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Whether you're headed to a black tie Bar
Mitzvah or dinner and cocktails with your
"mishpokhe," having the "perfekt" (perfect)
handbag can make all "der untersheyd"
(the difference)
Handbag or purse? They're both used. Pocketbook? Only "elter" (senior) citizens use this term
"A shain ponim kost gelt" (a pretty face costs money); and a pretty "tash" (purse) does, too
The Judith Leiber handbag has evolved into an American icon of "mode" (fashion) and design. Shown below is a Yiddish Guide to Judith Leiber:
"antik" (antique)
The Leiber's own one of the most distinctive
private collections of "zeltn" (rare) antique Chinese porcelains
"barimtkayt" (celebrity)
The list of celebrities who own and show
off their Leiber handbags could fill a volume
of Who's Who. Beverly Sills owned nearly
200 Judith Leiber bags, and Bernice Norman, an arts patron in New Orleans,
owns close to"dray hundert" (300)
"blaybn lebn" (to survive)
Judith Leiber is a Holocaust survivor. She
struggled to survive under the daily threat
of extermination during World War II.
Her name had once been on a Nazi list of
Jews to be exterminated
"boyen" (to construct)
When Judith Leiber was interviewed by
Maria Denardo ("Leiber-action"), she was
asked, "How long did it take you to
construct one bag?" She replied, "The
simplest bag takes at least a couple days;
more detailed styles can take up to a week."
"briln" (eyeglasses)
Leiber offers designer eyeglasses
"bukh" (book)
"No Mere Bagatelles," is a biography of
Holocaust survivor and handbag design
genius, Judith Leiber, and modernist artist,
Gerson Leiber. It was written by Jeffrey
Sussman
"ershter" (first)
"dame" (lady)
Most of the first ladies after Mrs. Kennedy
have worn her bags, with the exception of
Rosalynn Carter, wife of Jimmy Carter. She
was offered a bag, but didn't want it
"fabrik" (factory)
Leiber's first factory had four employees
whom she worked alongside, teaching them
her expertise
"There was such a sense of camaraderie, with all of us working together, producing these handbags," said Leiber. "I make my first line in a gray/green calf which was not that well received. Nevertheless, I was determined to make my bags as beautiful and as well as I could and not to compromise. I have never swerved from that goal. Never."
"gast" (guest)
In 1953, guests and reporters turned out to
see the Judith Leiber bag carried by Mamie
Eisenhower at her husband's inauguration
Note: The headlines read, "Michelle Obama snubs Judith Leiber bags, a favourite of First Ladies since Mamie Eisenhower." MIchelle Obama did NOT carry a Leiber bag to her husband's inaugural function. "Azoy geyt es." (That's how it goes.)
"gesheft" (business)
Judith Leiber said, "Hitler put me in the
handbag business." Her well-to-do parents
("tate-mame"), Emil and Helen Peto,
originally planned that she make a fortune
in skin ("hoyt") creams. Instead, she enrolled in the Hungarian Handbag Guild
"hant" (hand)
Leiber, "Zi hot goldene hent." (She has
golden hands.)
"I love to design beautiful objects that can be worn of course, whether it is made of alligator, ostrich, lizard or silk, or a great metal box, minaudiere that can be held in the lady's hand. Top quality is a great concern and it pleases me greatly to keep that paramount. Today's fashions really cry out for beautiful accessories, be they belt, handbags or great jewelry." (quote by Judith Leiber)
"heym" (home)
The Leiber's have now built a magnificent
Palladian-style museum in East Hampton,
which houses hundreds of Judith Leiber
handbags as well as the paintings, etchings,
lithographs and drawings of Gerson Leiber
"hunt" (dog)
Leiber designed a line of Chinese Food dog
handbags that combines traditional Asian
motifs and innovative use of color
"imigrant" (immigrant)
Leiber immigrated to the U. S. in 1948
"khinukh" (education)
Leiber studied in England from 1938-39, and apprenticed with Hungarian Handbag
Guild. In 1939 she became a journeyman and first woman meister
"klug" (clever)
"A sense of whimsy is integral to Leiber's
vision. Her pursuit of craft is matched with
a stylish wit and the cultural cleverness that
is akin to craft's creativity."
(quote by Mary Peacock)
"man" (husband)
Leiber met her husband, Gerson Leiber, two
days after he came to Budapest as an American G.I. Gerson was a radio operator
in the Allied Control Commission, and he
lived in an apartment below hers. They
married in 1946.
"maven" (connoisseur)
Leiber was a designer in New York for
Nettie Rosenstein (1948-60), the most esteemed fashion designer, the woman who created the little black dress. From
1960-61 she worked for Richard Kort, and
from 1961-62, she worked for Morris
Moskowitz Co. She launched her own firm
in 1963, and opened a Madison Avenue
boutique in 1996
"mazldik" (lucky)
Rod Stafford Hagwood, fashion columnist,
wrote that "Often Judith Leiber peppers have thoughts with the phrase, "I've been
very lucky...or very fortunate."
"musey" (museum)
In 2005, Gerson and Judith Leiber built a
museum to house their works of art and to
chronicle their careers. The museum is
located at 446 Old Stone Highway in Springs, New York
"nomen" (name)
Judith Leiber was born Judith Peto in
Budapest on Jan. 11, 1921
"shvester" (sister)
Leiber's older sister, Eva, and her mother
survived the Nazi occupation of Budapest
by staying in a building designed for Jews
and then in a house set aside for Swiss
citizens. Her father, an Austro-Hungarian
who managed the grain department of a
bank, obtained a pass for himself and
forged the words "and family," using the
same typewriter used to issue the pass
"tsuriktsien zikh" (to retire)
Leiber retired in 1998 and sold her business
to Time Products, Inc. It was resold to Pegasus Apparel Group in 2000. Pegasus
Apparel Group became The Leiber Group in
2001
"zamlung" (collection)
Permanent displays of the work of Leiber
can be found in the Metropolitan Museum
of Art (NY), the Smithsonian Institution
(Washington, D.C.), The Corcoran Gallery, and the Victoria and Albert Museum (London)
"zhurnal" (magazine)
Leiber's handbags are featured in Vogue
and Harper's Bazaar, as well as other
top-flight fashion magazines.
-------------------------------------------
Marjorie Wolfe's Hanukkah 2011 wish list
is for a Judith Leiber "Princess Box" ($1,200), but she's afraid that she will have to settle for a Kathy Van Zeeland handbag.
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