Old Bags
Luncheon®
The Old Bags Luncheon at The Breakers, Palm Beach: long white tables of donated designer handbags

Palm Beach, since 1999

Bring old bags
to life.

Designer handbags, stored away in closets, come back as auction lots at the most fun lunch in town. Every bid goes to a good cause.

Host one in your city Scroll to open the bag

Inside every Old Bags® event,
a Win, Win, Win.

Eileen's guiding mantra: the guests come for an outlandishly fun time. Give them that, and they come back every year.

Win 1

Clean out the closet

Most women are guilty of spending too much money on handbags. The event lets them recycle those bags for a good cause, and a tax deduction.

Win 2

A rare bargain

Women love a bargain. Here they buy designer handbags at a fraction of the original retail cost.

Win 3

Each other's company

A beautifully arranged luncheon with an interesting speaker or a superb fashion show. The good works are the icing on the cake.

Twenty-five years,
one bid at a time.

"The very first Old Bags® event was a luncheon held in Palm Beach, Florida, in 1999. I conceived and executed the event in a period of just six weeks."

Eileen Cornacchia, Little Blackbird, Inc.
Lot No. 1999 Old Bags Luncheon® Item: one idea, Palm Beach
YearWhat happenedBid
  1. 1999The first luncheon, Palm Beach. Planned in six weeks. About 80 women came.$20,000
  2. 2003Sold out before the invitations were in the mail. 600 guests, and 200 women turned away.several hundred thousand
  3. 2006YWCA Greenwich holds its first. A sellout since its inception.sold out
  4. PhoenixThe 10th anniversary at the Arizona Biltmore: 610 guests, 545 handbags.$365,000
  5. TodayEvery new charity that came on board netted over $200,000 in its first year. Many now gross half a million a year.$500,000 a year
  6. 25 yrsMore than a hundred Old Bags Luncheons® worldwide.over $80 million

Set in cities
around the world.

Each city holds exclusive rights to its own Old Bags® event. Walk along the tables.

Tables of donated handbags under the chandeliers at The Breakers, Palm Beach
Lot 01

Palm Beach, Florida

Center for Family Services of Palm Beach County · The Breakers

Where it all began in 1999. The 25th, a Silver Jubilee, had Martha Stewart as keynote speaker.

Greenwich police officers with a green Hermes Birkin at the YWCA Greenwich Old Bags Luncheon
Lot 02

Greenwich, Connecticut

YWCA Greenwich · Belle Haven Club

A sellout since 2006. The premier auction: an iconic Hermès Birkin, modelled by Greenwich Police and Emergency Medical Staff.

Red designer handbags with bid sheets at the Naples Old Bags Luncheon
Lot 03

Naples, Florida

The Shelter for Abused Women & Children · The Ritz-Carlton

The very first Naples luncheon sold out to more than 600 women, with a Carmen Marc Valvo runway show sponsored by Saks Fifth Avenue.

Lot 04

Phoenix, Arizona

Homeward Bound · Arizona Biltmore

A Mad Hatter's tea party for the 10th anniversary. Guests answered the call to wear hats, and 545 handbags overspilled the auction tables.

$365,000 netted, with donations still coming in.

Guests at the Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition Old Bags party in St. Louis
Lot 05

St. Louis, Missouri

Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition · Frontenac Hilton

350 auction bags, 120 Buy Now bags at $35 and 100 mystery bags at $25. About 325 women raised more than $130,000.

Guests browsing red and orange handbags at Crosstown Learning Center's luncheon in Tulsa
Lot 06

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Crosstown Learning Center · Southern Hills Country Club

Handbag heaven for 400 women. A gold metallic bag signed by Reese Witherspoon arrived the Friday before.

Handbags with pink lot tags lined up on white tables in Fort Worth
Lot 07

Fort Worth, Texas

National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame · Shady Oaks Country Club

In 2014 the guest speaker was Karen Katz, President and CEO of Neiman Marcus Group.

Hosts and guests at Old Bags Night Out at Neiman Marcus, King of Prussia
Lot 08

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Boys' Latin of Philadelphia · Neiman Marcus, King of Prussia

"Old Bags... Night Out", an evening version with a fashion show curated by Ken Downing.

Two guests at the Gilda's Club Desert Cities Old Bags Luncheon
Lot 09

Desert Cities, California

Gilda's Club Desert Cities · La Quinta Country Club

The club was filled with old bags: 204 of them. Many guests were among the area's youngest philanthropists.

Women laughing with handbags at the Hospice South Canterbury Old Bags fundraiser
Lot 10

Timaru, New Zealand

Hospice South Canterbury

Old Bags crossed the Pacific, alongside Ngala at the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club in Perth.

And more

Also held in

  • Queensland, seven luncheons a year for Variety
  • Des Moines, Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Iowa and Drake University Athletics
  • McLean, Virginia, Stroke Comeback Center
  • Morristown, New Jersey, Jersey Battered Women's Services
  • Vero Beach, Florida, Believe Big
  • Saratoga Springs, New York

Mystery bags, $25 each.

At the St. Louis party, 100 of them sold. Pick one and see what is inside.

Three bags. Every one holds a true story from an Old Bags® event.

See one for yourself.

Martha Stewart, Tommy Hilfiger and Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger at the 25th Old Bags Luncheon In ForbesThe 25th annual Old Bags Luncheon with Martha Stewart and Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger. Read the article

Past sponsors include

Saks Fifth Avenue Neiman Marcus Louis Vuitton Tiffany & Co. Ralph Lauren Coach Brahmin Vineyard Vines Intermix Kaufmann de Suisse Palm Beach Illustrated Merrill Lynch Wells Fargo Advisors PNC

Why host any old fundraiser, when you can host something iconic?

The Old Bags Luncheon® is a dependable yearly source of income for your non-profit, without a new theme to invent every year. Little Blackbird, Inc. licenses it city by city, with everything you need.

  • The How-To Guide covering every aspect of planning and execution
  • Use of the trademark for your city or defined area, exclusively yours
  • An event concierge on staff for your questions and your social media plan
  • Tried and true methods for securing all of those wonderful handbags
  • First right for next year, with 30 days to renew after your first event
Territory check No. 0001

Each city or defined area has exclusive rights to its own Old Bags® event.

Ask Eileen about your city

"If your city or town does not have an Old Bags® event, it will. If not through you, through someone else. Once it is taken, that is it."