LUXURY VINTAGE OFFERS BEST BUYS FOR PRE-LOVED AND
BRAND NEW DESIGNER BAGS, CLOTHES AND SHOES!
LUXURY VINTAGE STORES ARE AT 2 VENUES---JALAN MAAROF, NEAR BANGSAR SHOPPING CENTRE
(03-2095 6266) AND GREAT EASTERN MALL, JALAN AMPANG (03-4251 0013).
WWW.LUXURYVINTAGE.COM.MY
Below are my favorites!
CHANEL
CHANEL
CHANEL
CAHNEL
CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN
HERMES
HERMES
HERMES TOOLBOX
HERMES BIRKIN
HERMES 3 TONE BIRKIN
HERMES KELLY
HERMES CONSTANCE
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Below are my favorites!
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When buying preloved or open box mint condition
designer bags, authenticity is of paramount importance---if the price is too
good to be true, it must be fake! No one in the right mind will sell a Chanel
or Louis Vuitton at 80% discount off the original price!
This is why you must buy only from established stores
like Luxury Vintage which stands by what they sell and have been doing so for
12 years. So when you buy your new darling bags here, you buy with confidence
or else go to Petaling Street.
Luxury Vintage is Malaysia’s biggest, best and most
established secondhand shops with a standalone store on Jalan Maarof, Bangsar
where you can park right in front of the shop!
So ever convenient! I think Luxury Vintage is the first and only such store to be located in a bungalow with general brands on ground floor, Hermes on the first floor, more general designer bags on second floor and clothes/shoes on the third floor! Walao!
So ever convenient! I think Luxury Vintage is the first and only such store to be located in a bungalow with general brands on ground floor, Hermes on the first floor, more general designer bags on second floor and clothes/shoes on the third floor! Walao!
The second store in Great Eastern Mall is also
strategically located just 20 steps from the lift at ground floor! No need to
trudge miles in your Christian Louboutins and Jimmy Choos. Get out of the lift
and you are almost there!
The other good thing about buying at Luxury Vintage
is if you hold a Maybank or CIMB credit card, you can use your gift points to
buy! Give your card to Luxury Vintage who will check and tell you how much cash
you have to offset the bag price or get it free outright if you have lots of
points! Or pay interest-free monthly instalments!
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When we hear the words ‘pre-loved’, ‘pre-used’ or
second hand bags and accessories, we tend to assume they are discounted to 70%
or more! In reality a Luxury Vintage bag averages 30% to 40% less than original
price which is considered good enough ok!
As Luxury Vintage deals only with top of the spot
designer handbags, a second hand bag bought at Luxury Vintage can cost MORE
than the original price!
Explains Ruby of Luxury Vintage, “Yes, certain bags
which are pre-used can actually cost 10% to 20% MORE than the original price!
This is because certain colours are produced in very limited quantities so they
are considered very rare.
A bag is usually produced in big quantities in neutral, popular colors like black but if the same bag comes in shocking pink or purple or multi-colors or is embellished, it would be considered unusual and rarer. Most buyers would choose colors which are easy to match like black, white or red.
A bag is usually produced in big quantities in neutral, popular colors like black but if the same bag comes in shocking pink or purple or multi-colors or is embellished, it would be considered unusual and rarer. Most buyers would choose colors which are easy to match like black, white or red.
“If the bag was made in very limited editions or
produced only for the runway and not mass sale, the price will be more. Sometimes
the same bag could be made of exotic skins like crocodile, python, stingray,
ostrich or lizard.
For instance a Hermes Birkin in Togo leather may cost RM 45,000 but if the same bag is made in crocodile it can cost RM 150,000 from the boutique so if you buy from preloved stores, it will definitely cost more as you cannot walk into a Hermes store and buy Birkin or Kelly bags off the shelves.”
For instance a Hermes Birkin in Togo leather may cost RM 45,000 but if the same bag is made in crocodile it can cost RM 150,000 from the boutique so if you buy from preloved stores, it will definitely cost more as you cannot walk into a Hermes store and buy Birkin or Kelly bags off the shelves.”
The good news is that ‘normal’ bags are 20% to 40% less
than original prices! So Luxury Vintage is bag haven!
As for clothes
and shoes, omigod they are discounted heavily, up to 70& and 80% since not
every tai-tai is dying to wear clothes worn by someone else, or worse, by
someone they know who they might bump into at parties. Sizes are also a problem
as you may love a dress which is too big or small since obviously Luxury
Vintage does not have S, M or L sizes to choose from. What you see is what you
get. I saw a Tom Ford priced RM 1,000, a steal from the original RM 9,000!
But bags are fine and dandy as anyone can use a
handbag regardless of size, weight or height. No one minds if someone else
carries the exact same bag, especially if it is a Chanel, Louis Vuitton,
Hermes, Prada and Gucci, which I consider are the Fab Five!
But Luxury Vintage does offer amazing great deals
which can be up to 60% and 80% off the original prices! “This is because a few
bags are made in weird, off beat, funky designs that appeal to a niche market
and are difficult to carry. Or they can be too big, too small, too colourful,
too wild, too anything. I notice furry bags don’t sell as well as leather so
they are marked down.”
So if your taste veers towards such bags, you are in
luck.
Of course the condition also dictates the price.
“If the bag is stained, dirty beyond cleaning,
scratched or with torn lining, it will sell at much lower price. These bags are
a great bargain, especially if the stains are inside which are not noticeable
as only you can see the interior.
“Sometimes the insides smell or are sticky. Or if the
straps are missing so you can only use the handles.”
Due to natural aging, some bags will change color
even if unused and locked in your cabinet. Most buyers don’t care or even like
the patina like we all love naturally faded denim jeans.
Even if the bag looks worn, no one knows you just
bought it second hand as you could have purchased it from the boutique in Paris
or New York and used it for years!
