The Miami News from Miami, Florida • 42

4Z THE MIAMI NEWS. Sunday, February 14, 1960 (B) GOLD AND WHITE 'l By Eli Rosenberg ,4, I s'N! (D) STITCHED LEATHER By Stylecraft (A) OVAL BASKET jS By Bitter And Bitter (E) NAUTICAL ON LINEN By Kahn (C) STREET STRAW SHOE By Caressa Newest Fashion It's In The Bag i (F) COTTON CORD, OUTSIDE CHANGE PURSE By Stylecraft Of Miami 4 without stretch or strain. Many of these are designed in Miami, made in Italy. Marcus Handbags is working with firm shapes, closely woven from ribbons of rattan, edged with leather. One of their outstanding shapes is a dog carrier or lunch basket.

Ritter and Ritter, specialists in casual handbags, uses wide strands of coiled straw, shaped to a large, wide ovaL All of these are far from the open straw baskets, formerly so popular. All are fitted, finished, dressed for urban or suburban wear. Eli Rosenberg, like Kahn, goes in for dressier bags, suitable for luncheon, cocktails, evening. A standout by Rosenberg is of white calf decorated with the season's crush, gold. Because every ensemble that calls for a handbag starts with a pair of shoes, shoe designers work with the handbag people, consciously or unconsciously.

When straw bags are popular, straw shoes are, too. Caressa, by local shoe designers at Pan American Modes, has long featured a series of straw shoes made in Haiti as well as high fashion leather shoes. One shoe particularly fills the bill for a citified straw, is almost a link between the Haitian play shoes and the Miami leathers. It incorporates the braiding that's becoming popular in leather shoes. It is of straw, however.

The heel is stacked leather, another citified touch. By LUCDLE McLEAN Mind Newi Fuhloa Editor Handbag manufacturers are having a riotious time, for your pleasure. No longer can you be content to have a black patent leather, a black calf, a navy and white bag in your wardrobe. Your handbag should be a focal fashion point in your ensemble. It can still be neutral, blend with many dresses, but it can't be inconspicuous, insignificant.

A half dozen Miami handbag designers are straining their imaginations, coming up with spectacular results which are bound to make the experience of this writer commonplace. I strolled through Marshall Field department store on a recent trip to Chicago, examined what I considered one of their smartest handbags and discovered the maker was Charles Kahn of Miami. Local stores have a wealth of locally designed bags. Look for them and you'll be surprised at their prevelance, impressed by their good design. Charles Kahn made their name turning out vinyl covered satins, clear lucite boxes.

They've now turned to high fashion mattlesses, needlepoints and tapestries which feature the vinyl on the inside where it can protect the lining from soil. Kahn also uses amusing comic or fine hand-screened linen handkerchiefs to face their bags, covers them with vinyl to preserve them for a lifetime. Stylecraft specializes in finely stained woods, like mahogany trimmed with calf, studded with brass nailheads, decorated with brass They've branched out to smart burlaps, hemp, straw, all fitted and framed for long use i 1 (H) VINYL COVERS HANDKERCHIEF LINEN By Charles Kahn Handbags Yet, the playful colored strings of straw that tie in front and are tipped with cork balls are casual, not dress in inspiration. Hie fasMoat shown sere are available locally. For; Information, call The Miami News Shopping Service, FR 4-2S4I from Sunday, a.m.

until Tuesday, 5 p.m. After that time write Shopping Service, Lucile McLean, The Miami News. Enclose self-addressed, stamped envelope. (G) SATIN SIATELASSE, STAIN RESISTilNT By Kahn W2 a. A 1 rnm ftim fin ft i .1 Br it m.

m. i St 'Tiffin 'i iiiD2Si'iari i l' V0sN if ft I kflll, i I'M' if, in HiiSN 4 I hr. v. lV 4m Iks. A ar t'0ki.