Louis Vuitton Marly Dragonne Gm Monogram Brown Coated Canvas Wristlet super vintage 80s 861

So I bought a Louis Vuitton Marly Dragonne Gm Monogram Brown Coated Canvas Wristlet.

I have been cleaning a lot of vintage pieces so I am very familiar with the zipper and hardware of these bags.

BUT I had encountered something new.

I bought a piece that had the date code 861 (no letters) which meant that it was made in 1986 January.

I started to clean the zipper and I notice a few things that started to freak me out.

* First of all the colour of the zipper was different. 

It was a pinky copper color, as opposed to the normal gold brass colour. 

* Second, the shape of the zipper teeth were different!

 * The back of each zipper had "Swiss Made" on the backside of it 

* the front zipper pull was silver, not gold

WHAT IS GOING ON!?

Did I just purchase a counterfeit?

I have seen so many vintage pieces and no way this was counterfeit. The canvas and leather was perfect, the colour of the stitching was perfect, the stamping inside the bag was as it was supposed to be. Then WHAT??

So when I read up on the "quick reference guide to Louis Vuitton date codes" on jillsconsignment website, I started to freak out even more. According to her my bag should have two letters following the three numbers as it was made in early to late 80's.

I went on a hunt for other Louis Vuitton Marly Dragonne clutches to see if they had

the same shape teeth for their zipper, the same tarnishing (almost black) or pinky tone to their zipper.

I saw two different listings consistent with my piece.

Both listings were on Tradesy;

1.

https://www.tradesy.com/i/louis-vuitton-marly-dragonne-gm-monogram-brown-coated-canvas-wristlet/25516743/

2.

https://www.tradesy.com/i/louis-vuitton-monogram-strap-marly-dragonne-clutch-brown-21837614/21837614/

These listings are consistent with my piece in the colour of the tarnishing, the serial number format, the colour of the front zipper being silver, the shape of the zipper teeth, the way that the endings of the largest zipper locks.

Although it is impossible to know if the main zipper is pink (they would have to clean it for me to know) and if the inner zipper part says "Swiss made", I am confident this is a genuine Louis vuitton item and not a counterfeit.

:)

Happy rehab everyone!

Planning a Trip to Europe? Must read this then (still in the process of writing)

I planned for a trip for 2 people; myself and my mum.

You really need to read this before you book ANYTHING.

So the best time to start planning is EARLY AS POSSIBLE.

The Green parts labelled will be important tips you need to take into consideration.



I will go through

1. how I planned it and why

2. what I missed

3. what I would have done differently

I first tried to plan it by city.

But you really need to consider what time of year you are planning to go.

I think prime time is going 25th of May onwards.

I went May 14th till the 29th and we were so freezing our butts off till around the 22nd of May.

Once you have your dates into Europe and out of Europe sorted, you must plan which country in and which country out you will take.

My mum chose to go in to Paris, France and come out via Milano, Italy.

Going into Europe you must consider what time of day you will be landing.

We took off from Seoul South Korea and landed in Paris around 6:30PM.

You have to check with your accommodation site if they will allow late checkins.

A lot of airbnb places in Europe will charge you extra for late check-ins.

So you might want to consider a proper hotel if you are having to check in late.

We got to Paris 6:30PM but didn't get to the city till maybe right before 8PM. 

France is not such a safe place at night so I didn't want mum and myself to be wondering in the streets with our luggage in the middle of the night. So I ordered a private pickup.

Those guys that stand at the airport with your name. Yeah, it was real cool. They pick you up, take offer to help you with your bag and you go riding to the city in a mercedez benz. My mum liked that very much. 

I looked up a lot of shuttle buses and other options but this was the best as it was late night, I didn't want to share a ride and risk getting to our accommodation later than it was already.

I used these guys and paid through paypal.

(THROUGHOUT YOUR BOOKINGS I highly advise you to prepay everything as much as you can)

http://comfort-cars.fr

We were dropped off and it was surprisingly bright. It was surprisingly bright in Paris at 7:30PM. We were dropped off at our airbnb and we got inside. THERE WERE SO MANY DOORS. One of the common things I noticed around Europe's airbnb and small hotels were that the main front doors are extremely heavy, you will have to go through a minimum of 1-3 more doors after that to get to your room and there are many many narrow stairs and sometimes no elevators. The airbnb in Paris was quite expensive as I was considering to get one right in the middle of it all. 

Now another thing to consider when choosing your accommodation is that if you are using a tour bus, that you book it right next to or close to one of the bus stops. That way it is less walking. I booked the  BigBus tour 1-day ticket so that my mum and I could get around with less walking. Now, looking back mum tells me that it was the best decision ever.

