My Vintage Louis Vuitton Petit Noé

“This bag has lasted longer than some relationships.”

I lovingly call her my old lady. I don’t name my bags like some people do, I mostly refer to them by their models. But this one, my Louis Vuitton Petit Noé, she’s special. She was my first and only designer bag for a long while and she has a whole story.

She was my dream bag since I was a teenager way before I knew of Louis Vuitton, spent the entirety of my very first bonus on, and lived off instant noodles just so I could finally have her.

I remember having to sneak around the then, newly opened ION boutique accompanied by my friends as shield, so he wouldn’t see me walk into Louis Vuitton. The shopping bag turned out to be the biggest billboard in the universe and I had to take the MRT and a bus back, I needed a pep talk just to carry it home with me. I couldn’t hide my purchase for long though, he eventually found out and demanded to know how much it was. I lied and said, “$500”, and member flipped. I wonder sometimes what would’ve happened if he knew how much it really cost.

Needless to say that, that relationship has long been done. So were the friends that I got her with. But she’s still here. She has cracks at the dents from how I’ve been carrying her all these years. And water stains on the base with the stubborn one that came from a Bandung drink that spilled during dinner at Seah Im food court, one I teared up and spend days trying to take it off but to no avail. Then there’s the tarnished hardware to signify her exposure to the world. And the leather that had patina-ed nicely, from years of lovingly wiping her down with non-alcoholic wipes so that one day, her leather will turn out brown, just the way I’ve wanted her to look. I brought her on various trips around Europe, the many homes she has shifted in with me, how I used her to rest my head when I slept at the park and at one time, she carried my whole life, my literal baggage.

One of the memories my husband has of this bag was of me bawling my eyes out when he offered to keep her when I had to shift into a rented room with 3 other ladies and there wasn’t enough space to shift in all my things (we were barely dating at that time). I made him promise he will not let anything happen to it. I was afraid of losing my bag and he probably though I was nuts but really, it wasn’t just a bag to me, it didn’t just hold my things, it held moments, dreams, hope. It didn’t take long for me to see her again though. I didn’t use her as much when I started working as a guide and left her on my top shelf even pass covid.

Recently, as I was scrolling through Tiktok and came across a few videos of girlies gushing over vintage Noés, it donned on me that my Noé is in that category now and is apparently on a whole different generation’s wanted list. Tearing now thinking of it because I feel a sense of pride, loss, nostalgia and joy all mixed into one. Who knew my dream bag made to carry champagne bottles that I saw on a magazine as a doe-eyed teenager, would one day be my first designer purchase at 24, would see me through my best and worst years and is now sitting on my dining booth in my very own home as a 40 year old. Now, I smile at the cracks, water stains and tarnished hardware that I once use to cry about, the flaws are what makes it priceless, no amount of money can replace it.

Left to Right: Tibetan Pillbox, Fish Pendant, Vintage Pocket Watch, Nail Clipper.

Inspired by Jane Birkin’s Birkin, I decided to bring some life back to my Noé. Added some trinkets from my travels that I turned into charms, one of them is a nail clipper too, because I love the utilitarian touch. It will come in handy when I have a chipped nail or a lose thread. The pill box fits one pill and I can use it to keep things like a spare earring backing without losing it.

I also decided to replace her strap with a PVC one as her original leather strap is quite stretched out from years of pulling and tying. I couldn’t find the exact Petit Noe insert so I got the insert for the Celine Triomphe Bucket Bag insert and it fits well. Do measure your bucket bag before making a purchase. You can find them and other bag sprucing stuff in my Shopee Collection.

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I don’t know how long more my Louis Vuitton Petit Noe will last but I hope to add on more memories with her through the next phrase of my life. Who knows if she will outlive me like Jane Birkin’s? I doubt she’ll be displayed at Sotheby’s but if she does live on while I’m gone, I hope somebody knows of the life she’s lived and just how much she’s loved.