LV Speedy + Audrey Hepburn - Two Unlikely Icons

Who would have thought that
an unstructured boxy looking bag would appeal to chic women all over the world for more than 60 years? The same way that the waif-like Audrey Hepburn for just as long has been speaking to our style-soul. Nothing forced or showy- both speak the language of class!

Louis Vuitton Speedy was Audrey Hepburn's favourite. If it's good enough for her it's good enough for us!

AND THEM!

From left to right Paris Hilton, Hillary Duff, Jeniffer, Love-Hewitt

Miranda Kerr

"The End"

 
That was Seal’s tweet the day he revealed the break-up of his marriage with Heidi Klum., the same day I brushed past him on my way to the loo in the B.A Concorde Lounge at Heathrow Airport. Actually I didn’t even see him at first; it was his luggage I was staring at. A very nice collection of Louis Vuitton Graphite Damier pieces ; a hold-all and some kind of  large shoulder bag or carrier; piled on the floor like a set installation for a Vogue Magazine shoot . My eyes strayed momentarily from the luggage and rested on a black pair of high top combat boots peeking out from under a pair of dark, loose fit rolled denims. Dangling from the back of the jeans, beneath a grey pea coat were some braces, obviously a sartorial statement.  Who is this person??? I wondered, only to look up and discover it was Seal, standing legs apart, combat ready, looking impossibly fit.  Woah!  I exclaimed (silently in my mind), you have to remember that this is The British Airways First Class Lounge at Heathrow. It’s not a place where you start unsolicited random conversation, ask for autographs or snap pictures posing huddled together, with your camera phone. It's a quiet oasis with everybody studiously ignoring everybody else in their own silent world. Everything happened in slow mo silence. My eyes swept over the luggage scanned over him and my head reeled back imperceptibly upon recognition as I brushed past and continued walking. I wanted to turn round to take a second look but I didn’t.(We all know the first rule of celebrity spotting don’t we? NEVER LOOK BACK!). Everything took place in less than 60 seconds. By the time I had emerged from the loo he had gone… with his beautiful luggage.

The Secret to Pain-Free Workouts

…Is Music!!!!  “Like we didn’t know that before?” I hear you say. Yeah I knew that too but I never did it. I would rely on my PT to supply the music or if I was in the gym alone I would either rely on my own thoughts to keep me motivated or watch TV. Let’s face it neither my thoughts nor anything on TV was ever strong enough to overcome the drudgery of the treadmill. But with the situation getting critical, hips creeping up to 42 inches, arms getting set to fly, overcome it I must. I already knew that music was the key to motivation, so why didn’t I just plug my earphones into my iPhone and bring it along or my iPod? After all the girls had bought me one two Christmases ago, so I could have easily have used that surely? But I never did.

 Do you know why? I can't face having to carry another handheld. I don’t know about you but I simply hate having to carry things when I’m going for exercises; I find it difficult enough carrying myself there and then again you have the problem of where to place it while you’re actually exercising.  Another pet hate is having to strap something to my waist. I mean why draw attention to the one area you’re trying to draw attention away from?

It dawned on me that if I wanted to be able to move around with my music, then I really ought to get an iPod shuffle. So I did. Believe me it’s the perfect solution. So tiny I simply clip it on my bra strap and I’m good to go. Small, simple and straight forward, just load up your songs from your computer in the right motivational order and press play.

The Secret – Get on the treadmill, input your level, press START close your eyes and press PLAY on your shuffle. Use this time to just relax. Think about where you were when you first heard each song, what they mean to you, do you know the words? You may be surprised to find out that what you thought they meant before is not actually the meaning…  Do not open your eyes (not even to peep at how much time is left) until the end of your playlist. 20 songs are about an hours’ worth of exercise. Before you know it, its over and the pain is gone! When you get bored of that playlist refresh your list from the iTunes store

My iPod Shuffle

Yeah Exercise suck but it sucks much less with an iPod shuffle

Kick start your workout with an iPod shuffle. It’s light weight, user friendly and very bag friendly. Not in your budget right now? Not to worry log into www.u-wantit.com where everything is within reach and in budget.

P.s I shall publish my playlist if you promise not to laugh! I’d love to see yours.

Power Tools

What I learnt most recently is that the right tools really do make a difference. Yeah I know what you’re thinking jeez!  Didn’t you know that? Yeah just like you, I knew that, somewhere in my consciousness, but you wouldn’t think it applied to putting on make-up would you? C’mon be honest didn’t you think dabbing it on with your fingers was just good enough. Well I have to confess I did. 

