. Walborg bags in conventional shapes aren’t hard to find but a Walborg Poodle Bag? They’re quite rare, and pretty collectible. There are a few listed online and they seldom come up for auction. I especially love the ones with yellow eyes…they look evil.
Walborg’s vintage poodle bags are one of the best examples of handbags as art. The workmanship is incredible, but they’re also the kind of object that could be displayed in the home.
When I was at A Current Affair (one of the largest vintage fairs in Brooklyn) I spotted a large black Walborg Poodle bag from across the room. At the time, I didn’t know what it was. That’s just one of the many reasons why I love going to these kinds of events. Fast forward a few days and a couple of eBay lowball offers later, and I am now the proud owner of a baby-sized, white Walborg poodle bag. The bag will have its own styling moment and photoshoot soon.
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