Three weeks ago, when our Louis Vuitton PR contact in New York emailed us about the upcoming SoHo Casino Night party just two days ahead of time, Megs and I were bummed to realize that there was no way we would make it. To our delight, a few days later we received a letter with an official invite to the Louis Vuitton Bal Harbour Casino Party, which happened to take place just last night.

In best Casino Royale style, the invite contained a single, custom LV poker chip. Not being much of a gambler myself, the idea of having a casino-themed launch party, showcasing the new Damier Graphite line of bags, got me really excited. Nothing better than sipping on a dry Martini, gazing at new Vuitton goods and maybe winning something at the Blackjack table.

Walking in the door, we were greeted by two lovely ladies, each handing us a few fake $100 bills and encouraging us to lose it all at the Blackjack, Roulette or Poker tables. Refreshments were courtesy of Hennessy and Moët, little hors d’œuvres were spread to the guests by a dozen of ridiculously good-looking guys (which both Megs and Shannon could barel keep their eyes off of!). The new Damier Graphite line was represented in vast quantities, in many shapes and styles, from small leather goods to the big travel Roadster bag. As you’d expect for South Florida, the crowd was diverse and posh, everyone appeared to enjoy themselves tremendously.

I know we did! We did not get to gamble, the few tables’ seats were high in demand. We rather enjoyed the free alcoholic refreshments that came in many varieties, Megs’ got a beautiful new Vuitton scarf. We also got to meet and chat with the store manager Xiomara Liopis, who I would like to thank for inviting us to a fun casino night out. And many thanks to the Bal Harbour staff, as well!

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The first rare treasure that I saw was the trend-setting Louis Vuitton Stephen Sprouse leopard print cashmere-silk stole. When I saw this online when it first came out, I couldn’t help but think, “Uh, it’s…just a scarf. Kind of a big scarf, but for $725, I’m going to need miles of scarf.” Well, sometimes, things just don’t show up as glorious online as they do in person, because this thing is beautiful. It’s much wider than the average pashmina, and it lit up my outfit of black empire-waist top and skinny jeans as soon as I wrapped it around my neck. It felt lush and luxurious, like I would happily wrap it around myself every single cold day of the year.

Stuff like this? Why I left the AmEx at home.
The next thing we saw, however, not even my AmEx would have been able to accommodate.

As it turns out, the store manager is familiar with our little forum, and he was tremendously friendly and helpful while we were pawing the goods. Right before we left, he said that he had something in the back that he’d like for us to see that he doesn’t show to everyone.

What was it?

The $32,000, Louis Vuitton Crocodile Neverfull in chocolate brown. It’s exceptionally rare to see such a fine crocodile skin in person, and he said that there were only two or three of that particular bag in the whole United States. The texture of the material was so perfect that it almost looked fake (in the best possible way) – the scales were even in shape and size and had a wonderful distribution and arrangement. The color was deep, even and saturated – it was also almost the exact color of milk chocolate and even more delicious.

I asked him if I could take a picture to share, but I knew before I asked that the answer would be that it’s against company policy (can’t blame him for that!). So instead, our lovely member Veez found the above picture for us to illustrate just how gorgeous the bag really is. As with the Stephen Sprouse scarf, pictures do a poor job of capturing the clean, chic elegance of the piece – what may appear simple at first is actually much more upon further inspection.

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Well, the wait has finally ended for the Tahitienne Collection! And it gets even better! These bags are available in four different colors in two sizes! Check them out:

These new Tahitienne bags are pretty cool, aren’t they? They are so versatile because of their hook closures. The opening can either be hooked together (like the way they are shown above) to give it that trapezoid shape OR they can be left unhooked with the corners pointing out (resulting in a more traditional rectangular shaped tote). I also love the print on these bags! It is so whimsical and summery looking. Yep, you guessed it! I am thinking these bags would make great beach totes (or even shopping totes). The lining is absolutely adorable as well! And where did the inspiration for this print come from? According to Louis Vuitton’s website, the print was inspired by a catalogue published back in 1924.

Now this does all sound too good to be true, doesn’t it? I mean, a really cute canvas bag created by Louis Vuitton that is absolutely perfect for Spring/Summer. So what’s the catch? You probably already know where I’m going with this, but I’m going to tell you anyway. Yep, its that darn price tag. The prices for the Tahitienne Collection range from $1,000 to $1,160. These bags are comparable in size to the Louis Vuitton Neverfull bags and yet they cost approximately $400-$500 more. Why? It seems to me that they are a bit overpriced, especially since they scream “Casual Summer Tote”. But I suppose, this has been becoming a pattern lately with Louis Vuitton.

Well, here are the specs anyway:

• Hook Closure
• Cell phone pocket, interior zippered pocket, and D-ring
• Adjustable straps
• Protective Base Studs
• Two sizes: PM (6.7″ x 10.6″ x 16.5″) and GM (8.3″ x 13.8″ x 20.8″)
• Four colors: Lilac, Menthe, Pink, Sandy

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