To Save a Vintage Purse

I have to start this post off by saying I have some generous friends, especially lately. Quite a few people have passed on their family vintage treasures to me. It's one thing for me to have something that belonged to my great-grandmother or my husband's grandma and quite another thing to be entrusted with someone else's loved one's belongings. The latest treasure to come my way is this lovely vintage purse that needs a little tlc.

 The funny thing about vintage purses is that I'm super picky about them and have yet to buy one myself. All of the vintage purses I have were given to me and I love them all. Weird.

The handle is coming apart so I'll have to sew it back together. That part I think I can handle.

It's also missing the top part of the latch. The fabric here has a big hole. Any suggestions on how to work with this? I was thinking maybe trying to make a loop of bias tape. I'm not sure the fabric would hold up to another real purse latch and I'm not sure I could remove the other half safely or find a new latch to fit with the old part.

I'm not sure how to clean it either. This purse had been living in a basement before it came to me, so I wiped it down with a damp cloth. I'd like to do a more thorough cleaning but I don't know were to go from here.

Have you ever brought a vintage treasure back to life?