Dogging Delvaux

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Will I ever stop alliterating and toying with the word Delvaux?  Am I all talk and no kapow when it comes this Belgian age-old bag brand that has fascinated me for quite some time now?  Will I ever actually commit, hop over to Belgium and chump up the money for a Delvaux bag and then proceed to get myself some tasty frites?

I've found a temporary solution that answers two of the questions above but first off, I'll doggedly talk up Delvaux as one of my personal brands to aspire to.  Yes, vivid Hermes orange might be the ticket for some and Celine is still steadily shifting those leather totes but it's Delvaux that has always been the sole goal of my secret yearnings to have a "willing-to-save-in-case-of-fire-and-pass-down-to-ungrateful-daughter" bag. 

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There are no MAD, ker-ker-kerazy shifts in the world of Delvaux.  A colour switch here, a new bag model there.  There's none of that sort of thinking that matches colours seen on the catwalk to their bags ("Oooh…Marc Jacobs did bright pink, let's get in on the pink ostrich skin!") and for that I'll always be grateful for.  I know there are always constants…

The demure and boxy Brillian M/M (debuted in 1958) assembled from 64 pieces of leather…

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The classic Tempette shape created in 1967…

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The Pin holdall created in 1972, arguably one of the first seriously roomy bags that said it was ok for womenfolk to chuck everything but the kitchen sink into their handbags…

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I know that Delvaux will always use Toile de Cuir, woven especially for Delvaux out of 2-8mm strips of varying leathers into a tight polyamide chain that makes it practically scratch-free…

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This season, a lot of the colours seem to have come with an alcoholic theme.  Jumping Pinot, Noir Brandy… a clear ploy on Delvaux's part to ply us with boozey leathers to get us to part with our cash…

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Ditto goes for calling the colour of this slouchy bucket back (one of my favourite shapes in the collection…) "marron glac√©" which just so happens to be my sweet toothed weakness.  Something about the combination of a nut and a shit ton of sugar that gets me salivating.  Nevermind that the colour isn't quite the right match for those sweet nutty delights.  The association has been made.  I want a bag that will drive me into a tray of sugar-covered chestnuts.  STAT.

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It goes without saying that it's also the little details – the considered pockets, the lining, leather tassels on a luxurious scarf, embossed leather envelopes, personalisation and aftercare services – that goes makes up the whole Delvaux experience which is why I'd preferably like to go into the store, pretend for one day that I'm the sort to saunder into a quiet luxury good store, smile demurely at SAs, see my eyes well up at the price in the store mirrors as I hand over my debit card, exit with the bag all giddy and happy and then run off to a local frietkof and scoff my face…

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In the meantime, I've been looking into trusty eBay's worldwide sites such as the offerings on eBay.be and eBay.fr for secondhand options to tide me over until that delirious leather-and-frites-filled day comes.  Just need to convince some of the sellers that Paypal is the way forward and that old-fashioned foreign bank transfers take an age because NatWest likes to treat me, specifically, like poo…

Delvaux Ebay

18 comments

  2. Loved this post! My Belgian grandmother is a Delvaux die hard and has the Brillian in several different (classic) colours and I have a few of her eighties faves… Really nice to see something so unconventional on a fashion blog!

  3. i cannot believe this!!!! Delvaux, i am a belgian girl so i know the brand pretty well, i have a lot of delvaux. but lately i don’t like them any more, the lost their sparkle and they need to reinvend themself. the Brilliant is so so expensive in NYC. almost 4000 dollars!!!! my first delvaux costed like 800 dollars (15 years old). but i do like the quality and the use of woven leather. but you cannot keep on doing the same things over and over again!!! or you need an icon bag, like the brilliant, so it is fabulous that they are selling the bag again. oh and they were on of the first to put little mirrors in the bags. maybe i should show you my collection :::::: )))))

  8. Hi Susie i was just wondering whether you would be covering any of the BA fashion graduates from saint martins this year? I’m finding articles that are just showing the same students, it would be interesting to have varying graduates.

  9. Absolutelymrsk: I’d love to see your collection! Impressive that you have a ‘collection’ of Delvaux bags…
    Richard: I didn’t go to the show! But I will be looking into anyone I find particularly interesting…
    I’ll be doing the same with RCA and I will go to some of the other shows next week…. bad timing as I just got back from Tokyo so have been zonked out this week…

  13. Love this post! I am from Belgium, so when it comes to Delvaux, I get really proud ^^
    Did you know that twice a year, they have a massive stock sale? The bags they sell are incredible and really recent. So it’s really interesting. Plus? It happens at their headquarters!
    xx
    Axelle

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