The Many Lives of Francine
As I was packing for my trip I realized I haven’t formally introduced Francine to the world and boy oh boy does she have a wonderful story to tell. As someone who travels quite frequently a personal item for the plane is VIP. I was always on the hunt for something intentional but stylish and cool.
I had always admired the Louis Vuitton duffles since they literally started as luggage makers. Did you know that? But once I heard some of their leather was coming from Texas vs Paris I said the only way this is happening is vintage. I hunted for months for the perfect pre loved bag. It was a delicate dance to find the balance between price point and condition. I got a notification that one was dropping on a random Tuesday for $399 and I knew the stars were aligning for me.
Fast forward to her arrival… Chefs kiss she was everything I wanted and more. I found out she came from Paris and we were roughly the same age ( HOW FUN!!) I proceeded to deck out her handles and add some keychains because I’m #justagirl. In 2 weeks we had an Italy trip planned and there was no way in HELL she wasn’t going to be making her reintroduction into European society.
LITERAL moments before we headed downstairs for our uber to the airport one of her handles broke. LMAOOOO I can’t even make this shit up. I was in a full blown panic and josh busted out the tape…yes tape. It was too late to turn back and I needed everything she was carrying #yolo
Francine proceeded to be carried like a baby throughout the entire trip. I’d like to think we really bonded during this time. It brought us closer and best believe I still saw her potential.
4 months later I took her to a leather shop in Scottsdale and got her a little facelift. I bought 2 off white belts that I asked them to make into new straps for her. The leather man (idk the technical term here) didn’t see the vision at first but by the end he was like “oh we could fold the handles back like this to make it look better for you”.
One week later:
Francine’s first trip post surgery was Asia. This was ALSO comical because the bellman at the Ritz Carlton in Hong Kong accidentally ripped off her end tab. He came up to the room profusely apologizing and I couldn’t care less. She was still in tact and her handles weren’t ripped. He had asked if the bag was a custom piece to which I said yes but don’t worry it’s all good.
Let’s just say they worried and felt it WASNT good. This Francine interaction ended up getting us :
A bottle of champagne
A birthday cake for me
A handwritten card from the staff
A private driver the next day
I’m telling yall…Francine was a ROYAL in another life. She demands excellence and doesn’t put up with shit lololol vintage is a vibe and I cannot recommend shopping it enough.
But genuinely, this is exactly why I love vintage. Francine isn’t perfect. She’s roughly my age, she’s had some work done, she’s been taped together in an airport emergency, undergone reconstructive surgery via two off-white belts and caused an international incident at the Ritz Carlton. And somehow, every little mishap has only made me love her more.
I could have bought a brand-new bag. It probably would have been easier. It definitely would have been less dramatic. But it wouldn’t have been mine.
There’s something so much more fun about finding something that already has a story and adding your own chapter to it. Give me the weird history. Give me the patina. Give me the slightly questionable decisions and the opportunity to make something feel completely, unmistakably mine.
Francine has already lived several lives, and I have a feeling this bitch is just getting started.
