"Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster" by Dana Thomas

[dibadiba]

Originally Posted by radicaldog

Thanks. That's quite good compared to the likes of Hermes, but still steep. I might get in touch with him for small accessories in calf though.

his site says 'saddle stitched', and (I may be totally wrong on this), a true saddle stitch is done by hand. based on one of the pictures on the site it looks like this is indeed how he stitches. I can tell you right off the bat that a fully hand-stitched bag takes dozens and dozens of hours. I have no idea if Hermes and the like do their bags completely stitched by hand but I doubt it

 

[Marcellionheart]

It reminds me of what a shoe seller in Toronto said to me recently. It's no secret that you can barely find good shoes in this city. The seller in question, for example, is one of a handful of stores to carry Edward Green shoes. I asked him, honestly, wth was going on here. He said that the rich people here will pay tons of money for Canali shoes even though they may be junk in comparison to the EGs. People just want the name these days and aren't willing to do the legwork to figure out what quality is.

That's what he said anyway. I'm inclined to agree.

 

[Reevolving]

Originally Posted by pebblegrain

Can anyone summarize the main arguments in the book? I presume 1 is: Some mall-luxe brands are assembled 99% in China and shipped to Italy for the last 1% ?
Pebble, yes, that's one of the major points. Try this if you have a hour:
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[Advent]

Originally Posted by dibadiba

his site says 'saddle stitched', and (I may be totally wrong on this), a true saddle stitch is done by hand. based on one of the pictures on the site it looks like this is indeed how he stitches. I can tell you right off the bat that a fully hand-stitched bag takes dozens and dozens of hours. I have no idea if Hermes and the like do their bags completely stitched by hand but I doubt it

Yes, he saddle stitches, by hand. I have a bag made by Mr Nitz and the entire bag is saddle stitched, entirely by hand.

 

[Advent]

Originally Posted by Advent

Yes, he saddle stitches, by hand. I have a bag made by Mr Nitz and the entire bag is saddle stitched, entirely by hand.
Here's a close up of his hand saddle stitching (on my bag).

 

[JayJay]

Originally Posted by Advent

Here's a close up of his hand saddle stitching (on my bag).

I'd love to see a pic of the entire bag, please.

 

[Advent]

The bag is approximately 2.5 years old and I carry it almost daily.

 

[KenRose]

which shoe seller is this?

Originally Posted by Marcellionheart

It reminds me of what a shoe seller in Toronto said to me recently. It's no secret that you can barely find good shoes in this city. The seller in question, for example, is one of a handful of stores to carry Edward Green shoes. I asked him, honestly, wth was going on here. He said that the rich people here will pay tons of money for Canali shoes even though they may be junk in comparison to the EGs. People just want the name these days and aren't willing to do the legwork to figure out what quality is.

That's what he said anyway. I'm inclined to agree.

 

[Sazerac]

Advent, that is gorgeous. Normally I'm not into such exotic leathers, but that looks subdued and elegant. Did you design it yourself or did Herr Nitz?

 

[Marcellionheart]

Originally Posted by KenRose

which shoe seller is this?

One of the blokes at Robert Jones (which also sells suits).

 

[Advent]

Originally Posted by Sazerac

Advent, that is gorgeous. Normally I'm not into such exotic leathers, but that looks subdued and elegant. Did you design it yourself or did Herr Nitz?

Thanks! It was a collaboration.

 

[JayJay]

Originally Posted by Advent

Thanks! It was a collaboration.
Yes, the bag looks great. Looks very nicely done, too. Thanks for posting the pic.

 

[GoldenTribe]

Originally Posted by Advent

Here's a close up of his hand saddle stitching (on my bag).

Even more than the shot of the entire bag, this closeup is gorgeous.

 

[Journeyman]

Originally Posted by narcissism

One point that CouttsClient forgot to mention that was a key point in the book is the Japanese obsession with luxury goods. The author said that 40% of all people living in Japan own a Louis Vuitton product. Where does the Japanese obsession for Western luxury goods come from?

Not only Japan, but also now Sth Korea and China. Of course, let's also not forget that LV does very well in North America, too.

I suppose that at least part of the reason why so many Japanese have something by Vuitton is because of their culture of gift-giving - they give more gifts for various reasons that any other culture that I know. Hence, once LV became popular, I suspect that its popularity became reinforced by the fact that as it was popular, people gave Vuitton items as gifts and that then increased the visibility and thus the popularity.

 

[dibadiba]

Originally Posted by Advent

Yes, he saddle stitches, by hand. I have a bag made by Mr Nitz and the entire bag is saddle stitched, entirely by hand.

amazing. It's great to know there are artists out there (thats what I would consider them) who still do things the traditional way.