As almost all bags at Luxury Vintage are on
consignment, the owners decide on the prices at realistic levels. Luxury
Vintage advises the prices which you cannot negotiate as they are already
attractive. But if the bag sits on the shelf collecting dust for 6 months or a
year or longer then the owner may reduce the price drastically.
So if you spot a bag that appeals, better buy
immediately since you could return the next day only to cry your eyes out as it
was sold.”
I once saw a coat in Porte de Clignancourt in Paris
made of---guess what---monkey fur! I had never seen such fur coat before and
was enthralled. It cost RM 3,500 and the shopkeeper said it was made during
politically incorrect times as it would be banned today should anyone want to
make one. He said I could have it for RM 3,200 as the original price was RM
7,000 but it was unsold for over 3 years so he was willing to slash the price
since not everyone was dying to wear a coat made of gibbon fur!
“After a sleepless night I returned the next morning
to buy this collector’s piece. I bumped into a guy as I left the shop. The shop
owner told me that was the new owner of the monkey fur coat who just paid for
it! I missed purchasing my dream coat by minutes! I ran out and caught up with
the man and offered RM 4,000 in euros but he laughed and said he would sell to
me for 2,000 euros (RM 9,500) which I couldn’t afford, the rascal!”
I was so bitter as I recalled the shopkeeper said he
was unable to sell it for 3 years and now he had 2 buyers. I returned to his
shop to ask if he had another. He said of course not or else he would have
displayed it. He added if only the buyer and I had entered his boutique at the
same time as he would love to auction it to the highest bidder!
See, so if you see something you like and can afford,
buy it on the spot! He who hesitates, loses!
Remember---if you buy a bag at Luxury Vintage and
regrets, you can always return it on consignment to be resold! If your luck is
good, you may even make a little profit! Only Buddha and Jesus know the
outcome!
Remembers Ruby, “A bag can be sold within an hour but
the record is 10 years! Yes, a decade. We kept reminding the owner to take it
back but she said to leave it here so we did until it was sold 10 years later!
A real vintage!”
To most second hand shops, ‘vintage’ means 15 years old
and more. Chanel vintage bags cost more than the original prices due to
inflation as RM 1,000 fifteen years ago is not the same as RM 1,000 today! In
2002 you could buy far more with RM 1,000 than what you can buy today, what
with 6% GST and inflation! Luckily prices at Luxury Vintage don’t charge 6%
extra as some stores do which irritate me no end.
Many rich women buy second hand bags though they can
afford brand new ones for various reasons. They could have missed out buying
them in boutiques when they were first produced. Or suddenly fall in love with
bags no longer available in boutiques or long sold out or discontinued. So
there is no choice but to scour stores like Luxury Vintage and leave your hp
number should they come across the bag of your dream.
Like me.
In 2000, I interviewed Marc Jacobs in Hong Kong. He
told me he was collaborating with famous avant garde street artist Stephen
Sprouse to produce a quirky range of Graffiti bags consisting of words scrawled
over the Monogram canvas.
I sort of jokingly asked him to include my name Kee.
He took it seriously and asked “What? Do you consider
your name as graffiti?”
I grinned, “Well, if you go to any public loo in
Malaysia, behind the door inside any cubicle you will see this message ‘For a
good time, call Kee at 019 6633747’!”
Marc Jacobs laughed loudly and said, “That’s a good
one. Hmmm I will consider.”
Well, Louis Vuitton Graffiti collection came out to
great universal acclaim in 2001 with the words ‘Louis Vuitton’ scrawled
carelessly here, there, everywhere. I almost fainted as 2 bags contained my
name KEE!
How about that for my 15 minutes of fame? And it’s
true as you can google and see for yourself!
To avoid being grilled by Bernard Arnault the owner
of Louis Vuitton and his bf why he included my name KEE, Marc Jacobs adroitly,
artfully, astutely used the word ‘KEEPALL’ as the bag was a keep-all
overnighter bag!
He emblazoned KEE at the extreme left next to the
strap and continued with PA inbetween the 2 straps and LLV at the right! Most
people would miss the brilliant splicing of KEEPALL as the KEE is shown
prominently while PA is shown in the centre and LLV at the right!
None would ever realise this brilliant
conundrum---even if you take the effort to make out the word KEEPALL. Only I
know and appreciate it. Ok me and all those chinks with the same KEE surname!
The KEE letters only appear in the front as the back
has only LOUIS VUITTON and in reverse NOTTIUV SIUOL! But good enough so I am
not complaining!
The Keepalls come in 2 colors---white and green, the
colors of my clothes when I was interviewing him!
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Some bags come with full regalia, from certificate of
authenticity, dust bag, box and even receipt from original boutique with the
cost stated on credit card statement! But this does not affect the price---if
you love the bag, that is all you want!
You can order pre-used bags or pre-order new ones.
Luxury Vintage then uses its vast contacts and network to source for you but
you need put a 10% deposit before they bring it in from overseas. If you change
your mind then you forfeit the deposit which is fair. Says Ruby, “We will show
you the photos and give details of the bag’s condition first. If you are keen
then only you place the deposit as some buyers want to see the bag for
themselves before buying.”
Luxury Vintage’s enticing bags cost anything from a
few hundred ringgit to RM 160,000 for, you guess it, a Hermes Birkin crocodile
bag.
LUXURY VINTAGE IS THE ONLY PRE-LOVED AND NEW BAG STORE ON ITS OWN LAND
LUXURY VINTAGE IS MALAYSIA'S MOST SUCCESSFUL AND REPUTABLE SECOND HAND STORE WITH 12 YEARS BEHIND ITS STERLING REPUTATION
SUMORE GOT DIAMONDS LURKING BENEATH THE BOW!
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