Making Handbags: Retro, Chic, Luxurious - Ellen Goldstein-Lynch, Sarah Mullins, Nicole Malone

About the Author

Ellen Goldstein-Lynch is the Chairperson of the Accessories Design Department of at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She has been involved in the accessories field for over 25 years, serving as Public Relations Director for the Nati

LOADED with pictures!, September 27, 2002
By xoxonikki "not ur granny's reviews" (1313 mockingbird lane) - See all my reviews

I love this book, it's loaded with gorgeous pictures of bags that are VERY stylish. It gives you patterns, covers basics of sewing, and is even great for expert Clothing Designers and Seamstresses like me. The book is by teachers at NYC's Fashion Institute and there's a section of very creative and fashionable creations by chosen accessory design students. The patterns are all there and somewhat easy to figure out. Most of all I love the pictures. I'm talking these are REAL designer bags like something you'd find at Betsy Johnson. These aren't your grannies sewing projects! There isn't a single quilting fabric found in this book. They even tell you how to make leather bags. And in the back, you can contact each student that made the designer's gallery bags (to tell them how much you love them, ofcourse! Hope you have as much fun with this one as I did.

Wanna make a handbag? This is a good place to start., November 6, 2003
By cplewis "cplewis" (Merrifield, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews


The reviews for this book seem to be split between people who love it and people who hate it. Yes, this book is not perfect. It is confusing at times, and it is a little difficult to take their "requirements" and translate it to make a bag that's not EXACTLY like the one that's pictured, especially if you've never done anything particularly crafty before.
However, it has a lot of great pictures and great ideas, and just reading through the "how to" gave me some ideas on how to make my own bag that combined elements of many of the bags that were pictured. What's good about this book is it doesn't try to take too much on: It walks you through how to make bags in 4 specific categories, and then it shows you variations on those four.

At $14 (as of Nov 2003), you're not going to find a good book that's cheaper. It's not perfect, and it does have its limitations, but this is a good place to start for someone trying to figure out what they want to do and wanting to explore some ideas further.

http://www.amazon.com/Making-Handbags-Retro-Chic-Luxurious/dp/1564968499/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236866387&sr=1-1

http://sarahmullinsdesign.com/
https://www.alibris.com/search/books/author/Nicole%20Malone
http://www.alibris.com/search/books/author/Goldstein-Lynch