A Peek Inside My Handbag Collection
My First Love — Louis Vuitton
Would you believe me if I told you that Louis Vuitton shaped my career? As you Dolls can guess, I’ve always been extremely passionate about my work. In high school I told the biggest caterer for the Kentucky Derby that she was going to hire me (even when she wasn’t hiring…) and she did! Even though she didn’t know it at the time, I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. I have always carried that same work ethic with me all through college and into my career.
I worked during college first as a Denim Specialistic at Nordstrom and then later as a Sales Associate for Louis Vuitton. Let me digress Dolls, while I was with Nordstrom I had a client named Cynthia who would stop in weekly to shop with me. She was the kind of client who was wonderful to assist when creating a shopping experience but never left with anything. Nonetheless, I did not let that diminish my opportunity to execute excellent customer service.
Little did I know at the time, Cynthia was the Store Manager for the Louis Vuitton store. Truth… you don’t apply to work for Louis Vuitton, they find you. And with that, I made the switch from one fashion staple to another. I was so excited for this opportunity as it made my love for this particular couture, luxury brand flourish. If I’m being honest Dolls, my love for Louis Vuitton started at a young age. In fact, I was gifted my first luxury hand bag when I was 10 and I’ve been using it ever since! My multicolor Pochette Acessoires — I now use as my everyday make up bag. I was destined for high end designer bags after that, but it also goes to show the quality of their products that I’m obsessed with.
At the time when I started training, all I really knew about the company was that I loved the personal experience I had with their product. The training was definitely more intense than I expected (I had training from France) and I have always valued that learning experience to this day. I wasn’t just learning about the history of Louis Vuitton and the company as a whole but also how to tell a story with intentions to sell a product — I mean they’re basically the best of the best! In hind sight, it’s crazy to think I was shaping my storytelling craft that I would later use as the CEO of POSH PR®.
If you have the time Dolls, I HIGHLY advise you to take a look into the history of Louis Vuitton because it’s one of the most amazing stories of the creation of an entire fashion couture house (LVMH). In short, Georges Vuitton was a strategic luggage packer and trunk maker for the wealthy in late 1800’s France. One of his first accomplishments was the creation of a new luggage lock with a closing system that helped protect his clients belongings while they traveled. If that’s not the coolest thing, I don’t know what is!
The fashion house was founded in 1954 and was overseen by Georges’s son, Louis Vuitton. In honor of Louis Vuitton’s passing, the company introduced the first monogram canvas with the now iconic “LV” initials paired with the four-pointed star inside a diamond. Did you Dolls know that the Damier Ebene (which means brown checkerboard in French) is actually original pattern? If you can’t tell, I’m basically obsessed. I’ve always been captivated by the intention behind both the brand and the design of bags. As someone who appreciates the value of intentional detailing, I always purchase bags that will remain classic over time! I would love to create my own tradition of passing down my signature handbags just as Georges did with Louis!
A little history on the icon bags that are in my closet:
ALMA:
The original was the creation of Gaston Vuitton, who named it for the Alma Bridge, a span that connects two fashionable Paris neighborhoods. According to the legend, it was personally commissioned to Louis Vuitton by Coco Chanel.
KEEPALL:
An icon since the appearance in 1930, the Keepall embodies the spirit of modern travel. Light, supple and always ready for immediate departure, the bag lives up to its name: those adept at the art of packing can easily fit a week's wardrobe into the generously sized (and cabin-friendly) Keepall 55. Along with the Alma, the Keepall is also associated with the rise of Coco Chanel.
SPEEDY:
Speedy is iconic: the unique shape, the leather handles, the style of canvas used for the leather luggage bag. It was said that the bag was created for the darling, Aubrey Hepburn.
NOE:
Asked by a Champagne producer to develop a sturdy, stylish bag in which he could transport five bottles of bubbly, Gaston-Louis Vuitton created the classic Noé design — Adding this to the top of my ‘must purchase’ list!
Like I said, this is definitely when I learned how to tell a story through product. Each bag told a different story and each bag had a history that was different from the next. The lessons learned from the training and sales experience alone taught me so much about running my own business, POSH PR®. From how to illustrate a story to a client to the small details of merchandising the sales floor — I was taught to always place the handles of the bags up and I still do that to this day in my closet! For Louis Vuitton, it’s all about the presentation of exquisite detailing, which is what I modeled the core of POSH PR® after.
When I started POSH PR® over seven years ago, I always dreamed of doing a partnership with Louis Vuitton. When I had the opportunity last year to work with The Esplanade Shoppes, Louis Vuitton being one of them, I was ecstatic! Isn’t it crazy when you look back at all the little things that brought you joy as a child and how it’s now such a huge part of who you are to this day? I couldn’t begin to express the gratitudes for the valuable career lessons that I learned from a young age that I still use to this day. I guess you could say that once a Louis Vuitton girl, always a Louis Vuitton girl!
