Dhalia's Illustrated Storybook!

[Dhalia]

Hi TPFers! I am a bit shy yet at the same time overwhelmed by feeling that I really want to share my story! I feel I have a story to tell about every single purse purchase I make but most people would find it crazy... not many people understand the passion for handbags and other pretty things, which is why I'm glad to be here! My family of purses is pretty small but it has grown drastically.

Gonna start with my family of LV bags and perhaps follow with accessories and shows, and then later move on to other brands I also love. Please excuse my limited photography and photo editing skills :giggles:

My cat has been utterly confused as to what "the human was doing" this evening and spent a good while "observing" and "exploring" :lolots:. Then later on my sister came into my room and immediately said, "did your LVs decide to just hang out on your bed and chat?"

Individual pics and stories soon to follow...

Thanks for taking the time to visit my thread

 

[Dhalia]

The two of these were probably my oldest LV bags. I can't seem to recall which one came first. I'm not too much of a girly girl I think but I love girly bags! And my eyes quickly catch the pink and refuse to look at anything else.

I think both bags were probably purchased in 2003 or 2004, if anyone can correct me on what year these bags were being sold in boutiques feel free to do so as my memory seems to fail

The funny thing is, back then people used to consider these bags as "big bags". My friends used to always say "oh she likes big handbags" and "why do you need a bag that big? what do you carry with you all day?" and they mostly just carried smaller stuff. However, today the standards have changed! These two are much tinier than I remember and everyone I know generally carries much bigger stuff for every day uses!

 

[Dhalia]

After owning a few pink/pinkish bags (from LV and other places...) I was determined to get something more neutral / classic, and ended up choosing this bucket bag. Aside from being one of my earliest comfortable LV shoulder bags, I enjoyed that it had an attached little pouch. It is such a comfortable bag, a workhorse for my every day needs.

Not too long after that, once the monogram dentelle came out, I decided to go for another shoulder bag. At this point I had yet to purchase a single classic monogram item. And again, back then this bag was "big" per anyone's standards... though I'm not sure if people had started to convert to "bigger" bags by then. Can't seem to remember if the handles of these bags was already dark or if they had darkened with use.

 

[Dhalia]

It seems I was determined to get shoulder-bags only. Probably out of worry that a top handle would be too uncomfortable for long periods of time. I don't have that fear or worry anymore thankfully! and this phase didn't last that long as I couldn't refrain from speedy-types

This bag is special to me for several reasons. I had been eyeing the monogram multicolor bags but never really made a choice about which bag would be suitable for me, so it was my first mono MC. Seriously, instead of daydreaming on a long commute I would just take to admiring the colours on the bag and it's also special for another reason - I had purchased it while on a winter vacation to England. I still remember the boutique and the weather, it was such a memorable holiday!

I don't remember the name of this collection below, but I remember that I had to waitlist / reserve the pieces I'd received. I had missed out on purchasing the monogram cerise and monogram cherry blossom bags and was not about to have that happen again! To be honest, though, none of this would have been possible without my DM

It was such a cute collection, my sister had also got a few pieces in blue - but hers was a different bag. As for me, it was really difficult to refrain from purchasing a speedy. Little did I know that it was going to be the first of many...many speedys!

Below are some of the different pochettes that I collected over the years. They are perfect for short visits. The charm hanging from the epi pochette is actually a phone charm, and among that items that I liked to idly admire on commutes or during boring lectures

The eva clutch is the first plain mono bag that I purchased. I was a tourist in England and France that summer and was too tired of lugging around a bigger bag (don't remember which right now) and wanted something light and can be carried as a cross-body. The eva was the perfect choice.

The other two had to follow. Mono MC pochette is cute to me because of the little studs. I'm not a big stud lover but they are actually pretty cute here. As for the rose, it just had to happen. I caught the rose fever!

The roses speedy is actually NOT the extent of the rose items I've purchased! There is one more that I might show later on.

 

[Dhalia]

My inspiration for buying this bag was a Japanese drama series that I was watching at the time. The main character had a bunch of really amazing bags from Chanel and LV and she really turned my attention towards it. Don't regret this purchase at all!

