The importance of this product category was understood very soon by Louis Vuitton. To avoid looking for your belongings - money, papers, gold - at the bottom of your bag, the use of Small Leather Goods became fashionable.
In 1920, together with the evolution of the Handbag, Small Leather Goods became the perfect gift for special occasions, clearly present in the Catalogue Louis Vuitton called " Du cadeau ou la Bonne Manière" or literally translated: "The gift or good manners".
The creation of a new coating method in 1959 allowed a supple Monogram Canvas. The first SLG in Monogram Canvas appeared in the Catalogue of 1980 and after this, many other collections followed. They were developed to accompany the Clients to answer their needs in the best way and therefore evolved with the ongoing trends or the celebrities of the moment.
For instance, the historical envelope shape launched in the seventies was inspired by the "most famous actress the world has ever known", Sarah Bernhardt, in order to pay tribute to her adventurous and daring spirit.
The "Zippy" model, inspired by the modern women, is a very practical choice offering the most versatile ways to wear it.
The wallet is a very important accessory and it reveals a lot about yourself.
Someone prefers it when basic and practical. Others looks more for aesthetic and space, beyond its functional aspects.
I belong to this second category.
I confess having accumulated over time different kinds of wallets, larger or smaller according to the different uses: for the city, or when doing sports, if traveling for business or on vacation...And I'm really very quick in shifting content from one to another.
One day of long time ago, stressed out and rushing back to the office after a very short lunch break, I did not realize that my gorgeous Louis Vuitton wallet "International" slipped out of my handbag. It was a wonderful example of elegance and functionality together. I went mad.
Having lost in one shot my magnificent wallet and all of my personal documents, besides being a nuisance, gave me very unpleasant feelings.
Wallet has always represented for me a sort of a mini-bag where to nestle, in its many pockets and little spaces, all my memories, papers, notes, small scribbles, tickets... lost for ever by now. It was like a violation of my intimate soul.
The wallet was found and unbelievably given back to me a few days later, obviously empty and sopping wet not only for getting a heavy shower but also for being hit by a car, careless of its deep value.
Still able to be used thanks to its solid structure, characteristic of all the Louis Vuitton products, I found myself obliged to give in to important compromises: accepting its being badly worn not because naturally aged, having in addition lost its original leather fragrance. Could not make it.
It was no longer able to transmit me the sense of comfort and trust those items are able to donate to our precious belongings.
I decided not to use it anymore, though I did not buy an equal one, being this the memory of a loving gift.
So I stored it with much care where it is still resting now: in a black box, by chance and without really looking for, I gave it a rip worthy of a beloved item got to limit for a accidental casualty.
I was very recently having a glance at various alternative offers of The Maison, and I cannot now remove from my mind this model of the picture.
It might help me to forget that loss before long, giving me back the allure and the convenience we all women strive for in our decisions.
It is not coincidence if almost all the wallets names are the ones of the women of the Louis Vuitton family....