On my first day in Paris, I saw him from the top of the red, double-decker sightseeing bus. Although our encounter was brief, he flirted like charming French men do. I smiled shyly – flattered–but went on about my day. His memory stuck with me, and over the next few days I thought of him often. On the sixth day walking to the Four Seasons George V Hotel, I saw him again on the corner of the Champs-Élysées and Avenue George V. He was just as dapper and handsome as the first time I laid eyes on him, and I was tempted to stop. Instead, I kept walking.
It wasn’t until my last day in Paris that we met again. Perhaps the ten days of stewing and ‘what if’ conversations with myself led me to his doorstep. This was my first time in Paris, and a first time only happens once. I decided I wasn’t going to leave the City of Light without at least introducing myself to him. With freshly applied lipstick and a powdering of the nose, I was ready to meet Louis Vuitton.
The famous LV is as much a symbol of Paris as the Eiffel Tower. A trip to the city wouldn’t be complete without a stop in Louis Vuitton’s flagship store on the famous Champs Elysees. This isn’t the largest of Louis Vuitton’s stores; that honor belongs to Shanghai, but it’s plenty big. Also, this location isn’t the original. Instead, the building now housing Sephora on Champs-Élysées is. Open for just over a decade, the store’s design alone is worth a visit, never mind all the beautiful bags, spectacular shoes, couture clothes and exquisite jewels.
I was hesitant to walk through the doors of Louis Vuitton, but not because it’s an uninviting place. In fact, the doors are purposely left wide open as a way to make guests feel more welcome. No, I was tentative because I knew as soon as I walked in my credit card would come out.
The store was packed with both serious shoppers and the curious clambering about the first floor with eyes wide open and mouths agape. Bags emblazoned with the LV logo sat on shelves and beneath fingerprint-free glass cases. Employees dressed ever so chicly in black handed over bag after bag to eagerly awaiting customers’ hands.
Fortunately, for me (and unfortunately for my credit card), a Leonardo DiCaprio look-a-like named Kevin, asked if there was something I’d like to see. I pointed and he pulled. After six bags, I knew I’d found the one: Saumur MM, a cross body bag that easily converts to over the shoulder.
As Kevin prepared my VAT paperwork, I asked questions about the brand and the store. As little known factoids rattled off Kevin’s tongue, I learned that it wasn’t just any Louis Vuitton employee assisting me. No, Kevin was the store’s personal shopper and dressed the rich, famous, and royal. With no appointment pending, Kevin offered me a tour of the store.
Part history lesson and part architecture class, I eagerly followed Kevin jotting down notes:
- Monsieur Louis Vuitton never saw the famous LV logo. The House’s namesake died in 1892 and 44 years later his son, George, created it after his death.
- Damier–the checkerboard pattern–was the House’s first design.
- Louis Vuitton invented the first flat trunk so it could be easily stacked. Before, trunks had humps that allowed the rain to run off.
- There are two workshops in the US and one in France that make Louis Vuitton bags. An imprint on the leather signifies where each bag was made.
- Louis Vuitton’s small leather goods are made in Spain, while one old man living in Fiesso, Italy is the only person making certain styles of their shoes.
- Fabric for Louis Vuitton clothing comes from a place near Lake Como, Italy.
- The ceiling inside the atrium is adorned with huge hanging metal rods that look like sewing needles. Beautiful and symbolic, if joined end to end these needles would equal the distance to and from Louis Vuitton’s original design house.
My nearly hour long tour of Louis Vuitton ended in the women’s shoe department on the second floor. Kevin asked me to take a seat and quickly disappeared. I sat surrounded by fine, Italian leather, breathing in the luxury that is Louis Vuitton when Kevin reappeared with Veuve Clicquot in hand and Ludovic, the Concierge Service Manager, at his side. Between introductions, small talk and sips of champagne, I watched as other customers craned their necks trying to figure out if I was somebody important.
I smiled and raised my glass of Champagne – if they only knew.
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Louis Vuitton Champs-Élysées
101 avenue des Champs-Élysées
75008 Paris
+33 1 53 57 52 00
Metro/Bus: George V
Hours:
Monday-Saturday: 10:00 am-8:00 pm
Sunday: 11:00 am-7:00 pm
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