On the road - part one: Louis Vuitton who?

Posted on April 14, 2005 at 01:00 AM

While killing time during our layover at O'Hare, we thought we would stop and grab a bite to eat. But while standing in line at McDonalds, I noticed the woman directly in front of us was carrying this vintage blue leather travel bag. Very seventies-esque, but hip nonetheless. What caught my attention was something I noticed written on the bag. There in thick magic marker were the words "Louis Vuitton Who?" scribed on both sides of the bag in thick black marker. (see image)

louis vuitton who?

(Note: The blur you see on the image is the head of my legal department trying to tell me he wants a chicken nugget happy meal with a sprite)

I'll be frank, I wasn't too pleased with how the picture turned out. But my only other option was to approach this woman while she was eating her supper and ask if I could take a picture of her bag. How creepy would that be? Imagine, some dude walking up to you asking if he could take a picture of your travel bag? Granted, taking a picture of the bag without her knowing while in line for a cheeseburger is a little paparazzi-ish, but at least my creepiness was unbeknownst to her.

As weird as it may seem though, this definitely made my day. It's not too often you see someone with a sense of humor and a little ingenuity to carry something like this out in public. Basically telling the man to stick it and letting others know that a $1200 purse does not define who she is.

Which brings up a whole other topic. I have two pet peeves regarding designer purses. Pet peeve number one: "Women who buy designer look-a-like handbags at purse parties and then try to pass them off to everyone as the real thing". We all know you didn't spend $1200 on your purse so drop the act, admit to everyone it's not the real thing and move on. No one cares about your purse.

Pet peeve number 2: "Women who refer to their designer purse as if it were an actual human being". This behavior was made famous by Jessica Simpson on her MTV reality show (shoot me for even knowing that).

Here are a few examples of this behavior to which I have been witness to while out in public.

situation 1:

friend: Hey Jill, how's it going?

them: Oh, fine Sue. Say, have I introduced you to my new boyfriend Louie? (woman holds up purse with wanton admiration)

situation 2:

friend: Hey Julie, did you just get back from lunch?

them: Yeah, me and Louie just went out for a quick bite to eat.

friend: Really? I didn't know you had a friend named Louie?

them: (holding purse in plain view, with an aghast look on her face) You know? My purse? Louie?!?

situation 3:

them: Hey Monica, could you watch Louie for a moment while I go to the little girl's room?

friend: (mouth held agape in train wreck-style bewilderment) whatever...

I realize these purses may be deemed by some as "cool" and sought after by the rich and famous. But unless you're pulling in some serious cash there probably isn't' much of a need to be buying a purse who's cost rivals the GNP of some third world countries. Chalk one up for affluenza.

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Comments

GREAT post.

Posted by: dana | April 14, 2005 12:58 PM

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