Where to find the original Sicilian coffa bag

Sicily is not only a wonderful land to visit once in your lifetime, at least. It is also the home of the original products made in Sicily. I am not only discussing about pastry, drink or food, but also about fashion accessories, such as Sicilian jewels and bags. Among bags, the one you can surely find in Sicily is the Sicilian bag, and not only any, common and usual bag, but the traditional and original bag of Sicily, namely the coffa. Many women are looking for this kind of bag, especially after that the American first Lady Melania Trump exhibited a perfect Sicilian bag during her visit to Taormina, on the occasion of the G8 summit. Nowadays, you can find the same bag worn by Melania, everywhere: on the Internet, even in your shop next to your home, but are you sure they are really selling the original Sicilian coffa bag? Unfortunately, many Sicilian bags are imported from China and they are fake models. The two famous fashion stylists Dolce and Gabbana tried to make a collection of Sicilian bags, but many of these bags are in coloured leather, with metal zips and leather shoulder belt. Instead, the original bag you can find in Sicily is the coffa. This is a bag coming from the ancient rural Sicilian tradition. Indeed, coffa means basket in Sicilian. The coffa was the ancient straw basket used by peasants to feed their horses and donkeys.

The coffa was also used as a food container for the farmers who went to grow their fields every morning. The one that nowadays is the brightest symbol of the female charm, was in reality a work tool for male farmers. That is why you should also have a traditional sicilian coffa in the favorite collection of bags. Through this fashion accessory,  you’ll bring the whole history of Sicily with you, namely the hard work and the struggles of the ancient Sicilian farmers who tried to prevent the emigration of their sons abroad. Hence, the Sicilian coffa is a stunning combination between Sicilian tradition and Sicilian fashion. Yes, but now you know all this, where you can find this unmissable product of Sicily? Obviously, you can find a good and original coffa during your visit to Sicily. The coffa has only a Sicilian origin and many artisans can make it in several Sicilian countries, such as Palermo, Trapani, Catania, Taormina, Cefalù, Erice, Syracuse, Noto, Ragusa and Modica. These are the places where is possible you find the original Sicilian coffa. To identify an original coffa, you must know any details.

The original coffa is made of straw derived from Palma nana or embroidered fabric wire. The other models can be very interesting to wear, but they are not the original Sicilian bags called coffa. The basis of the Sicilian coffa is only made with the materials I mentioned above. It is a summer accessory that fits perfectly during a walk on the beach or a luxury party at night. The handle and the basket of the coffa is embellished with particular decorations, such as jewels, flowers, feathers, pieces of shiny glass, glitters, coloured pom, poms and so on. The basic colour of the basket is the one of the dry straw, while the decoration items can be multicoloured. Very often, the original coffa is wonderfully painted with a Sicilian cart or the Sicilian puppets called Pupi (see the image above).

The coffa made with embroiled fabric wire can be black dyed or with a flowered texture. This model is perfect for a party at night, especially if you want to match it with a black evening dress. There are no limits to the colours of the Sicilian coffa, however, the most used is the one relating to the Sicilian flag, namely yellow and red, but if you have particular needs, in my view, the most beautiful coffa is the one with black background and colored decorations that remind us the history of Sicily, and so, the one with paintings about the Sicilian cart, for example. The yellow straw background fits day, instead. Many women look for a Sicilian coffa bag to be used in the winter. I would never use the Sicilian coffa in the winter. You can try to use the one made of intertwined fabric, but in my view, straw and embroidery are not a suitable style of the winter. However, the black embroidered coffa ( made of fabric) can be used in the winter, maybe with a red coat during Christmas holidays. It always remains the issue to find a real coffa. The sign of originality has been always the price. The Sicilian coffa is a handmade product. It must be sewed perfectly in each of its parts. Even the decorative items must be sewed. The Sicilian coffa with glued items is not original! You can easily distinguish a fake coffa from an original one. The first has drops of glue around the decorations, the handle and the central basket, while the original coffa shines in every part and is perfectly handcrafted with no smudges. Unfortunately, since the Sicilian coffa is now a much requested product, you can also find yourself having the same coffa of another woman at the same party! To avoid this unpleasant drawback, you must buy the product only from Sicilian artisans who make coffa bags as unique pieces. Some  traders sell coffa bags on the Internet, but these Sicilian bags are not produced as unique pieces, but are mass-production. Moreover, even though you can find sellers on the web, many of them couldn't be Sicilian, but foreigners who pretend to be Sicilian.

Sicilian artisans who make the original Sicilian coffa bag

In order to save you from scams and disappointment, I found a couple of true Sicilian artisans who make unique and original Sicilian coffa bags. No model made by them is equal to another one!

The first Sicilian artisan is

Gisella Mandalà

(see the image). She lives in Palermo and creates stunning and original coffa bags. She produces only unique pieces  in order that no other woman will have the same Sicilian coffa bag.  Her coffa bags are real artworks that are impossible to find anywhere. To see her models, visit the Instagram profile by Gisella Mandalà . Another skilled Sicilian artisan is

Giusy Di Benedetto

(see the image). She lives in Castellamare del Golfo, in the province of Trapani.

She creates beautiful Sicilian coffa bags and, as always, every model is unique and different from the others she crafted. Her coffa bags are always

handmade

and decorated with original Sicilian lace, beads and other stunning details of the Sicilian tradition.

Sicilian coffa bag price

An original coffa bag can be very expensive and many ladies contacted me to complain about this. Due to the high prices of these Sicilian artworks, they often renounce to buy their favourite Sicilian coffa bag. Moreover, several Sicilian artisans, in turn, closed their online shops because of the shortage of buyers. Due to this problem, it is not easy finding affordable and original Sicilian coffa bags. I can only advise that you visit this online shop, where you'll find several

Sicilian

artisans who still craft and sell beautiful and

original 

coffa bags.

See and buy an original Sicily's coffa bag in the above mentioned online shop, and let me know if you found what you were looking for.

Photocredits:

Gisella Mandalà Etsy www.mysicilianbag.com by Giusy Di Benedetto