The Berkley. I probably eye'd this bag for about a year before actually making the purchase, and glad I did as it was one of my main workhorse bags along with the Neverfull for months among months! Big enough to fit all my stuff! I'm not actually sure which one I purchased first, the Berkley or Neverfull, it was possible I was a shopaholic that day and bought them together, which would be crazy as I bought a Gucci on the same day as well.... better not overthink these things after several years have passed

Red is totally NOT my color. I'm a pink girl all the way, but I was trying something new that year. I'd also purchased a red Balenciaga within a few months of this rodeo drive, but I ended up giving away the Balenciaga to my DS as it just wasn't me. The Rodeo Drive, however, is perfect. I can use it when I go shopping or on visits where I don't need to carry too much! In the spirit of trying something new I also got some (kinda) matching shoes that I may show later.

Papillons everywhere! Who doesn't love papillons? Well, I'm sure many people don't but I just wouldn't understand why! They are just so cute. The monogram cherry blossom pap is my only non-boutique bought purse. I got it off a seller on eBay and as soon as I received it I took it to my local LV boutique to get it authenticated by the store manager and he cleared it the bag was a dream-come true and everyone commented on what a good condition it came in.

After enjoying my monogram cherry blossom pap I decided that I also need a more "classic" pap, and then when the monogram watercolors came out, another pap joined the sisterhood! :giggles: Sometimes I kick myself for not going for a watercolor speedy, but I love my pap all the same! If the vernis bedford is ever reissued, I am so buying!

Most people that know me feel that the speedy is "my" bag, so it was inevitable that a mono speedy would make its way into my collection. This is a size 30 that I purchased while on a trip to Switzerland. I don't normally use it with the charms but they do add a fun touch at times.

This is the one occasion where I didn't allow my "pinkness" to take over, and no regrets as I feel the ivory and blue look great together. It is the first 35 speedy that I ever got (and I didn't add on to the collection since then really ) they initially told me that it would take 6 weeks, but it honestly only took 2 it was such a pleasant surprise!

There are a couple more to go but I will do them at another time and maybe also get started on wallets and accessories, or maybe other brand bags! Thanks for letting me share my stories with you

 

[Dhalia]

The Noe, I probably waited a year and a half to buy this bag. Firstly, whenever I mentioned it to friends they just found it boring and useless. And second, I could rarely find it in the boutique for some reason or other, and never in Mono MC. I had my heart set on Mono MC it was probably my last LV purchase along with shoes in March or April of this year.

This bag has some strange memories associated with it. I didn't get much use out of it because 1) the SA was really rude when I went to purchase it, she kept making comments on how I was wasting my salary on the bag
2) the lining discolored everything inside it when I used it the boutique wasn't very helpful when i asked them about this problem, they pretty much brushed me off... some TPFers say they can safely use the bag when they place their items in a VIP
3) a co-worker saw the bag and asked where i got it! he said he wanted to buy the same one for his wife and i got SO embarrassed! especially after being guilt-tripped by the SA for how much i've spent on it and kept saying someone gave it to me etc...felt SO bad!

i know lots of people say they get rude/snobby treatment at luxury brands. it hasn't happened to me too much but now that i think of it, basically most if not all rudeness occured at LV.

and I guess I should explain why my initials differ on the clochette of this bag and my previous speedy. my initials are actually k. r. a. and where i live i can go with k. r. or k. a. or k. r. a. and they all still mean me

this bag lacked use because it got really awkward. i bought it on a trip to paris so i guess i was kinda caught up in the romance of being in paris (even though i'm used to paris supposedly! but i guess i just wanted to be in lv in paris lol!)

Small Leather Goods/Accessories

i feel i have too many wallets, some shown previously, purchased to match purses, others just because.

this vernis french purse i hunted just because i was obsessed with the metal clasp thing. i thought it gave it a really vintage look and the colour was pretty. purchased somewhere in england on a vacation!

This mahina wallet was purchased on one of my trips to paris. I had wanted a plain/classy looking black wallet (somehow my wardrobe lacks this) and chose this one because it had a lot of card pockets. However, to my dismay it doesn't fit all the cards that well... but I still enjoyed this wallet a lot anyway.

This wallet was selected for its uniqueness. I had two damiar canvas purses and no wallets. I thought the print was cute and the fact that its interior was purple was just the cherry on the cake! One of my favourite wallets!

Epi cardholder and keyholder both purchased on a trip to england, i was going through an epi phase at the time. Same time I got my pochette also. as for the bright blue vernis goods, they are memorable due to having a wisdom tooth removed that same day!! but memorable also due to the fact that back then i had a really nice SA!

This is the full collection of my LV belts + a scarf and charm. I used to wear the belts a lot but these days I go more for comfort, I'm almost always in adidas bottoms or something similar. The scarf and charm were among the things I used to decorate my bucket bag to give it a bit of a girly/fun look.

