After learning all about Louis Vuitton in the stockroom of a Banana Republic, after close circa 2001, I nearly immediately was able to recognize the most iconic bags of produced by the luxury brand, namely the Speedy and the Alma.
The latter of which I actually grew a touch obsessed with two decades later during the front end of the pandemic. It was the structure of the handbag that this attracted me to the Alma versus the slouchy Speedy. I now realize that this reflects my yearning to get back into the world and dare I say it, the workplace.
During one of the hot summer days of 2020, I packed a then-infant Petite Garçon and his necessities in his stroller and set off for a long walk up Wisconsin Avenue from Georgetown to Bethesda and back, in order to retrieve a new laptop from my employer. It was so hot, that I found myself masking and putting a blanket over (a snoozing) Petite Garçon’s stroller in order to safely cool down along the way. Stops included the Tenleytown Target, Friendship Heights Neiman Marcus (RIP, more on that retail wasteland here), and Saks Fifth Avenue.
I picked up formula at Target, used the restroom and tried on a pair of Golden Goose sneakers at Neiman’s, and hit the Louis Vuitton boutique in store at Saks. There I checked out the Carry It, only to pass on it in hopes that the Sac Plat would make a return. (It did.)
I also checked out the Alma in the Damier Ebene. I favored that specific canvas at the time and I really liked how the pattern went along with the PM size and the structured shape of the Alma. Not that I had a ton of options with the canvas. At the time there were not a ton of fabrics and colorways for the larger, PM and GM, sizes: Damier Ebene and Monogram canvases, and the Epi Leather in black.
Rather than make a total impulse purchase, I sat on buying the handbag in store at that moment. Rather, I waited to see if I could shake the want in a few weeks. I could not stop thinking about the Damier Ebene Alma so I ordered it.
No regrets.
To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Alma, several new iterations have been released. Included is a silver Alma reminiscent of the bag that Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton traded back and forth with the gold version during their trip to Sydney.
With Y2K being at a fever pitch, inventory is not going to last with this bag.
