Trash-picked Tuesday: Curbside Check-in

We all know that vintage suitcases are hot right now. But something tells me that all those high- falutin' designers and fashionistas don't get their suitcases curbside. For the rest of us, maybe that's the only way we can afford them!

All kidding aside, the large suitcase on the left is probably one of the first things I ever trash-picked. Back in 2001, I was an intern with a job that required me to do a lot of local driving. I spotted the green suitcase by the curb one day as I was heading out to visit a client. I loved the color and the style, so I got out to look at it. After careful inspection (mostly to make sure there was nothing icky inside) and administration of the smell test, it came on home. Of course, I cleaned it thoroughly, inside and out.

Years later I found the matching smaller suitcase at a thrift store (if memory serves, it was $6), and the train case at an antiques store ($15- Later on, I used the train case really as a "train case"; I carried it on my daily train commute instead of a briefcase.) I'd especially love to find the matching round hat bag, and I think there are larger and smaller suitcase that round out the set.

I saw these suitcases once on an episode of "Leave it to Beaver", so they're probably early '50s vintage. They came in lots of different colors, too, so I might continue to mix & match. But the ones I've seen recently in stores are getting a bit pricey, especially the green and blue ones.

I use the suitcases all the time, whenever we go away for the weekend. It's just one of those fun ways to use vintage items in place of boring modern stuff!