Longchamp was the only handbag that monopolized French trends. Instead of encountering designer bags with "LV's" stamped across them (which I thought would be common), it seemed that every female owned a Longchamp bag. The most popular style has a distinct shape, with a narrow square bottom which expands to a zipped top with brown leather straps. The colors are basic, and come in solid black, navy, eggplant, beige, grey etc... They are pretty popular in America as well, claiming a spot among an array of competing designer handbags for 20 somethings. When I met my high school friends in Paris they wanted to buy Longchamp bags, which are cheaper than in the States. So we went to the Galerie Lafyette. As we shuffled through the Longchamp store, I heard a woman ask in a distantly familiar American twang, if they had senior citizen discounts at this store. After trying to decipher what she had said, the manager gave her a blank stare. "Because they have those back in the States yah know," she responded. Needless to say, every time I see a Longchamp bag I associate it with that woman.
It's funny - every time I see a Longchamp bag, I think of my middle school. It reminds me distinctly of 13-year old girls lugging around bags that were twice the size of their torsos and stuffed with binders and make-up bags. They'd always cluster around in a circle, sticking their bags out so that their circle was actually twice as disruptive for everyone trying to get to class on time. They all had French manicures. It's odd how that was seven years ago. I would have thought that Longchamp bags were out of fashion by now, but it seems I'm not keeping up with my designer handbag news. Alas.
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