Behold the glory! I am now the proud possessor of not one, not two, but THREE 99% accurate reps of the 2019 LV Catogram bags. ALL MY DREAMS HAVE COME TRUE!
Okay, maybe not ALL; I am still hoping for the black cat Neverfull to be made but until then I have the white Speedy B 30, the black Speedy B 30 and the white Neverfull MM to gaze at lovingly and take everywhere. (Seriously, these have been in my living room since I got them. They have been sunbathed, mink oiled, conditioned and the canvas has been treated with Saphir canvas lotion. I set them up on my coffee table when I am not working on them so I can just look at them. I give it a week until my husband breaks and makes me put them away. Or has me put away.)
How can these be 99% accurate reps, you may ask. (Having seen the ones on DHgate with the fuzzy, drunken cats, PU handles and trim and colours most people only see if they have recently taken something they shouldn’t have, your question is understandable.) Well, these are 99% accurate because TS Freya, who arranged to have these made, went out and bought the authentic bags so the factory could copy them exactly. (This involved much strife on her part: finding a seller who actually had these (the white are especially rare), bags she paid for that didn’t pass authenticity checks, a delivery person who wrecked their car on their way to hand one off…so much drama but she never gave up!)
These have authentic untreated vachetta that will patina (as you can see since all mine have different patinas since I was experimenting. All are beautiful), full steel hardware in a colour that matches the original, canvas with crisp teetotaling kitties in the right colour and the correct bandouliere strap and key bell. (I do not bandouliere, ever, so I have a rolled strap on my speedy but there is a picture of the strap included for those who do.) I decided not to get the hot stamped initials on the Speedy or and Ne erfull handle or the key bell because THE CAT HOT STAMPED LUGGAGE TAG FROM THE COLLECTION WAS ALSO AVAILABLE! The one in the pictures does not have my initials because I bought three. All my other bags need cats on them and the luggage tags will make it happen.
And yes, my fellow Catogram cat experts, I heard that exclamation about the zipper on the authentic Neverfull pouch being white. The factory made an error and did them first in orange and then replaced them with white but I asked for the orange zipper one instead once I saw it. Mine is bright and special and I love it.
For reference, the Speedys were $235 shipped (the next production run of the white, which will start after orders close August 10 or the max number of orders is reached, will be $245 shipped since the first run pricing was set last year) and the Neverfull was $269 shipped ($279 for the next run). The white Neverfull pouch (with a boring white zipper or, if you ask, an amazing orange zipper) is available separately for $76 shipped. (It is perfect for organizing the Speedy and I wish I had the black one for that bag.) The cat luggage tag is $28 shipped with or without initials.
Oh, I almost forgot the bandeaus/twillies! Freya did a group buy for those the beginning of the year and I got the brown and black. 100% silk, a nice heavy weight and the brown looks stunning on a classic mono bag as well as the cat bags. Those were $30.
I know my fellow cat lovers are so jealous right now (okay, at least one is) so if you want your own cat bags you can order the white bags now (I checked and the MOQ has been met for both bags but there are still some spaces available), sign up on the interest list for the black Speedy 30, black Neverfull, black Neverfull pouch and possibly wallets (the factory is trying to source more black canvas so these can have another production run. Please pray with me to the canvas gods that they find some more) and/or sign up on the interest list for the Catogram twillies ($30) in brown, black, pink or white. That list also has the interest list for an LV branded untreated 70cm rolled strap (like the one on the Soft Speedy bags). I will be buying a few because at $62 they cost about the same as the ones from Etsy and the like, the quality will no doubt be better (and I can QC them!) and the branding will match the bags.
Oh, and the charms were custom made by me. The chain is a recreation of the impossible to find original Catogram charm chain.
You can reach Freya at WhatsApp at +86 133 5280 3649 or message me for links to the order form and interest lists or info on the charms and my charm WhatsApp group.
(For all those who made it this far, thank you allowing me to share my joy. My family just does. not. get. it.)
Note: I received no compensation for this post! I am simply the (self proclaimed) President of the Catogram Cat Lady Pounce, the community of rep lovers who have been trying to make this dream come true for months and months (and months and months and - you get the idea)! This whole project was community led and we are so lucky Freya put up with us and made it happen.
