Louis Vuitton wallet

Japan is totally materialistic. I was shocked when a friend told me his Louis Vuitton sandals cost $700 and his bag was a couple thousand bucks. How could anyone spend so much on an accessory? Simply ridiculous! Then I started looking around and noticed that pretty much everyone has brand name bags, watches, clothes, jewelry and shoes. Even high school students.

In my mind, quality is more important than the name. I used to hate labels. I even blacked out the white logo of my North Face jacket so it would be less visible and only bought stuff if there weren't any visible brand markings. I hated being associated with the image that came with a brand.

Somewhere along the line that changed. Maybe because brand name labels are so prevalent in Japan that having a Gucci belt or Ferragamo keychain isn't anything special. Everyone has something brand name. I guess if everyone has it then there isn't much of an image associated with the name (or is the image normalcy?). So when a friend gave me his Louis Vuitton and Gucci hand-me-downs, I started using them without a second thought. One of the things he gave me was his old Louis Vuitton wallet (photo from website).I loved it. It's hard to find men's wallets that hold coins. It was sturdy, a nice size, held a lot of cards and retained its shape well. But after a couple years he wanted it back because it was in a lot better shape than the wallet he was using, so we traded. I didn't like the "new" one as much because the part that holds coins is on the outside of the wallet, and I had to open and close the button several times if I'm using/receiving bills and coins at the same time. Even though the "new" one had cost more (from the Louis Vuitton black Vernis line), it was just less convenient than the first one.Then I found out that last month Louis Vuitton presented a new line called "Damier Graphite" that uses a black checkerboard pattern instead of the traditional brown one. So sleek! It looks so much better than the brown, and I instantly decided to get the Damier Graphite version of the wallet that I liked so much. Never having bought anything from the Louis Vuitton store before, I was surprised to see that the wallet came in a little drawer-type box and was carefully wrapped in its own pouch. The receipt even came in a little envelope with a formal printout of the transaction - my name along with what I bought, where I bought it, and the name of the woman who sold it to me. The saleswoman carried my bag for me and accompanied me to the door, then bowed very low as I walked out. What service!And how much did it cost? More than I paid for my car, which either says something about the cost of the wallet, or the price of my car. It has a nice texture, feels sturdy, is a perfect size, and I love it. So now that I've bought something from Louis Vuitton, does that make me materialistic? There was also a bag that I thought was pretty cool but the price is way more than I'm willing to pay ($1600). But who knows, perhaps I'm becoming more materialistic by the day and you'll see my new bag pictured here in the future, like this guy.On a sidenote, I started thinking about the most expensive things I've ever bought. Here's my ranking of most expensive things:

1) Bright Red Toyota Corolla with 10-carat gold lettering and wood interior (I loved that car and had to sell it when I came to Japan)

2) Dell Computer with scanner/printer

3) Plane tickets (Thailand, China, Cambodia, Taiwan, Hawaii, Spain, etc.)

4) Louis Vuitton Damier Graphite wallet

5) Mitsubishi Toppo (my current car). I love how the back has a door, I can fit my folding bike in it, the side mirrors are huge like bus mirrors, and it has a high ceiling with a compartment to store stuff.