Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like… It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.
This piece started out as a Field Note on a specific handbag owned by a woman I know, the Louis Vuitton Neverfull Bandoulière Inside Out MM, based on her impressions after 18 months with the bag. I’ve preserved that review below. Along the way, though, I realized her final opinion was nearly identical to mine when I wrote a previous Field Note on the Louis Vuitton Takeoff Messenger bag, despite them being two completely different articles. So now this isn’t a Field Note on a specific handbag; it’s an observation about a problem two different people have observed across two different bags from the same maison.
The Neverfull Bandoulière Inside Out MM
Imagine that you buy an iconic item from an iconic luxury maison. You appreciate the versatility and the colors of the item. You receive compliments on it—more than on any other luxury item you own. You use it for months out of the year. And yet when asked if you’d buy it again, the answer is no.
Louis Vuitton Neverfull Bandoulière Inside Out MM in Gaston Blue. Image: Louis Vuitton
That’s the experience of a woman I know after a year and a half with her Louis Vuitton Neverfull Bandoulière Inside Out MM1 handbag. How exactly does that happen?
Start by understanding the name of the handbag, because there’s a lot going on here:
Neverfull: Louis Vuitton’s iconic line of tote handbags with open tops, slim handles, light coated canvas, and rectangular bodies.
Bandoulière: shoulder strap or shoulder bag.
Inside Out: reversible.
MM: Moyen Modèle, or medium model.
Introduced in 2007, industry observers have described the Neverfull as Louis Vuitton’s answer to Goyard’s Saint Louis reversible tote bag:
Goyard Saint Louis GM Bag. Image: Goyard
Confusingly, Louis Vuitton offers two nearly identical versions of the same handbag and calls them the same name. The difference is in whether the trim is mostly color-coordinated or all contrasting:
The Louis Vuitton Neverfull Bandoulière Inside Out MM in Pondichery Pink. The bag on the left is in color-coordinated trim; the bag on the right is in contrasting trim. Image: Louis Vuitton
As of this writing, on the US site, the color-coordinated trim version is available in Sari Red, Pondichery Pink, Gaston Blue, Safran Yellow, and Sand; the contrasting trim version is available in Sari Red, Safran Yellow, and Pondichery Pink. Pricing is the same for both versions: $2,520 in the US or 1 900 € in the EU.
So far, so good. It’s an iconic handbag, updated for greater flexibility, and offered in attractive colorways. What could go wrong?
