Emmy has found his wallet!
Sorry to disappoint you if you thought this entry would cover Paris - for now, just go to my facebook and see the three most recent photo albums. I'll write about it all in more detail at a later date, I promise. But it was in Paris that I found exactly what I'd been hunting for...
From a previous post, you'd know that Emmy's been on the hunt for a new wallet, even trying to ask Coach if they'd replicate the design for me from their archives - which was denied, bah!
It turns out that zenhiao was spot on when he advised me to give LV a try. There I was, inside LV on the Champs Elysees, buying my mom a handbag. Foreigners are allowed to purchase one large and one small leather good per passport. The sales assistant had been very friendly. So I brought out my Coach wallet and asked, "Would you have something like this?" She examined it, and went, "Oui!...I think so, please wait a while..." and off she trotted. Five minutes later, I held in my hands an LV wallet of practically the exact same specs as the Coach. "Last piece, Monsieur." "I'll take it!"
Here I present my current and new wallet, which I'll start using in December, because it's my birthday present to myself:
A little bit of info about the ol' Coach on the left:
Bought at Takashimaya, March 1997 as a consolation gift to myself prior to entering NS that April. Of late, despite my best care, the calfskin leather along one edge has started to fray quite badly. I guess this is inevitable even for a top quality item when used daily. Still, the leather has aged beautifully and it remains perfectly serviceable. It's lasted me 14 years and cost $165:
Just in case you're wondering, for major purchases, ALL my receipts from the past 20 odd years are neatly catalogued and filed. For this wallet, I have it all, including the original box and wrapping:
Here's why it's been somewhat difficult to replace this wallet. It is designed with a coin compartment that opens into a pop-up box. I like it because you don't have to dig around to find the coins you want, unlike most other wallets where you gingerly pinch out the change you need via opening a small flap. This enables easy access to all the coins at once:
Bulky? Hardly. It is collapses to become almost flat. This is important as I carry my wallet in my front pants pocket:
I honestly can't fathom why this design isn't more common. It is a most pragmatic design for a men's wallet.
Here's the new wallet:
And the Lord be praised - with the EXACT same design:
Being an LV, and factoring the time difference of 14 years, it cost over three times more at EU340. After claiming 12% VAT, it was a bit cheaper - EU300.
I'm just so happy I finally found what I wanted. And In Paris, no less!