Put You Oscar in a Louis Vuitton Bag!

2011-03-01T11:20:00.000-08:00

What's a Best Actress winner to do now that she has to drag her new pal "Oscar" all around town?

Well, if you're Sandra Bullock, you have it all figured out. "The Blind Side" star wants a big Louis Vuitton bag. (And really, Oscar winner or not, who doesn't?)

Bullock arrived on the set of Oprah's post-Oscars TV show today in a sleek, dark-colored pantsuit with her gold statue in tow.

She seemed smitten with her shiny new companion, which coordinated perfectly with the metallic Marchesa gown she wore to last night's Oscars.

Only problem: The little gold man is a bit heftier than Bullock expected.

"I mean, where do you stash this thing?" she asked the talk show host. "I hope Louis Vuitton makes me something big."

We have a feeling that this leading lady will have a big LV bag coming right up, along with the burgers, fries and soft-serve Bullock told Oprah she planned to gorge on now that the pressure of fitting into all her awards ceremony gowns is off.

Maybe Oscar would fit in one of these Louis carryalls.

2011-03-01T11:16:00.000-08:00

At least she quit taking the Botox......she looks hot in her Louis Vuitton dress!

Louis Vuitton Purses and Handbags

2011-01-26T08:33:00.000-08:00

Louis Vuitton, a trunk-maker in Paris, since 1854, became a legend in the art of travel by creating designer luggage, designer handbags and accessories with the LV signature grey Trianon canvas. The Louis Vuitton company went on to become one of the world's most famous makers of luxury goods, particularly known for its designer luggage pattern - the beige-on-chestnut monogram "LV" design logo.

Thanks in part to a bronze medal at the 1867 World's Fair and a gold medal at the 1889 World's Fair in Paris, the Vuitton name brand gained international recognition. After Louis died in 1892, it was his son, Georges, who took the company to new heights when he created the first designer label on a product (the distinctive "LV" monogram).

Today, the Louis Vuitton Company has expanded its luxury product line to include travel books, perfume, spirits, shoes, designer clothing and more. Louis Vuitton handbags became a subsidiary of LVMH group in 1987, a global corporation that deals in luxury products. In 1998, prominent designer Marc Jacobs joined the firm as Artistic Director.

Popular handbags in the Louis Vuitton product line include:

The legend Louis Vuitton Monogram Canvas - with its famous "LV" and flowers (created in 1896).
The famous beige and burgundy checkered 'Daimer Canvas' (created in 1888).
The Striped canvas line - the renowned red and beige stripped canvas (created in 1896).
The Noe bag - the much-photographed black and beige drawstring feedbag with the "LV" monogram, was originally envisioned for champagne vintners in order for them to transport bottles of champagne (created in 1932).
The Monogram Vernis design - created in 1998, was the inaugural collection of bags designed by Marc Jacobs on patent calfskin with the famous "LV" monogram design.

Louis Vuitton monogram handbags start at approximately $120 and can exceed $800 online.

Bio

2011-01-25T19:54:00.000-08:00

Biography of Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton (August 4, 1821 – February 27, 1892), eponymous founder of the company, was born in the department of Jura, France. In 1835, he moved to Paris. The trip from his hometown to Paris was over 400 kilometers (249 mi), and he traveled the distance by foot. On his way there, he picked up a series of odd jobs to pay for his journey. There, he became an apprentice Layetier to prominent households.Because of his well established reputation in his fields, Napoleon III of France appointed Vuitton as Layetier to his wife, Empress Eugénie de Montijo. Through his experience with French royalty, he developed advanced knowledge of what made a good traveling case. It was then that he began to design his own luggage, setting the foundations for LV Co.

