Written by: Mellissa

"Louis at first site"

Let me begin at the beginning, seeing as it is the most logical place to start. I remember visiting Sydney when I was ten years old; I lived in the bush at the time so to an eight-year old country girl the city was overwhelming. I passed by a store that sold handbags.

At the time a handbag was about as exciting to me as watching the grass growing, but I remember the pattern. It was so pretty I thought, and I asked my father's girlfriend if I could have one. She had originally come from a wealthy family but had decided to 'slum it' with my father so I suppose she knew what Louis Vuitton was, she laughed "yeah right, sweetie" and we went on our merry way.

"Magazine dream"

Skip forward ten years to my first subscription to Marie Claire magazine. There it was, two pages in like a beacon, the pattern from the handbag store, but it was no longer pretty or cute, it was beautiful!

I was living with my boyfriend (later to be husband) at the time and a new soldier in the Australian Army, why couldn't I have a new purse if I wanted one? I picked-up the phone and called the number at the bottom of the advertisement. "What was this bag called? Where could I buy one? How much does it cost? HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?" I hung up the phone feeling like an idiot, the bag would remain for another five years only a magazine dream.

"Ebay Murakami disaster"

2003, my first ever Ebay purchase, a pair of (as I now know) horribly fake Anna Sui earrings. "Wow I got them so cheap, could people possibly sell their used LV bags on Ebay for way less too?"

Looking back now it seems an incredibly stupid idea, but at the time as a "Louis newbie' it seemed to be a fabulous solution to my yearning for a little piece of anything LV. So I blundered ahead, typing "Louis Vuitton" into the search box.

WOW, I was right! There were hundreds of bags, and all for a fraction of the price that crazy woman at the boutique had quoted me. There were some people asking ridiculous sums of money, but who would pay that when you could use BIN and get a brand new authentic white MC Alma for only $399.95?

And it must be authentic, it said it in the auction and Ebay has strict rules about that, right?

As I write this passage my face is turning red, I hit the BIN button. Needless to say many tears were shed when the monster arrived, for four hundred bucks I suppose I was lucky to receive anything at all. The guy's user ID should have tipped me off - 'Yonsultimatebargains'. In my despair I found a website called 'mypoupette', and my real education in LV began.

"The beloved mono speedy"

He arrived on April 29th 2004, a birthday present following my recovery from the trauma of the white Alma monster. It may not have been multicolore (and I'm no Jessica Simpson), but he was new, authentic and all mine!

My parents-in-law collected my speedy 25 from the LV store in Sydney while they were visiting an orthopaedic surgeon (I live five hours drive from Sydney). They come from a very small town in the mountains called Batlow (population 1200) that is known wholly and solely for growing apples, and I have since had a funny conversation with my SA Andrea about how they resembled "frightened rabbits in a trap" when the were in the store.

But he arrived safe and sound, my father-in-law, Kevin, actually purchased a pack of garbage bags in the city and placed the LV shopping bag and its contents into one for fear of being mugged for a "ridiculous $700 handbag".

And to this day it remains my most beloved. I will never sell it. I will never trade it. It is here to stay!

"If you get hit by a bus"

Now I had my first piece of LV and I was excited. The speedy's first outing was to a practical class at university, where we were learning to insert rectal suppositories.

It probably wasn't the best place for my new bag to debut, but I could contain myself no longer. Needless to say the technique for inserting a rectal suppository was not the only eye-opening attraction that day.

Everyone wanted to hold it, "Was it real? It must have set you back $200!" "A little more" I replied. They pressed me until I eventually yielded the actual price of my bag. Of course a barrage of, if I may borrow a phrase from a fellow ALVA boardie, 'purse shaming' ensued.

In reply I explained how much I had sacrificed to afford my handbag and that you had to live a little, after all you never know what is around the corner and tomorrow I may be hit by a bus! To which the ringleader replied "If you get hit by a bus tomorrow I will be snatching that bag from your lifeless hands for myself".

I chose to take that as a compliment.

"You get a boat, I get a graffiti"

After six years of relentless nagging about wanting to purchase a rather expensive (on our budget) boat I caved to my husband's demands and agreed. However when making the finance application it dawned on me that I had an opportunity to expand my LV collection.

Seizing on his festive mood I suggested that seeing as he was getting this expensive boat it was only fair that I be able to buy a new handbag. In his eagerness for me to sign off on the application he agreed hole heartedly and I began searching for a new addition.

I did not have a particular bag in mind, but when I saw the graffiti Alma PM I knew it was the one for me. Those of you who regularly post to the ALVA forum will know of the customs saga that followed, but eventually, after many weeks of frustration, my peach and white graffiti made it home to me.

"The last hoorah"

So finally my story finds it's way to an ending.

For those that have taken the time to read it I say thank you. I am not a rich person and realise in comparison to most my LV collection is quite modest (five pieces in all). As much as I love Louis Vuitton bags I have come to realise that I do not have the means to support my 'addiction' on a regular basis and as such have decided, after one last purchase, to go on an indefinite purse ban and live vicariously through the postings on the ALVA forum.

I am currently in the process of deciding on my final purchase, a monogram Luco, Mezzo or large bucket bag. Even though my cash flow has dwindled to a poultry trickle, I have never once felt guilty about purchasing any of my bags; each one has paid me back in the happiness it has brought to my life.

All you authentic lovers will know what I am talking about! I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have unlimited cash with which I could purchase any bag I chose (a ruby alligator Lancelot springs to mind very quickly), but then quickly realise that it is the sacrifice I made to own the bags I have that make them so dear to me.

Then I understand.

I wouldn't have it any other way.