There are so much to look at in Paris and we had a day and a half to look at it all. The closest pick up stop for us was stop-3 (opera house). So we walked up there and took some photos, went to our stop,
and started with the Red Route. We should have stopped at stop-5 Louvre but got off at the wrong stop; stop-4 and walked there. There are so many things to see at stop-5 not just the Louvre. There are the fountains and buildings. We spent a good time there taking photos at all angles. Then we got back on to the bus and stopped at stop-6; Notre dame. Oh dear it was so blocked off. I was so disappointed.  We couldn't go anywhere near it. It was heavily guarded by police meters away. We managed to go further out and get a photo but it wasn't the way we wanted it. BUT, don't be disappointed just yet. There are so many souvenir shops right in front of stop-6. We bought these magnets that was shiny and were so beautiful 5 for 8 euros. I should have bought more. I was thinking I can get more stuff in other countries but my advice is, get the souvenirs bright and early, especially if you can get them cheap!. Now after this, we went on the upper deck of the tour bus and stayed there till stop-10; Trocadero. Mum had to go to the toilet really bad so I suggested we stopped there and go into the museum and use their toilet. It was free.

NOTE: Many toilets around Europe will charge you a fee of 0.5 Euros or 0.8Euros so go every free chance you get!

We went upstairs and went to the toilet. Afterwards I sat on the couch area and we could see the Eiffel Tower from there. We decided to take our puffy jackets off and take some photos. Since it was mid May it was freezing. We then walked out to the main part where EVERYONE takes photos. Beware of pick pockets here. So we didn't spend much time here but more on the way to the Eiffel Tower, right before crossing the bridge. There are a lot of people selling things on the street and approaching you right infront and around the Eiffel Tower.
Beware! Don't get fooled if someone comes to you and tries to sell you something or make conversation. If someone says "let out our hand" or gives you a rose or bottle of water, don't take it. They will trap you and demand money for it. Just say no and walk away in another direction.
We got back on the bus on stop-2 and didn't stop till stop-4. We got off to grab a quick bite to eat and then got back on the blue route bus to explore the Sacre-Coeur. Now, the walk up to the Sacre-Coeur is steep. Get some gelato if it is hot on the way up and then some cookies on the way back down. I liked the cookies.
I think we had the second worst experience on the way to the Sacre-Coeur. There are two stairways up there. Both were heavily congested by black gypsy men. They were standing there, waiting for people to come and they would approach them and block them.
I had explained to my mum what to do if they approach her and touch her. They did approach us, five tall men and blocked our way. they tried to grab my mum's arm and she had to violently shake them off. I grabbed her hand firmly and stormed through like a boss saying "NOOOOO!".

It was beautiful, the view. Going back down we didn't was to face them again so we decided to closely follow this old couple in front of us, hoping they would not try it again and we could just go through. They didn't approach us on the way back down. It was almost like a lost cause to them so they didn't bother.

We stopped at Gare Du nord thinking we may get the train the next day to get back to the airport, but after all that I didn't want to. I wanted to get an Uber and so we did.

Now, I don't think I would ever go back to Paris for the Eiffel tower or their souvenirs, but I would for this one bakery. It is not even on google maps. I knew that the bread in France was good and I tried Croissants from 5 different places but nothing compares to this place.

Boulangerie Jean Noël Julien, 1 Rue de Provence, 75009 Paris, France.

I would go back just for their Croissants. It was MAGIC. There were two types of Croissants. Get the more expensive one.

I am still in the process of writing....

Purchase , Returns , Refunds FARFETCH farfetch.com . Delivering it to Australia. ( Buying , the website, faulty goods, returns process, calling the help line, and re-ordering )

So I made a purchase from FARFETCH.com 

I would like to share the whole process.

The purchasing, the website, faulty goods, returns process, calling the help line, and re-ordering.

On 02-Jan-2018 I made a purchase of two bags; both Versace diamante bags but different colour.
One was for myself and one was for mum. 
I made the purchase through PAYPAL and it took about a day and a half for the status to change from "REVIEWING" to "PREPARING ORDER"

____________________________________________________________________

I thought maybe I should have just paid through credit card directly but I felt more safer this way and the total shipping time from order to arrival did not take long.

Once your package is shipped you get an email from Farfetch as below:
They took 3 business days to ship out my order as I received this email on 05-Jan-2018 around 5:48AM.

At the same time DHL sent out a text message to me. It showed all the tracking details but by the time I received this it was already in Australia.

____________________________________________________________________

On 07-Jan-2018 (Sunday) I received a text message from Australia Post 
notifying me that it is due for delivery the next day (08-Jan-2018).

I received the final text message that it was ready for collection at the post shop on Monday 08-Jan-2018. 
I also received a collection slip from Australia Post to pickup the parcel.
____________________________________________________________________

I picked up my parcel 09-Jan-2018. (You will need to sign for it. )

It took a total of 4 business days to arrive for pick up so that was MEGA FAST!!!!.