From foundations to World War II

The Louis Vuitton label was founded by Monsieur Vuitton in 1854 on Rue Neuve des Capucines in Paris. In 1858, Monsieur Vuitton introduced his flat-bottom trunks with trianon canvas, making them lightweight and airtight. Before the introduction of Vuitton's trunks, rounded-top trunks were used, generally to promote water run off, and thus could not be stacked. It was Vuitton's gray Trianon canvas flat trunk that allowed the ability to stack with ease for voyages. Becoming successful and prestigious, many other luggagemakers began to imitate LV's style and design.
In 1867, the company participated in the universal exhibition in Paris.To protect against the duplication of his look, he changed the Trianon design to a beige and brown stripes design in 1876. By 1885, the company opened its first store in London, England on Oxford Street. Soon thereafter, due to the continuing imitation of his look, in 1888, the Damier Canvas pattern was created by Louis Vuitton, bearing a logo that reads "marque L. Vuitton déposée," which translates to "mark L. Vuitton deposited" or, roughly, "L. Vuitton trademark". In 1892, Louis Vuitton died, and the company's management passed to his son.
After the death of his father, Georges Vuitton began a campaign to build the company into a worldwide corporation, exhibiting the company's products at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. In 1896, the company launched the signature Monogram Canvas and made the worldwide patents on it. Its graphic symbols, including quatrefoils and flowers (as well as the LV monogram), were based on the trend of using Japanese and Oriental designs in the late Victorian era. The patents later proved to be successful in stopping counterfeiting. In this same year, Georges traveled to the United States, where he toured various cities (such as New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago), selling Vuitton products during the visit. In 1901, the Louis Vuitton Company introduced the Steamer Bag, a smaller piece of luggage designed to be kept inside Vuitton luggage trunks.
By 1913, the Louis Vuitton Building opened on the Champs-Elysees. It was the largest travel-goods store in the world at the time. Stores also opened in New York, Bombay, Washington, London, Alexandria, and Buenos Aires as World War I began. Afterwards, in 1930, the Keepall bag was introduced. During 1932, LV introduced the Noé bag. This bag was originally made for champagne vintners to transport bottles. Soon thereafter, the Louis Vuitton Speedy bag was introduced (both are still manufactured today). In 1936 Georges Vuitton died, and his son, Gaston-Louis Vuitton, assumed control of the company.
During the World War II, Louis Vuitton collaborated with the Nazis during the German occupation of France. The French book Louis Vuitton, A French Saga, authored by French journalist Stephanie Bonvicini and published by Paris-based Editions Fayardtells how members of the Vuitton family actively aided the puppet government led by Marshal Philippe Pétain and increased their wealth from their business affairs with the Germans. The family set up a factory dedicated to producing artifacts glorifying Pétain, including more than 2,500 busts. Petain's Vichy regime was responsible for the deportation of French Jews to German concentration camps.
Caroline Babulle, a spokeswoman for the publisher, Fayard, said: "They have not contested anything in the book, but they are trying to bury it by pretending it doesn't exist." Responding to the book's release in 2004, a spokesman for LVMH said: "This is ancient history. The book covers a period when it was family-run and long before it became part of LVMH. We are diverse, tolerant and all the things a modern company should be."An LVMH spokesman told the satirical magazine Le Canard Enchainé "We don't deny the facts, but regrettably the author has exaggerated the Vichy episode,". That publication was the only French periodical to mention the book.

1945 through 2000

See also: Louis Vuitton Cup, America's Cup, and LVMH

During this period, Louis Vuitton incorporated its leather into most of its products, ranging from small purses and wallets to larger pieces of luggage. In order to broaden its line, the company revamped its signature Monogram Canvas in 1959 to make it more supple, allowing it to be used for purses, bags, and wallets. It is believed that in the 1960s, counterfeiting returned as a greater issue to continue on into the 21st century. In 1966, the Papillon was launched (a cylindrical bag that is still popular today). By 1977 with annual revenue up to 70 million Francs ($14.27 million USD). A year later, the label opened its first stores in Japan: in Tokyo and Osaka). In 1983, the company joined with America's Cup to form the Louis Vuitton Cup, a preliminary competition (known as an eliminatory regatta) for the yacht race. Louis Vuitton later expanded its presence in Asia with the opening of a store in Taipei, Taiwan in 1983 and Seoul, South Korea in 1984. In the following year, 1985, the Epi leather line was introduced.
1987 saw the creation of LVMH. Moët et Chandon and Hennessy, leading manufacturers of champagne and cognac, merged respectively with Louis Vuitton to form the luxury goods conglomerate. Profits for 1988 were reported to have been up by 49% more than in 1987. By 1989, Louis Vuitton came to operate 130 stores worldwide.Entering the 1990s, Yves Carcelle was named president of LV, and in 1992, his brand opened its first Chinese location at the Palace Hotel in Beijing. Further products became introduced such as the Taiga leather line in 1993, and the literature collection of Voyager Avec... in 1994. In 1996, the celebration of the Centennial of the Monogram Canvas was held in seven cities worldwide.
After introducing its pen collection in 1997, Louis Vuitton made Marc Jacobs alongside Jae its Art Directors the following year in 1998.In March of the following year, they designed and introduced the company's first "prêt-à-porter" line of clothing for men and women. Also in this year products introduced included the Monogram Vernis line, the LV scrapbooks, and the Louis Vuitton City Guide.

