I’m slowly but surely updating all of my buying guides.

My free Louis Vuitton buying guides were all on eBay originally. I wrote them when the “Reviews & Guides” first came about. But there was a limit to 10 tiny pictures and only like 2500 words a guide- which was a huge limitation in what I’m writing on… So I have been one by one updating all of my guides here on my website.

(An example photo from the Louis Vuitton Date Code guide)

I just re-did my Louis Vuitton Date Code Explanation Guide. It’s much more helpful, with big, clear pictures, updated information, and including recent changes. I hope you find it helpful. Go ahead- bookmark it and use it as a reference.

I updated my Louis Vuitton Epi Information Guide, and my Louis Vuitton Vernis Information Guide in Fall of 2007- and am adding more info now. The rest of my guides are getting a total overhaul, and I’ll announce them one by one as they are “done”. (They’ll all continually need updating- but the initial overhaul takes the most work!)

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So, word is that Marc Jacobs and Jason Preston broke up (again).

I mean, I can’t blame him- but you know Jason’s gonna miss the perks.

(Jason Preston & Louis Vuitton Keepall)

You know, the private jet rides…

(Jason Preston and Louis Vuitton Luggage & Manhattan GM)

The amazing Louis Vuitton freebies.

(Jason Preston and Louis Vuitton Rabbit Scarf)

Breaking up is hard to do…

(Jason Preston in Louis Vuitton shorts)

(Insert your own snarky comment here, that picture speaks for itself IMO!)

What I’m going to miss are the fun LV pictures on Jason’s My Space page!

(All the pictures above were from Jason’s page)

(If you’re a voyeur- Marc Jacobs always has some cool pictures on his My Space profile too… who ever said that Marc wasn’t web savvy?)

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Richard Prince is an interesting character. It’s really strange how much he lets us into his bizarre little world through his art- and now through his collaboration with Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton. What can I say, he creeps me out, I’ve said that before- but maybe I’ll go into that another time.

For now, I thought I’d blog a bit about some of the inspiration behind some of his pieces. In this post, I thought I’d blog about where he gets his names…

So here we have the Richard Prince for Louis Vuitton Heartbreak. That’s my sister above wearing it. It’s a nice big tote- and you can wear it that way or with the sides clipped together to form a more triangular shape. You can see more pictures on our LV Richard Prince Heartbreak here on our website.

People Magazine Style Watch this month (March) picked the Heartbreak as one of it’s “Star Picks”

Anyway… if you didn’t know that Richard Prince had a thing for Nurses before the Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2008 fashion show- you do now!

So, RP has been “into” nurses for a while now. He collects several specific genres of paperback pulp fiction. Honestly, I will be the first to admit- I’m kind of a prude, but these books are all tacky at the best, but often sleazy (IMO). We’re talking Harlequins, Lesbian Pulp Fiction, and other “Adult” fiction. I will also freely admit that many of the covers have a very cool, enticing stylized effect.

Anyway… so one genre that Prince is into… is “naughty nurse” paperbacks. Yep, I did not know they existed. But, there are hundreds of them- maybe even thousands, and they started back in the ’50s. Richard Prince apparently has a pretty interesting collection of them. (This woman has a huge collection if you want to browse- again, the covers are really interesting!)

So, above left, we have Jane Converse’s 1968, nurse paperback fiction- “Heartbreak Nurse”. Above right, you’ll find Richard Prince’s 2002 “Heartbreak Nurse” in ink jet print and acrylic on canvas). But wait, Richard Prince’s Heartbreak Nurse doesn’t look a thing like Jane’s does… Take a look:

Above left, we have another one by Jane Converse. This one, the 1965 “classic”, “Nurse Forrester’s Secret”. Compare Nurse Forrester to RP’s Hearbreak Nurse…

So, basically… Prince takes real vintage book that retailed for about 25 cents, and literally copies it. He transfers the book covers, changes the colors, ditches the guy, switches a nurse from one book- and sticks her over there. He then throws on a surgical mask, maybe bleeds the lipstick through it and vuala… he sells it for $6.09 million!

Brilliant.

I’ll talk more about “appropriation art”- and a ton of more stuff that relates to Richard Prince and his collaboration with Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton in later posts. For now- if you’re into what he does and want to spend less than $6.09 mil to get some Richard Prince art of your own- take a look at our Richard Prince for Louis Vuitton Heartbreak bag! It’s a bargain in comparison!

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Wow. Eluxury is now offering the “Bill Me Later” method of payment.

As in, buy any item on Elux that is valued at $250 or more (basically, practically any Louis Vuitton item) and you don’t have to pay for 90 days. That’s right… they send you a bill… and you don’t have to pay a darned thing for 90 days.

I mean, it sounds like the sales pitch for a cheap furniture company, but it just might do the trick in this lagging economy. You can read more about the “Bill Me Later” service here.

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Well, you learn something new every day!  I always thought “the Holy City” was Jerusalem, but apparently Charleston, South Carolina has the same nickname!

Anyway… it looks like South Carolina will be getting it’s first Louis Vuitton.  It won’t be a full- stand alone boutique, but will be inside the Charleston Place: a luxury hotel alongside Gucci and St. John.