Trish McEvoy Essential Brush Collection

 I used my finger for everything apart from my eyebrows and that’s because somehow along the way I stumbled on to the fact that eyebrows appear more natural if you fill in the spaces with eye shadow powder rather than a pencil and to do that well you need to use a brow brush, because the tip of a brow brush is specifically cut at a slant for this purpose.  And boy what a difference a slant makes. Don’t believe me? Try it out for yourself. You think any old thin brush will do? No problem, take a thin brush and a brow brush use both on your brows and compare. I know ‘cos feeling very lazy and rather stingy I’ve had cause to do that comparison test myself…the difference is clear! [By the way if you’re thinking of using eye make-up DON’T use black, EVEN if your eyebrows are black! It’s a common mistake.  For a more natural effect, it’s always best to go a shade lighter. My eyebrows are black but I use a deep chocolate brown, it’s warmer and less scary, very natural.]

Trish  Bow Brush

You would have thought that having learnt the power of a brow brush, I would have understood that there would be benefits across board. Nope! Somehow it didn’t click. You see I had always thought that a full set of make-up brushes is something that professional make-up artists did. You know the types you see at Selfridges hanging around their make-up counter like gunslingers, holstered up and ready to draw.  Then my daughter sent me a picture of the Trish Mcevoy Brush set with the note “Mama you just have to get this”  I was smitten… The red quilted leather (hmm shall discuss that later) casing with 10 make-up brushes lined up like soldiers on parade made my heart sing…just what I had been looking for. A compact case all done for you, filled with only the essential brushes that you could carry around easily. The music stopped however when I learnt that this object of desire was £180 "AND IT’S NOT LEATHER!!! (That's me shouting at the Trish McEvoy Counter at Selfridges), to her credit, the sales assistant didn’t  flinch she just said soothingly the magic words “They last forever” and I was lulled into acceptance only I might add after a quick mental calculation showed that the cost of each brush was over £20. (Never realized that make-up brushes were sooo expensive)  But really what clinched the sale was the quality of the hair used (soft yet keeps it’s shape), the handy portable size, the heart stopping fun colour case, RED and the fact that each brush was labeled so you knew exactly what it was to be used for. This takes away all that unnecessary guesswork

Were they worth it? Definitely! I used the brushes the very next morning as I was hastily getting ready to catch a flight. The results were startling, so fast, so smooth and professional looking. What I learnt is that to get the right look, Make-Up needs precision application. Wish I had known that earlier, sure would have saved me a lot of stress.

The only downside to all this is that good brushes cost a shocking amount of money, which is one of the reasons we have put the  Trish McEvoy set on our Lowest unique bid site so  we can give others who may have more pressing needs on their resources the opportunity to have access to this wonderful product 

Its official Luxury’s back at LV!

Outrageously luxurious with a VIP apartment, a 'librairie' of limited edition art and art books, revolving handbag installations and artworks by all the big names, from Damien Hirst to Gilbert & George. This 15000 sq ft  temple of luxury designed by the New York Architect Peter Marino  reflects the 21st century mood of London...

 Louis Vuitton Bond Street Maison

After scathing criticism from dissatisfied customers worldwide on it’s customer care service and  let’s face it their service in general, it was with a heavy heart that I agreed to a friend’s request to pick up her tries chic  black Epi Leather bag from Louis Vuitton. Did I really want to subject myself to the non chalent indifference of snooty sales people? I grumbled grudgingly as i had already read comments about  badly behaved LV staff by other customers (click on links above), especially as this was also a repair issue one would be sure to receive even more attitude. Really I wasn’t in the mood to do battle with anybody right now I thought. Sighing with the resignation of one that has been ill-used but with the maxim a friend in need is a friend indeed uppermost in my mind, I waved down a taxi which before I had any time to think any more dismal thoughts, deposited me outside the magnificent Louis Vuitton Emporium in Bond Street.

“Enjoy your shopping luv” said the taxi driver chirpily. Thanks I replied wearily and turned round to push the heavy glass doors. But before I had even touched it, the door was opened swiftly by a smart security man who greeted me warmly and as if on cue a sales assistant stepped forward to greet me with an even warmer welcome, you know the kind you reserve for long lost friends. I was alarmed. ‘Am I in the right place? Is this Louis Vuitton? What’s happening???  This unexpected politeness had rather taken me aback. Though I was pleasantly surprised, I wasn’t ready to drop my guard just yet. “How can I help you?” Said the sales assistant or at least something to that effect, I wasn’t quite paying attention as I was still trying to recover from the shock of the pleasant attention.  She was still smiling, when I told her that I had come to pick up a bag that had been repaired and directed me to go upstairs to the first floor.