This was directly shipped from Italy.

_________________________________________________________________

It came in a sturdy box and was sealed nicely.
It contained the two bags, each in their little dust bag and instructions/paperwork for returns.

The first thing I did was examine the bags very carefully.
One of the bags were okay but the second bag was damaged. 
On their website they say to notify the Farfetch team as soon as possible.
I emailed them straight away with an explanation and matching photos of the faulty item.

Their website goes through the "return policy", "returns process" and also "refunds"

https://www.farfetch.com/au/returns-and-refunds

____________________________________________________________________

In my case it was a faulty item that arrived so I will receive a full refund of one bag including the postage fees.
____________________________________________________________________

I requested for a refund on their website.
Instructions were very clear. 
* Under "My Orders & Returns" once the status changes to "delivered", a button appeared on the left side of the order. (I had to wait till the status changed. It took about 3+ hours before it changed after pickup.)
* Then choose "By Courier" and select the item/s to be returned.
* Confirm your pickup address
* Select a pickup time frame



As for the paperwork. There were so many pieces of paper I was lost.
You only need 4 pieces of paper with the box for returns:

* You remove the paperwork carefully from the front of the box and replace it with the piece of paper with three barcodes on it (that was supplied inside the box)
* You then take "Returns Note for Customs" forms, SIGN THEM!, and put one at the front of the parcel and another one to go inside the parcel.
* Another piece of paper with a barcode that says at the top " do not attach to the parcel" is presented to the DHL driver when s/he comes to pick up the parcel.



I called the helpline and a lovely lady called Pea answered the phone.
(To call you just take your phone and dial 0871001758.
If your mobile cannot dial 08 numbers just buy a phone card for $10 at a 7/11 store.)
I bought a "Bubbles phone card" as my phone contract doesn't allow these calls.
The Farfetch helpline is only available Monday to Sunday 9AM-6PM AEST.
(I tried to call them at night thinking it will be morning in the US and this did not work obviously)
The nice lady explained what documents to put where. I also asked about my refund what else needs to be done. I also re-ordered the same bag and asked her to call the store directly to check the condition of the bag before they send it so that this does not happen again. She was very helpful. She was very knowledgeable and was very quick to answer all my questions. I felt like all the stress of the return process was washed away with that one phone call.

(I will not disclose the damages of the bag at this time. I may do so once the second comes. )


I requested that my parcel to be picked up the next day between 9AM to 12PM. 
The driver came around 10:30AM so he was on time. 
I have had bad experiences with other delivery companies in the past but this was good.

The DHL guy came to inspect the parcel and the paperwork. 
He left and that was that.
Quick and easy.


I am still waiting for the status to change to "COLLECTED" as the guy came this morning.

I am guessing it can take up to 2-3 days for it to change which is really annoying.

You can Track your parcel at the DHL website using the WAYBILL number (the barcode on the piece of paper that you gave them)

http://www.dhl.com.au/en/express/tracking/monitor_shipments.html

If you can't find this number or forgot to write it down, it will be in your email.

When you applied for the return, Farfetch would have sent out an email that confirms you of the parcel pickup.

You can click "Print your Return Label" and on there are your WAYBILL numbers for tracking.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

So I requested the return on 09/01/18
pickup was on 10/01/18
package was delivered on 12/01/18
refund was received on 17/01/18

It took about a week from when they picked up the bag and the money was returned to my PayPal account.








Hope this helped.

Disclaimer: the purpose of this review is to give my opinions and thoughts to others with access on the internet. These products mentioned were not free or sponsored. I was not paid or asked to review these products by any companies or bodies. It was not done as a favour to anyone.

Thank you

Visiting San Francisco From Australia ; BRISBANE (5 day trip)

If you are living in Australia or New Zealand looking to visit San Francisco in the USA KEEP READING as this may be useful !

So I had 5 days in San Francisco which is in the state of California of USA.

1. Things you must consider before your trip:

A)

When you are travelling to the US with an Australian or NZ passport you need a "ESTA".

They call it a "visa waiver, but you can think of it like a visa that you can apply online

WHICH YOU MUST PUT THROUGH & PAY AT LEAST 72 HOURS BEFORE YOUR FLIGHT!!!!

There are a few criteria that you must meet and can apply through this website:

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov

One of them was a electronic passport with at least 6 months till expiry when you land in the US. Mine was about to expire in January so had to renew it . (The next blog entry below explains the whole process in detail)

B)

I travelled from Brisbane so I had to stop over somewhere at least once.

For the cheap flight options that I had, there were two options; Canada or Sydney.

Air Canada was slightly cheaper so I chose to fly via Vancouver.

BUT WAIT!

I did not know this till about 6 hours before the flight as NO ONE TOLD ME.

