Photographer's Note
This is the current facade of the Louis Vuitton boutique on the Champs-Elysée. Louis Vuitton is a brand of "luxe" products most known for their brown leather handbags with their logo of an "L" and "V" intertwined.
As it was taken on the "Champs" the busiest street it Paris, I was unable to get a shot without cars in it. Even when I thought I had everything perfectly timed with the traffic signals, some cars would zoom up out of nowhere. I decided not to crop them out because I liked the pedestrians walking along the sidewalk and didn't want to sacrifice them. In the lower part of the frame one can also see a typical Parisian news kioske.
The French word for suitcase is "valise". One day my boyfriend came home and told me that the Vuitton store on the Champs had been "dévalisé" Usually the prefix "de" in French has the signification of "un". So naturally I thought that they removed the giant suitcases from the facade (un-suitcased). That was not the case, "dévalisé" actually means robbed. I found the whole story very ironic "dévalising" a store that sells "valises". (Those last 2 words I just Americanized so anyone trying to improve their French don't use those words;)
Critiques | Translate
vad
(342) 2004-06-01 10:18
C'est dingue ce truc. Les personnages nous donnent vraiment bien le côté démesuré de ce décor. Bien vu!
wata4no
(0) 2004-06-01 10:41
Wow Michele! What an excellent shot! Pics like these are definitely something all members on TE should strive to post because you are teaching us about your part of the world; this time regarding commercialism!! I had no idea LV would put so much money into advertising their product! Wonder if they would do that here in Rodeo Drive! At first I couldn't believe what I saw in the thumbnail while going through the Gallery. BTW, your note is very useful also!
green
(1014) 2004-06-01 11:03 [Comment]
Liora
(1857) 2004-06-01 11:46
Cool display, nicely captured. The car in the front is somewhat distracting, but I guess this is the price of taking photos of a busy area and not waking up at 6AM...
waskahegan
(0) 2004-06-01 15:42
Kind of absurd, but... you did a good job. I undestand the car problem and your efforts, good idea not to crop as the pedestrian give the scale.
Serendipity
(1045) 2006-11-22 13:25
Cette image accentue bien le côté affreux des sacs Vuitton que l'on ne peut acheter que par pur snobisme, tout en révélant le côté mégalo de cette marque. Bon travail.
Photo Information
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Copyright: Michele Schaffer (gadinga)
(626)
- Genre: Lieux
- Medium: Couleur
- Date Taken: 2004-05-23
- Categories: Vie quotidienne, Architecture
- Camera: Nikon Coolpix 3100
- Versions: version originale, Workshop
- Date Submitted: 2004-06-01 9:30
- Favoris: 1 [voir]