It seems I always buy my bracelets in twos. The bows came in twos (boutique in Lugano where I went a few times on a trip). I'm actually really into bracelets and wear them on a semi daily basis. The tiny simple one with the square jewels, although more discrete that most, actually received the most compliments! When I purchased the one with the elephant and the one with the candy, I was with a friend. And I commented saying I felt I liked them but that they also should be worn by a kid. But my friend encouraged me by saying that we wear what we like regardless of age, and the SA said she'd wear stuff like this even when she's 50!

The charm on the left below i purchased because i thought it would suit a bag i had, however when i got home i decided it didn't really match that well so i just kept it aside...surely ONE day i would have a suitable bag the watercolor hair tie is just to show how addicted i got to the watercolor collection. the gold coin purse is very special to me as it is what i've been using the most since purchase. the horse i've attached to it is an hermes horse charm (hermes stuff may come on this thread later...maybe) but it basically means i love my horse!

next I am trying to decide if i want to post LV shoes or just keep shoes to be posted together once all bags are done. took pics of miu miu and chanel collection in daylight so hopefully the pics will look better...

 

[Dhalia]

Decided to go with shoes first

This is my most recent shoe purchase from LV, bought earlier this year. By far though I've probably spent more time wearing this than in any of the others for some unknown reason... even though getting in and out of it is a little annoying.

An old favourite, purchased when I stopped wearing heels so much, it is a small comfortable heel that I wore for uni a lot.

This sandal is probably among my newer purchases, I wanted something that could work for summer. They were a bit painful at first but then once broken it they were quite comfortable!

Got these when I got the red rodeo drive, in the spirit of "trying something new". To be honest though I haven't worn them in a while. I once found myself on a really reaaaally long walk and they hurt like hell I don't believe in pain for beauty. But I would wear them when I know I won't spend the entire day standing or walking.

This was sort of an impulsive purchase. I wanted a pair of mules with the butterfly but they no longer had stock and only had these, I just had to have the butterfly...

That's it for LV and now switching to Miu Miu

Group shot in "good" lighting!

My first Miu Miu ever. I had been admiring the bow satchel from afar. We didn't have a Miu Miu boutique where I live and getting one was next to impossible without travel. Luckily I travelled to a certain part of the world about 6 months after the obsession started and managed to snag myself one from a department store. I felt as happy as can be!

Rest will come later. Thanks for visiting!

 

[Dhalia]

i was in paris when i got this bag. went to the miu miu boutique and was so shocked at the lack of stock! in their defense it was during the summer season so anything is possible then. i'd originally been after this bag in leather, but i only found this one and just decided to get it. i'm pretty happy with it, the leather versions weren't as girly as they weren't jewelled. and i decided to match it with a wallet in a similar colour... gotta have the bow

a classic black miu miu, the mini coffer. it was mostly a comfortable bag except going through it was a little annoying at times. it's a good size and colour, goes with everything. since i have a thing for little charms i decided to get a matching baby coffer.

the "blue" set. i never intended for anything to be matching blue but it just happened that way. due to my long standing obsession with the bow satchel i felt i needed to have one in another colour, but didn't want to have two of the regular size so i opted for the little one for shopping or parks and so on. then we saw the apple wallets and immediately decided we wanted to match with each other and each got one. the necklace, however, was purchased at another time.

most my stories seem to begin with "i was a tourist", well it is especially true for Miu Miu because it wasn't available where i live. but now that it finally is it seems that the fascination has died down. what is it with wanting the things that we can't have? so anyway, i was a tourist at a certain location and didn't have any of my little touristy bags with me or touristy wallets and was tired of lugging around my regular sized bag. and just fell in love with this yellow baby bow bag and decided to match it with a little purple wallet. it is only made to look like croc, not actual croc. i finally learned my lesson though, i am travelling soon and going to take with me two bags, a regular sized one to carry all my stuff and a small one for doing touristy things can't keep using the "i'm too tired to carry my heavy bag i need a new little one" excuse to shop every time!