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Does the Louis Vuitton Damier Sophie ring a bell?

Well, it could have something to do with the fact that the folks in Japan are buying more Louis Vuitton than any other country. (Interested? Read an article in Times Magazine about the LV v. Coach battle for marketshare there.) But, I digress…

(Louis Vuitton Japan)

You are feasting your eyes upon an actual living (well, it was living before it was cut, I suppose) white rose, that Louis Vuitton has branded with it’s virtually immortal signature monogram. These roses are currently on sale in celebration of the Japanese “White Day”, on March 14.

(I’m not usually a cut flowers kind of girl. This bouquet however, I’m totally into! How gorgeous is that?)

So what exactly is “White Day” you might ask? (The same question I was asking myself just a short while ago…) Apparently, in Japan- on February 14 (Valentine’s Day), Japanese women give gifts of chocolate to the men that they love. In return, on “White Day” (you can read more about how this name came about on Wiki if you’re interested) men are supposed to return the favor by giving more expensive gifts in response. (I’m loving this tradition. These women are BRILLIANT!!!)

The roses are currently for sale in Japan for 4000 yen a piece or $39 USD. (It looks to me like that Neverfull GM Bouquet above has about 23 roses in it- a cool $897 in roses for all you numbers people!)

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What do you think? I love Agyness Deyn, but what do you think of her Richard Prince for Louis Vuitton “The Graduate” bag?

(13.3″ x 11.3″ x 5.8″ $2475 retail)

It’s a good sized bag- and actually… I like the back side better. You know, the “not funny” side- the one that you see in Agyness’ picture above. I know… “do I have no sense of humor?”

Truth is, “The Graduate” I would carry- I could NOT pull off that jacket! Agyness looks fashion forward- I’d look like I hadn’t shopped since junior high.

What do you think?

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Oh, I love this picture… Beyonce looks so relaxed. I love all the white, and the fact that it looks like her Louis Vuitton Denim Polka Dot Bowly has a seat of her own! The Polka Dot Bowly has fabulous white shading- fade… and it just looks fab in this picture!

(Here’s what the Bowly looks like on Beyonce without the distraction of her fab bod!)

As you know… this was a limited edition piece. Maybe you have a real job, and can’t sit by the beach or pool on your laptop all day like Beyonce. You can still have her casual look- minus the bikini- by carrying the same bag!

Of course, you can’t get it anymore from Louis Vuitton- but we have a fabulous bearly pre-owned authentic Louis Vuitton Denim Polka Dot Bowly now on our www.fashionphile.com website. Come take a look!

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(Yulia Tymoshenko wearing Louis Vuitton)

Am I sheltered or what? I had no idea that Elle Magazine had a Ukrainian Edition- let alone that Yulia Tymoshenko was their fabulous Prime Minister (go ahead… check the Wiki on her, and find out more about why she wears her hair in the traditional Ukrainian peasant girl braids).

When I say fabulous- I have to clarify, I’m totally clueless about her politics. All I know is her wardrobe. She’s really, unbelievable. Go ahead, Google her!

She’s a billionaire who earned her money as the “Gas Princess”… with the privatization of oil and gas in the Ukraine in the 90’s. And she likes to spend her money on great clothes and bags… particularly, Louis Vuitton. She’s been known to buy an entire Louis Vuitton line- and flies to Paris to meet with LV to arrange her wardrobe. If you can read Ukranian (is that a language? ) then check this blog for more info. Even if you can’t, it has some great pictures of her in some of her Louis Vuitton favorites.

I like her in this Louis Vuitton Suhali Le Talentueux. Her signature color is white, so a white Suhali is a natural for her. It’s a classy bag- that looks professional- but with an edge. Yulia’s kind of like that.

If you’re kind of like that- maybe you need to pick up a Le Tal for yourself. If you aren’t a Gas Billionaire- we can help you to get one for much less than retail.

OK… ours isn’t white- but then again, maybe white isn’t your signature color I’m sure Yulia picked hers up at a LV Boutique for $2720. Our pre-owned authentic black Suhali Louis Vuitton Le Talentueux is only up to a little over $900 on eBay right now! It will surely go up- but I’ll bet you can save over $1000 off the sticker price!

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Well, in 1967 she pretty much made it an icon. Twiggy and her monogram Louis Vuitton Papillon. It’s amazing how seeing a classic bag carried by such an interesting and always stunning fashionphile makes me want to carry the same bag. I mean, it’s just perfection.

Twiggy’s got a vintage Papillon 19- (the monogram placement is differs from its modern equivalent). It is still available at your local Louis Vuitton boutique or Eluxury for $585. The 19 is a small piece that’s really fun, if you can pull it off.

We don’t have a 19 in right now, but if you’d like the same look in a more practical size- we have a pre-owned, authentic Louis Vuitton monogram Papillon 26 on eBay right now! On Eluxury it’s $650, but our Buy it Now is over $200 LESS. What a serious Bargain!

The 26 is still a nice compact size- smaller than the 30, but you can wear it like a real bag, carrying most things you need. I’m no Twiggy- but here’s what it looks like “on”.

Come check it out… remember, free shipping if you read about it here on our blog!

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