The Original “Concertina” Wooden Bag

Left: Vintage 1940’s Concertina bag; Right: Stella McCartney Accordion Bag

It is no secret that designers shop vintage stores for inspiration, and some might even get away with an exact knockoff. But you only need to go as far as picking up the book, Handbags: The Power of the Purse to see the original “Concertina” bag from the 1940’s. I doubt Stella McCartney was trying to pull this off as her original design but this is a pretty blatant rip off. Sure, the original looks a bit flimsy and impossible to use so she did do us a service by providing a “practical” vintage inspired piece that can be used to carry balls and apples. Another change, instead of concertina, she calls it the accordion. I’m no musical instrument expert but from what I can gather, a concertina is smaller and is like the instrument you see Rhesus monkeys use at the circus. Thank you, Trish, a loyal Bag Snob reader, for sending the image and bringing this to our attention. The Stella McCartney Accordion Clutch is $2045 at Net-a-Porter.