oh louis, how we love thee!

You can talk to someone from the North Pole and they will know what Louis Vuitton is. But the quetsion is, do you know who he is and how this great empire came to be?

Louis Vuitton Malletier (August 4 1821- February 27 1892), was born in Jura, France. At the ripe age of 14 he moved to Paris and eventually he was making and designing his own suitcases for royalty and even Napoleon. His unique trunk design was a flat top that enabled the suitcases to be stackable and the material he chose is what made the trunks water resistant rather than the rounded tops which could not be stackable. Imitation of the LV designs isn't a new thing, it started a long time ago.

In 1998, Marc Jac0bs was named art director along side Jae until today. He was the inspiration behond the cherry blossom design and the couloured monogram pattern.

Louis Vuitton is know for its famous brown and beige monogram, which is a laquored canvas material, not leather. This print has been reproduced and copied with so many itterations of the original design.

To learn more about LV fashion history, I would suggest this site.

There is a dispute right now on Wikipedia about the content on LV... it's quite a funny read :)

Do you own any Louis? Maybe a fake?

Tell me what is your favorite accessory? Wallet, clutch, purse?

Guccio Gucci, me likey

Mr. Guccio Gucci (March 26 1881- January 2 1953), founded The House of Gucci in Florence in 1906, a family owned leather saddlery shop. His reputation for hiring the best craftsman and creating the highest quality goods is what lead to the expansion and success of what we know today as Gucci.

Gucci is now owned and operated by a French company Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR).

It is the largest selling Italian brand in the world and remains in "The Top Global 100 Brands".

In the 1970's, Gucci became what it is today, thanks to icons such as Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly.

Despite the brands success, Gucci had seen it's highs and lows. In the 1980's, Gucci started to fall to an ultra low, when they decided to include cheaper and more affordable accessories to their line like lighters, cosmetic bags, and pens. "By the 1980's Gucci had lost it's appeal and became a tacky airport brand."

Today Gucci is well known for their sunglasses, purses, shoes, watches, clothes, frangrance, belts and much more. We know Gucci as being just plain old unaffordable! We weren't the only ones...hence, why the knockoff was created!

Prego Guiccio! Prego!

Fashion is NYCi

So, one idea led to another and now I have this huge burst of inspiration!

To help get us ready for New York City's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (Spring 2011): September 9-16 2010, I will be featuring Fashion History 101, where we will explore great icons like Louis Vitton, Thierry Hermes, Mario Prada, Giorgio Armani and much more!

I want to take the time to thank them for giving us what we call today FASHION!

I also want to point out that my birthday is September 16... coincidence, I think not!

Stay tuned, it starts tomorrow!

me love spending money-2

I just want to say one thing here.

If your friends can't support you and your shopping guilt, who will?

All I am saying is be there for one another and support each others bad habits. Don't judge. Just be happy and live vicariously through others. The last thing you need to hear is "Don't you already have that?" from your closest friend.

What you want to hear is "That looks fabulous on you! Can I borrow it?"... "Maybe, if you're nice".

On another note, I cleaned out my closest the other night and I wanted to show you. Slowly, I am getting my life in order... One blog at a time!

Okay, so maybe it's not super organized, but at least I can see where all my stuff is. Note: this is the guest room closet which holds only my "stuff", not

my clothes... and it's possible that the blue bins contain more shoes and purses (I just displayed the nicer ones :) ).

.... see why do I feel guilty showing you this. I should be proud!

Next blog: Let's talk about my finances :S