Wednesday, 4 August 2010

Who'd Have Thought It?

I don't know about you, but I'd only ever thought of 'Louis Vuitton' as a logo on rather vulgar baggage knocked off in Chinese sweatshops for the delectation of the chavocracy (of whom I've been seeing rather a lot lately, on my frequent train journeys on the Chiltern Line - they're all headed for something called Bicester Village, whence they return lugging vast numbers of conspicuously branded carrier bags). So, I was startled to discover today that Louis Vuitton was in fact a real person, and that he was born on this day in... Go on, have a guess, you'll never get it... Give up?... 1821! Young Louis walked the 250 miles from his home in the Jura to Paris, became an apprentice layetier (bag/luggage maker), caught the eye of Napoleon III, set up his own business - and the rest is history, surprisingly long history. What next? Will I discover that Signori Dolce and Gabbana were ornaments of the Neapolitan court, that Van Dutch was a pal of Vermeer's? The world becomes ever stranger.
Posted by Nige at 13:02
Labels: ,

5 comments:

  1. Mark4 August 2010 at 14:21

    If Bicester Village is anything like Louis Vuitton then 99 per cent of the people you'll meet there are fakes. Indeed people happily send their avatars by coach and car to this glittering retail experience from all over the South Midlands. You can tell its cafes serve virtual food because no matter how much you eat you are still hungry afterwards.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gareth Williams4 August 2010 at 14:32

    They say that on moonless nights an eery glow over Bicester way can be descried from the M40. Legend has it that it lures shoppers to their doom. Best to keep your eyes on the road and stop up your ears from the siren songs of local radio.

    ReplyDelete
  3. malty4 August 2010 at 15:13

    One of life's great mysteries is why, at every Vuitton store are there bouncers, for holding back the Japanese and Russian punters?
    Fakes are sometimes as good as the original, there is this Turkish guy in Mainz who sells Panerai, Galatasseri Panerai, the current one has lasted five years, one hundred Euro's. Nearly as good as the ones made in Florence, don't think they have Rolex innards though.

    Northerners pronounce Bicester..Byesester

    ReplyDelete
  4. Susan4 August 2010 at 17:54

    You mean you don't have an LV monogrammed cravat, Nige?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nige4 August 2010 at 18:44

    Tragically, Susan, no!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)