Moving on to my Chanel collection. Here's a group photo, the smallest one used to belong to my mom but she doesn't use it anymore and it just sits in my closet. It is still mom's but it stays with me

The lipstick charm from a few years ago. I never actually attach it to one of these bags, normally to other bag or more like a keychain but I thought it would be cute for the pic

The accessories. Three pairs of earrings and two rings. I honestly feel I wear the earrings way more than the rings, and all of these I've had for at least 3yrs+

This is my first Chanel bag and I've owned it for quite a few years now. I had always been kind of interested in Chanel but was never really sure what to get, I never saw anything that truly captured me. However, when this dusty rose bag just popped on a shelf one day...I couldn't resist. It was my bag! A lot of people associate these colours with me now and it is incorporated in many areas of my life, maybe more on this later

Honestly I didn't have much knowledge of Chanel bags and products. I only owned a few pieces here and there over the span of many years. I sometimes saw ladies carrying a bag similar to mine only "a bit larger" I didn't know what its name was and why I never saw it in a store. A friend told me this was the maxi and that she had waitlisted for it at the boutique and was told there was a 6month to a year wait for it. So I just carried myself to the boutique with the intention of waitlisting and maybe looking at some accessories or shoes.

Once I asked one of the SAs, he seemed to be looking around a bit then he said in a low voice, "actually we have one right now if you're interested" I was like and he even could only show it to me at the back because "there's a waitlist!" but that he was willing to show it to me because I was a "customer" and of course, I couldn't help myself and just bought it.

It's exterior is black lambskin but the lining is maroon. I didn't think to ask at the time and just assumed it was maybe a theme or something. Friends who purchased their bags later on had the lining and exterior match and speculated that mine was maybe someone's special order that they didn't want anymore or something. I will gladly take anyone's special order that they didn't want anymore!!!! but we never really confirmed this.

The pink wallet purchased along with my maxi, and the pearl necklace, probably the first Chanel item I ever purchased. I've looked at other pearl necklaces from time to time but it always felt like I didn't need to because I loved mine. I wish I could have taken this stance with my other brand obsessions!!

Here is the group shot of Chanel and Miu Miu shoes. I'm thankful that I've been more or less "grounded" in terms of shoes obsession (haha I'm sure some people I know would laugh if they read this ) but honestly if I let myself go I'm sure I would have ended up with double the amount of shoes! There are two pairs of each brand.

The mules are probably my favorite heels to wear these days as I can't seem to handle much higher heels unless they have a decent platform that keeps my feet in a good position (only few shoes can do this). The chanel jelly is just a fun pair of shoes that I got one summer. Some people kinda make a joke about the kind of flip flops I end up getting. "Chanel flip flops? you paid WHAT for chanel flip flops? they are STILL just flip flops you know?"

Here are some Miu Miu flip flops that are still just flip flops according to that joke in some rare occasions I am in the mood for super bling shoes. this is not a common aliment because i don't think i can pull off this kind of look every day. sorry btw if any of my shoes have feet marks in them... they are obviously used but my screen is a bit dark and i'm too lazy to tamper with the lightness settings so there may be things that i cannot see!

thank you for taking the time to visit my thread i will continue with other bags, shoes and accessories at another time but i kinda need a break from the photos and editing for the moment thank you! and i am kinda in dire need to pack my bags as i am travelling soon but just in denial lol

 

[travelerscloset]

Amazing collection! Classic and timeless pieces, all of it!

I love the bracelets and charms!

My favorite are your Chanels!

 

[MrsPPS]

Gorgeous collection! All of your bags are stunning... The dusty rose Chanel, particularly, is to die for! :worthy: Thank you for sharing your stories.

 

[denton]

Thanks for sharing! I love all the girly LV bags on the girly tablecloth! lol!

That Chanel with the maroon lining looks like a great find.

Those black and rose LV shoes are TDF (did I just say that?)

Thanks for the detailed write-up!

 

[Dhalia]

Amazing collection! Classic and timeless pieces, all of it!

I love the bracelets and charms!

My favorite are your Chanels!

Thank you!

Gorgeous collection! All of your bags are stunning... The dusty rose Chanel, particularly, is to die for! :worthy: Thank you for sharing your stories.

Thank you for coming! Hehe I love the color of that Chanel, I feel lucky for finding it!

Thanks for sharing! I love all the girly LV bags on the girly tablecloth! lol!

That Chanel with the maroon lining looks like a great find.

Those black and rose LV shoes are TDF (did I just say that?)

Thanks for the detailed write-up!

Thank you for visiting Hehe that girly tablecloth is my very girly bed at home!!!

 

[Myrkur]

Love your chanel collection!

 

[Dhalia]

Love your chanel collection!

Thank you for your sweet comment

I decided to include a pic of my messy closet this is only a about half of the closet since I didn't want to include the parts with clothes and hangers etc. I hope to be able to upload more pics of stuff but I don't know if I'll be able to do that before travels.

 

[Elsie87]

What a stunning collection!!!!

Thank you for sharing!