I picked this picture out of the Louis Vuitton store window in Starhill Gallery. I love the shape of the bag which is the classic Louis Vuitton Speedy. It holds a ton and always looks elegant.
The material is the Louis Vuitton Monogram Mini Lin which is canvas striped to mimic the iconic LV trunks and with little mini monograms on it. What caught my eye here, was not the shape nor the material, but the chain on it. I thought it looked gaudy yet curiously unique, and I was wondering what sort of design it might be and looking on the LV website yielded no clues.
After checking out Eluxury, it turns out that this is actually LV’s way of making an old bag or an old design new. All they did was to clip on a key chain on the handles and voila! Its a new bag! The keychain itself is US$395 so I guess I’ll be looking for cheaper alternatives to achieve the same or similar look! heh…
All that said, I think this makes a refreshing change from tying scarves on bags which was popularized by Coach a while back. I might even see if I can adopt the idea for my own bags!
I came across two articles at Reuters and the Daily Mail while scouring the internet yesterday that talked about Spanish fashion brand Zara withdrawing a “swastika” bag from their stores. This piqued my interest, so I went to look up the bag in question.
Here is the picture of the GBP39 bag, and there on the side, is the swastika symbol in green.
Here in Asia where Hinduism and Buddhism are widely practiced, the swastika symbol is less controversial, because it is an ancient symbol that is present in both culture and religion. However, I can understand why it is causing an uproar in Europe which went through the Holocaust under Hitler, who had adopted the swastika as the symbol of the Nazis. There, it is a symbol of oppression and fear.
When Zara commissioned this bag, they were either oblivious to the symbol or had let it slip past unnoticed or maybe it was to court controversy. Who’s to know how the minds of these marketing moghuls work?
All that said, I don’t think I’d have paid much attention to this bag if I had seen it. I think its actually quite ugly and only the swastika has catapulted it into the eyes of fashion. Now don’t all jump on me for saying this!
I have a bad habit that I have noticed, many women share.
I tend not to zip up my handbag after I have taken things out from it. These aren’t handbags without zips. They have zips - I just tend to forget to zip them back up.
Its a bad habit I’ve been trying to kick for a long time. Granted, I take extra care with my belongings and I hold my bag close to my body. But you just never know what undesirable thing might happen one day.
I was prompted to write this because I just noticed again how careless I am (although I am usually very careful) this morning when I alighted from my car. My bag was gaping wide because I’d just put my keys into it and other than the fact everything inside could drop out if I were to accidentally tip the bag over, I was opening myself to being pickpocketed.
I’ve noticed that this is common among many women, many of whom think that by having a hand-held bag, the chances of things getting stolen is less. If I can see the wallet and mobile phone in their bags, within easy reach especially while standing in a queue, I’m sure pickpockets can too.
This is a public service warning from Paris Beaverbanks! 
