Hope everyone has enjoyed the festive season – my 4 days break from work (since were closed) was too short and is coming to an end. I am still feeling dizzy as ever… so I am pretty much typing this with my eyes closed. In any case, here is just a short review on this bag.
I don’t think I will be buying something for quite a while now.. this has officially blown a big hole in my savings. I originally met my ever so hard to reach target of saving after more than 3 years of working… only to spend more haha. Well, it is time to save again and surpass the original target now.
I wanted to originally purchase a Chanel Boy but got turned off by the terrible nonexistent service in the Chanel boutiques. Not only are we paying 1.5 times more than other countries for that bag, I think the amount of money we need to pay and the quality of service is just not up to scratch at all. I was then tossing between the Lady Dior or something else, but I know from people’s stories that the Lady Dior isn’t really great quality in terms of its zipper and stitching. I wasn’t really prepared to spend that much money on a patent leather bag (which cannot be repaired… patent leather, that is), and I don’t want lambskin as it is far too soft and will lose shape.
I was having dinner with the girls from my old workplace a few months back when we were talking about handbags and then I decided to do some research… to my surprise this handbag is filed away under a category called “special”, so it was no wonder that I did not know about it previously. I saw the handbag once in person (a customer was wearing the medium size) and there was some information in fashion magazine… but it wasn’t until then that I was genuinely interested because I knew that it was pricey.
Thankfully, it comes in a smaller size which is what I like/ prefer, and they had a few new colours out – one of which I thought was one that I really really needed.
I purchased the Capucines in BB size on a busy Sunday afternoon. The handbag is located and available for purchase on Level 2 of the George Street flagship store. I didn’t realise that it was that exclusive to be located on a separate level, but the best thing about that is that you beat the masses and crowd on the ground floor level, which is no different to a marketplace on a busy weekend. On level 2 you get to sit on a sofa, and have the freedom to do whatever you want really, and you don’t need to really wait more than 5 minutes for someone to ask you if you need help.
My friend who was with me accidentally picked up a handbag to have a look and to her surprise there were things inside and actually belonged to a customer! It was in a beautiful indigo colour which was very borderline royal purple. They didn’t have that colour in stock, but that colour is definitely my #2 choice.
There were three new colours, the other two apart from the one I have pictured above being a baby blue and a very pale baby pink. To be honest the baby blue looked probably nicer than the one I decided to buy (which is in a colour named cobalt since it is a dark grey), but I liked the fuschia edge as it is so classic, yet a new interpretation of the classic edge treatment without going boring old red edge.
My only concern with this bag is that I have another very similar one which Louis Vuitton doesn’t currently have in their catalogue (though they have a habit of bringing back styles after a few years) called the Sevigne, also in a BB size.
The Capucines is made of a taurillon leather, which is considered one of the best leathers out there. It is quite thick and seems quite sturdy. it is apparently meant to soften over time – fingers crossed it will still look as good as it does now – I hate unstructured leather cough YSL cough!
The handbag is split into two compartments and can be closed with a hook in the centre. There is also a zipped compartment at the back for you to zip up any valuables, such as a passport for instance. The width of the bag is just right for a long wallet. The Sevigne BB on the other hand, cannot fit a long wallet and can only contain a short wallet.
The Capucines also has two hooks for you to hang a long strap (included) for cross body or shoulder carry. The interior is lined in a fuschia calf leather.
There are also metal studs on the base of the bag.
Apart from the choice of leather and colours, what drew me in the most was the reinterpretation classic elements. I believe it is probably one of the first (if not the first) bag with the monogram flower as part of the hardware design. You have a choice to tuck the flap in behind the cut out LV logo, or on top (though it doesn’t sit flat as there is no magnetic closure). I like this design because it can be discreet if you cover the LV sign as the monogram flower is a bit more subtle.
There are also other elements like the rings on the side which are elements you usually see in their jewellery collection rather than in their handbag range.
Other items I did not picture was the box (I actually have the same box from purchasing the Sevigne so nothing new – but it is a hard box, not one of those large floppy ones you get when you purchase a regular handbag) and dustbag, which is a different type of dustbag to your normal sand coloured one. The one that comes with the Capucines is a double layered, super soft type of microfiber or cotton fabric which has an outer brown fabric and the inner fabric being the usual sand colour. There is also an information booklet included which is relatively thick (maybe 3-4mm thick) on just general information on leather and care… though it appears to be a universal booklet and not exclusive to the Capucines (probably given with bags made of special leather).
I think the most surprising thing to me is that this bag is actually far more common than I had originally expected, since I see it quite often on the streets of Sydney. That is a good thing because it means I made the right decision in believing that this is pretty much the new icon or classic in their handbag range.
As per usual I checked the bag over for the quality and the stitching appears to be well done, but as for the sealing of the edge – I can’t really say it is perfect for its price tag. It could be done better, but having said that there were only 2 Capucines BB in the colour cobalt available in stock – one being the display and the other being the one I purchased.
This bag is alright to go traveling (beware if you go somewhere where it will rain because this leather is okay for rain, but like, not 100% like all leathers) but is probably better suited to going out or dinner. Overall I would call this a city bag and the best thing is that it is clean and simple so it doesn’t look too much even with a pair of jeans.
There are two other sizes available in the MM ($6500AUD) and GM ($7000AUD) size, both are only hand/ shoulder carry and do not come with the long strap.
The Louis Vuitton Capucines BB retails at $5100 AUD and is available exclusively at Louis Vuitton boutiques. Check the website or call Louis Vuitton for up to date pricing. As per usual I recommend you all buy duty free or quote pricing to see which country/ city has better pricing.
PS: I will try to get back on track with the New Zealand posts… wish this dizziness would just go away though. And finally when I get back to work I get to work with people who are actually helpful! Cannot wait.
MIKETSU MUSE 