Glass Staircase. © Stéphane Muratet / Louis Vuitton

It appears that not only have Louis Vuitton upgraded their manners; they have also upgraded their appearance to match.  I have to say that the journey up the stairs to the first floor was a visual delight.  Each step was composed of a visual light display of the iconic Takashi Murukam  LV design. The ascending wall connecting the steps was a tactile triumph, a curtain wall of gold LV logos that just took my breath away. It made me stop in my tracks. I defy anybody to go up those stairs without stopping to touch the curtain wall. Needless to say the journey to the first floor took quite some time as I lingered on every step absorbing the beautiful aura. When I finally reached the first floor I was greeted by another smiling assistant who when I told her that I had come to pick a bag that had been repaired , quickly without any fuss or expression of irritation directed me to the section for repairs. Now I have noted the attitude because my extensive shopping experience has shown that once sales assistants know you have come for repairs their interest in you immediately goes cold (as in this is a spent sale nothing to gain here) and it usually shows in their eyes and attitude.  

However not in this case I was ushered into what I can only describe as an inner sanctum of hushed lux, and politely asked to wait a moment while they called the person in charge. The room was designed to the last inch exuding an aura of reverential silence. No raised altercations here, only dignified discussion. It reminded me of the interior of one of those designer yachts, soothingly expensive. The walls were lined with black and white and sepia photographs of Louis Vuitton history and memorabilia. On a wafer thin plasma screen behind the desk in front of me was a sort of glossy rolling documentary showing, the factories, the staff and how some key LV pieces were made. I was riveted! (Excuse the pun).  I had no idea that so much of it was done by hand.  The attention to detail is astounding.  I have a full set of LV hard back luggage, (yes; including the vanity case, stacked just like you see in the promotional ads), hold-alls, rollers, bags and many other smaller pieces collected over many years, however this experience has definitely given me greater respect for what I have.

Bag Bar. © Stéphane Muratet / Louis Vuitton

The true value of a luxury item is quantified by the amount of work required to produce it, the materials used and that certain je ne sais quoi, that sense of special luxurious feeling it invokes. All three must be present; could cashmere be anything other than a luxury item? I think not. The service given to you when you receive it makes it feel softer and more luxurious.You know luxury when you see and more importantly feel it. I definitely felt I was sitting in and being presented with luxury.

The young man in charge finally came in, looked up the details, went to collect the bag, placed it into a new cloth bag and deposited it in a carrier bag. Everything was over in less than five minutes, much to my dismay. I would have loved to have lingered a little longer in that oasis of beauty and calm. When I asked if there was a repair charge a mild expression of disapproval momentarily clouded his face before he politely said with a smile ‘Not all Madam”

I’m thinking that my love affair with Louis may have started all over again.  

www.u-wantit.com believe everybody should have a taste of luxury. We also understand that not buying something doesn’t always mean you don’t want it. It just means you are a careful and responsible person who has other pressing considerations that take priority over your immediate desires. We know the sacrifice you make which is why we are giving you the opportunity to treat yourself to a few great timeless Louis Vuitton classic collectables at a price you can afford. All products are original. Somebody will get it, so why can’t it be You?

Friends Forever With Links

Sometimes you have to see something close up before you can really appreciate its beauty.  I’m quite familiar with the Links of London brand. They’re the kind of brand you know the name of because the advertising is kind of everywhere, but you can’t really pinpoint where. You know they sell silver stuff, but you’re not quite sure it’s real silver, you know it’s jewelry but not sure exactly what pieces…at least that’s how I felt until my daughter Tosan got a pink Wimbledon Links ofLondon friendship bracelet.  Wow! What a beautiful object. Its tactile pink cylindrical sphere’s finished with silver caps and casually bound with some sort of string pulley mechanism is a masterpiece of design. Its stroke of genius is that it is simple, elegant and trendy at the same time. Stylish without taking itself too seriously, the Linksof London Friendship bracelet is not too expensive but just expensive enough to be of value… instantly desirable. I had to refrain myself from running out and getting one myself, sheepishly admitting there are some things we just have to leave to our daughters.

We at www.u-wantit.com understand that not buying something doesn’t always mean you don’t want it. It just means you are a careful and responsible person who has other pressing considerations that take priority over your immediate desires. We know the sacrifices you make which is why we are giving you permission to be a friend to yourself, by giving you the opportunity to treat yourself to this beautiful object at a price you can afford. Somebody will get it, so why can’t it be You?

Is it the gift or the thought that counts?

We all want gifts, who doesn’t? But is a gift a gift? a gift? How do you feel when you spend a lot on somebody and they don’t spend a lot on you? Is it really the thought that counts?

Gift giving has become such a minefield, so much psycho agro. For instance when you give a gift, should you include a receipt? The ‘new’ etiquette says Yes!  but personally we think that’s tacky. Leaving the receipt inside the packaging is like advertising how much you spent…not very gracious...