For you to go to the US via Canada you MUST get a "ETA", which is like a Canadian version of "ESTA".

HOLY MOLY right???

I had only realised that I required something like this as I was trying to check-in to my flight at 1am in the morning (Just hours before my flight). One of the last steps (after seat selection) was putting in an approval number, otherwise it would not let me go through and complete my check-in.

I was freaking out at 1am in the morning trying to figure out what this visa like thing was.

It is CAD$7 each time you want to go through transit! So please take this into consideration when booking tickets.

C)

Packing for San Francisco.

As I was going in the last week of September (28th-3rd October), I was expecting an autumn like weather. I packed 1 t-shirt, 1 leather jacket, 1 jeans and mostly dresses that was to go with my leather jacket.

BOY I WAS WRONG!

The moment I landed in San Francisco airport, a hot air hit me! I was sweating in my jeans and leather jacket by the time I got to my airbnb. I ended up buying my clothes except for my jeans. 

For a 5 day trip you will need this as a minimum requirement 

(or something with a similar warmth):

5 t-shirts (or really light shirts/singlets)

1-2 coats (be generous! padded jackets are good!)

1-2 cardigans

1-2 Jeans

The day start really really cold...

then hits extremely unbearable hot weather around 12-1PM ...

then gets colder and colder till 6-7PM, hence the cardigan...

then you will need a coat or thick jacket at night.

But then again, even if you are hit with the unexpected there are shops everywhere in the city so bring money!

D)

Exchange your currency before travelling.

Although a small number of banks do conversions for you in the city, the rates are really bad. Especially the privately owned exchange place I went to, the Iranian guy was really rude. He was on his phone for 20 minutes before he attended to me, then was back on the phone whist he was serving me and continued to go about his other business.

E) 

Download the Uber app if you haven't already!

Take the tram once; maybe just for the experience, but otherwise definitely travel by Uber if you are in the city. Start at the airport. (Just remember, the pickup is upstairs. I spent 30 minutes at door 4 waiting for my Uber, only to find out I was at the wrong "door 4")

You get charged if you are not there at the pickup point so ask around make sure you are at the right place before you go and use the airport free wifi to order your Uber.

San Francisco City is extremely "hilly" I went up the hills twice before I gave up.

F)

Get a prepaid sim to be delivered to your accommodation before you get there. That way you don't have to go around the city to find a mobile provider like "T-mobile"

I bought a prepaid 4GB plan for $45 (including sim card)

G)

Where to get accommodation in the city.

Try to stay as close to the middle of Market street and if you are going towards china town stay on the right side of it. THERE ARE A LOT OF HILLS!!!

But then again, you can always take Uber.

Just stay away from tram lines as it is extremely noisy till late night.

2. How I spent my 5 days in San Francisco:

A) One day in the City (you don't need more than one day)

- Fisherman's Warf: go early morning and get the peeled fresh Lobster in a cup. 

- China town: Dumplings are a bit over-rated but they are humungous. 

(1 of each (3 types) was enough to fill me up)

- Dungeness crab: must try this but go to a place that does more than just boil it!

(I ordered half a salt and pepper crab as I was travelling alone. Goes well with a glass of white wine)

- Bars at night: they close quite early and a lot of them have specific dress code. 

(Don't wear sneakers or thongs.)

B) The University of San Francisco University

- They do tours 11am and 3pm. 

- If you are looking at sending your kids here, well worth it!

C) Santana Row in the suburb of "San Jose"

- Shopping & dining complex: We actually went here by fluke!

- Nice Pizza place! Order their soupy clam dish with extra bread that it comes with!!!!

- Actually went there to see Hastens bed shop (SOOOO expensive) 

They have a nice dessert place that everyone seems to be going after dinner. It was okay.

D) San Francisco Premium Outlet stores

-Open 10am–9pm (except Sunday closes 8pm)

-Adresses: 2774 Livermore Outlets Dr, Livermore, CA 94551, USA

-Here are the list of stores in their website 

http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlet/san-francisco/stores

-Had a snack at Chipotle 

(which was like Guzman Y Gomez like we have in Brisbane but they had more variety)

E) In-N-Out Burger 

-I think this was highly over-rated!!!

-The meat was so thin I was doubting if they forgot it for a sec.

-The A&W burger I had at Canada airport for a similar price was WAY BETTER .

-The best part was watching the staff member cut the potatoes with the cutting machine.

SHE WAS LIKE A BOSS!

F) Walk on Baker beach and take photos of yourself with the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE.

-It was quite windy.

-People sit and tan there

-There are lots of stuff in the sand so watch your feet!

-You probably need to Uber there or go by hire car 

    "through Lincoln Blvd" and into "Battery Chamberlin Rd"

Thank you everyone for reading!

Hope this has helped you in some way.

Please feel free to ask questions.