i get by with a little love from my friends

While I do like sending postcards whenever I travel, my friends send me a little hello from their travels by taking photos of Louis Vuitton stores and tagging me on Facebook. Some remember and send by e-mail. How thoughtful is that? I think it’s amazing that they think of me when they spot an LV store, and they stop and snap. If I get lucky, they even get themselves in the picture. =)

Here’s the super sexy Sylvain  (oh god you have to see his photos on Facebook!) at the LV Champs-Elysees store during Valentine’s Day. He and his cute husband Pascal stayed at the Four Seasons George V Hotel in Paris and took a little sidetrip to the LV flagship store. *I first met these Parisian boys during my trip to Mykonos in August last year.

The LV store on Getreidegasse in Salzburg taken by my Hungarian Austrian friend Andi. On the same street was the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He thought I’d like that. Well I loved it. I have to go here someday! *I first met Andi at the Norwegian school I attended some years ago.

My hot and spunky Pinoy friend Ryan at the LV store in Brisbane, taken during a boys trip to the Gold Coast back in early February 2009. See the Stephen Sprouse Graffiti/Rose collection launched during that time? *I haven’t actually met Ryan (who lives in Melbourne) but have spoken to him and exchanged comments in our blogs in their early years.

And these came by email today from Knut’s colleague Ann Kristin. She took these at the LV store in Geneva. Love that trunk! *Ann Kristin has partied with me once – during last year’s Eurovision Song Contest finals we previewed at our apartment.

Oooh, I get by with a little help love from my friends. =)

friday reveal: shooting the messenger

Do you remember this?

The Louis Vuitton Mini Lin Initiales Tanger Sac Plat in ebony from the Spring/Summer 2005 men’s collection.

So maybe you remember this too?

Louis Vuitton Mini Lin Initiales Amman messenger on the runway.

The Amman was one of the four Mini Lin Initiales bags that was launched in Spring/Summer 2005 (the other three being the Keepall, the Isfahan travel bag and the Tanger sac plat pictured above) for men. It was produced in two colorways – camel and ebony. And as one of the show bags, I heard/read the Amman is extremely limited. So when I found one for sale online, moreso it’s from the same previous owner of my Tanger Sac Plat, the collector in me had to get it.

Presenting my Louis Vuitton Mini Lin Initiales Amman messenger bag in ebony!

Crafted out of the durable cotton-linen Mini Lin fabric, the Amman has three compartments reinforced with calfskin leather. The compartments are separate from each other so when your bag is full, it looks like an accordion for lack of better description. Haha! The brass hardware is similar to that found in my Tanger. The adjustable shoulder strap is made from natural fiber rope, with a leather shoulder pad. As in the other Initiales bags, the prominent feature of the Amman is the screen printed initials L.V. in rosso corsa on top of two screen printed race stripes. Makes you wanna take a ride out to Jordan.

But Jordan is too far so intead, I took it out on a spin when I went to middle Norway last weekend on an emergency trip. Here in front of the royal residence in Trondheim. It’s very practical for days when you want a hands-free bag. I think I’ll be using this bag more this spring and the coming summer.

I LVoe! =)

i die: porte-documents voyage in naxos leather

Porte-Documents Voyage, £1810

Leather name tag, reinforced corners and double straps
Wraparound zip for easy access
Spacious A4-sized interior
1 interior zipped pocket
4 flat pockets and double pen loops
D-ring to hang keys and accessories

Porte-Documents Voyage GM, £2000

Removable, adjustable shoulder strap
1 A4-sized compartment
Foamed computer compartment
1 large interior zipped pocket and 1 exterior flat pocket
Double flat pocket and double pen loops
D-ring to hang keys and accessories

One of Louis Vuitton’s iconic bags, the Porte-Documents Voyage is now available in six incarnations – four in canvas (Monogram, Monogram Macassar, Damier Graphite, Damier Ebene) and two in leather (Epi and Naxos). My absolute favorite has to be the ones in Naxos. Owning a Naxos Cabas myself, the leather is just stunning, soft and supple. I think the leather is closest to that of an Hermes bag. Also, I’ve always been interested in a Prada briefcase in Saffiano leather, and these PDVs look the most similar to it. Probably the only staggering difference is the price, Prada being cheaper I think. And I don’t wanna go into Hermes territory. Scary!

If I win the lottery someday, I’d definitely get one of these.

louis vuitton anniversary monogram denim shawl

Is it wrong to like the Louis Vuitton Anniversary Monogram Denim Shawl in Bleach Rose? Tee hee.

I give it to Bagaholicboy for always feeding/teasing me with the latest from Louis. He likes the one in Bleach Bleu. Go!

have you seen her?

So I was having my Valentine strawberry cheesecake and double latte over at Wayne’s Coffee and picked up the latest issue of Conde Nast Traveller. Flipping the cover page, I saw her on a two-page spread, lit like a porcelain-skinned girl off a Vermeer painting.

The Seamstress with Linen Thread and Beeswax.

A needle, linen thread, beeswax and infinite patience protect each overstitch from humidity and the passage of time. One could say that a Louis Vuitton bag is a collection of details. But with so much attention lavished on every one, should we only call them details?

Doing a quick search online, I found two other images from the same campaign.

The Craftsman with his Brush.

In a Louis Vuitton shoe there is, of course, quality you can see: superb materials, an impeccable finish and perfect proportions. But other qualities remain unseen: the craftsman’s skill and the simple elegance of his gestures, repeated so often and precisely. Not forgetting the final touch: a coat of dark paint to protect the sole and enhance the beauty of every step.

The Young Woman and the Tiny Folds.

In everything from Louis Vuitton, there are elements that cannot be fully explained. What secret little gestures do our craftsmen discreetly pass on? How do we blend innate skill and inherent prowess? Or how can five tiny folds lengthen the life of a wallet? Let’s allow these mysteries to hang in the air. Time will provide the answers.

While the truth-in-advertising standard was raised in question by Business Week in a report on these ads by Louis Vuitton, I just like how these ads depart from the use of legendary pop stars or Hollywood icons. Or of Lara Stone posed teasingly like the temptress snake in the garden of Eden.

And every now and then, we need a little stroke of romance behind the products we buy. That at one point or another, the bag we carry or the shoe we put on has been touched, hand-finished and brushed by a skilled artisan at a workshop on a French countryside.

After all, when we buy a Louis Vuitton, we buy a dream, a love story. And at other times, more than we’d like to admit, we buy an illusion.