The last events in the 20th century were the release of the mini monogram line in 1999, the opening of the first store in Africa in Marrakech, Morocco in 2000, and finally the auction at the International Film Festival in Venice, Italy, where the

vanity case "amfAR" designed by Sharon Stone was sold with the proceeds going to The Foundation for AIDS Research (also in 2000).

2001 to present day

The store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue.

A Louis Vuitton boutique in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, in Milan, Italy.

By 2001, Stephen Sprouse, in collaboration with Marc Jacobs, designed a limited-edition line of Vuitton bags that featured graffiti written over the monogram pattern. The graffiti read Louis Vuitton and as well, on certain bags, the name of the bag (such as Keepall and Speedy). Certain pieces, which featured the graffiti without the Monogram Canvas background, were only available on Louis Vuitton's V.I.P. customer list. Jacobs also created the charm bracelet, the first ever piece of jewelry from LV, within the same year.

In 2002, the Tambour watch collection was introduced. During this year, the LV building in Tokyo's Ginza district was opened, and the brand collaborated with Bob Wilson for its Christmas windows sceneography. In 2003, Takashi Murakami,in collaboration with Marc Jacobs, masterminded the new Monogram Multicolore canvas range of handbags and accessories. This range included the monograms of the standard Monogram Canvas, but in 33 different colors on either a white or black background. (The classic canvas features gold monograms on a brown background.) Murakami also created the Cherry Blossom pattern, in which smiling cartoon faces in the middle of pink and yellow flowers were sporadically placed atop the Monogram Canvas. This pattern appeared on a limited number of pieces. The production of this limited-edition run was discontinued in June 2003. Within 2003, the stores in Moscow, Russia and in New Delhi, India were opened, the Utah and Suhali leather lines were released, and the 20^th anniversary of the LV Cup was held.

Louis Vuitton situated on the famous Champs-Elysées.

Flagship store in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawai'i: Historic Gump Building.

In 2004, Louis Vuitton celebrated its 150^th anniversary. The brand also inaugurated stores in New York City (on Fifth Avenue), São Paulo , Mexico City , Cancun and Johannesburg. It also opened its first global store in Shanghai. By 2005, Louis Vuitton reopened its Champs-Élysées store in Paris designed by the American Architect Eric Carlson (reputed to be the largest and most successful LV store in the world), and released the Speedy watch collection. In 2006, LV held the inauguration of the Espace Louis Vuitton on its 7^th floor. In 2008, Louis Vuitton released the Damier Graphite canvas. The canvas features the classic Damier pattern but in black and grey, giving it a masculine look and urban feel.
In 2010, Louis Vuitton opened what it described as their most luxurious store in London.

History of Louis Vuitton

2011-01-25T19:46:00.000-08:00

Louis Vuitton Malletier — commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton (French: [lwi vɥitɔ̃], commonly Anglicized as /ˈluːiː viːˈtɒn/), or shortened to LV — is a French fashion house founded in 1854. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes, watches, jewellery, accessories, sunglasses, and books. Louis Vuitton is one of the world's leading international fashion houses. Louis Vuitton sells its products through small boutiques in high-end department stores, and through the e-commerce section of its website.

Louis Vuitton For You

Put You Oscar in a Louis Vuitton Bag!

Louis Vuitton Purses and Handbags

Bio

Biography of Louis Vuitton

1945 through 2000

History of Louis Vuitton