The videos generally look like this: A customer, most often a young woman, approaches the door of a small Parisian boutique. The customer is admitted and taken to a counter, where a salesperson displays different cuts of leather, as well as options for metal hardware and charms shaped like hearts or stars. Selections are made and, at the end of the video, the customer displays a new personalized accessory: not a bag, but a notebook.
Made by the Louise Carmen brand, the notebooks have entered the orbit of stars, including Kendall Jenner, who included one in a gift guide she recently shared on social media, as well as Lana Del Rey and Shay Mitchell, who appeared in videos the brand posted online.
Such messages have once again generated buzz for Louise Carmen, a stationery company founded in Paris ten years ago. (Emails seeking comment from its founders, Nathalie and Fabien Valmary, had not been answered by the time this article was published.)
Notebooks start at around 122 euros, or about $142, for a 64-page paperback version. Costs may increase depending on factors such as size and the materials and embellishments customers choose.
Lindsey Nguyen, a marketing professional in Denver, booked a video appointment with the brand to design a notebook last October. Hers — which was adorned with charms and engraved with her favorite Latin phrase (“cor cordium,” which roughly translates to “heart of a heart” in English) — cost more than $300.
Ms. Nguyen, 33, said she was willing to pay extra in part because of the experience of working on commission. “It went beyond me as a consumer purchasing a good, it was a whole experience where I felt more connected with the brand,” she said. “A more personalized service experience, similar to white glove service. »
Louise Carmen notebooks, which can be purchased on the brand’s website, have also been sold at places like Goods for the Study in New York, where Louise Carmen had a pop-up store in 2024. Theodora Helgason, manager of Goods for the Study’s NoLIta store, said customers often call to ask for the brand name.
Although reminiscent of other branded notebooks like Traveler’s Company or Paper Republic, Louise Carmen’s versions have become a status symbol for some users due to their price and Parisian DNA.
They see the products as a way to convey a cosmopolitan and literary image, aligning with other bookish trends: the rise of glasses on the runways, for example, as well as the way fashion has largely embraced literary culture. In recent years, luxury brands have opened bookstores (Alaïa), fashioned their stores like libraries (Bottega Veneta) and hosted literary salons (Miu Miu). Models like Kaia Gerber also started book clubs, and publications like Vogue wrote about books as if they were handbags.
“Smartness is in right now,” said Annie Given, a 34-year-old public relations executive in Los Angeles who recently bought herself a Louise Carmen notebook as a holiday gift.
Ms. Given, who said in an interview that she had kept a journal for years, bought her notebook on the brand’s website. She paid $450, including shipping and other fees. It took a month to arrive, she said, and when it arrived, the box it was sent in was partially open and her notebook had defects, including broken charms.
“The know-how is what I paid for, and the know-how is what I didn’t get,” said Ms. Given, who posted a video about her notebook on TikTok after receiving it. “I’m just irritated, on principle, like, if you’re going to charge extra, then offer premium service.” Her sentiments echoed the sentiments of comments on Reddit recounting others’ disappointment with Louise Carmen products.
While some were disappointed, many remain attracted to the brand. Jananie Velu, a 28-year-old freelance content creator and editor in Toronto, is one of them.
Ms. Velu considers Louise Carmen ambitious, she said. But she wasn’t ready to shell out hundreds of dollars for a notebook, so she went to a local leather supply store and purchased materials that she used to design a Louise Carmen-inspired journal.
The materials for her journal cost about $22, she said, and she has since made nine more.
“It feels like a luxury product,” Ms. Velu said. “I don’t care about brand names.”
Source | domain www.nytimes.com
