cases

Louis Vuitton makes a case for everything. Really. If there's something you want to carry in a Louis Vuitton case, they will probably make one for you.

The only criteria-strictly enforced to honor the original spirit of the 150-year-old company-are that the item is portable and that its raison d'être is transport. "We are in the business of movement," says Patrick-Louis Vuitton, a fifth-generation member of the founding family who oversees all of LV's custom projects. "A special order is a compromise between desires and needs from the client and our aesthetic and technical requirements." - Men's Vogue

Louis Vuitton makes about 450 special-order cases every year at their Asnières, France workshop. The process of creating a perfect case for a client's needs can take four to five months, but their policy is to never exceed eight.

Over the years, cases have been created for everything from hookah pipes to a portable altar for a French priest heading to a desert archaeological dig in the 1920's.

Louis Vuitton won't make just anything, though. If they don't like your request (say, to put little LV's all over the interior of your car, a move similar to the one that ended up with Britney Spears on the losing end of a Vuitton lawsuit), they'll modify the idea and make a suggestion - their polite version of refusal.

[via Men's Vogue]

Very simple in design, Calder laptop cases are understated and classic inside and out. Crafted with full-grain leather made by one of England's oldest tanners, the cases also have a hand-laid carbon fiber shell that's amazingly strong while not being too heavy. A silk velvet lining and suspension system protect your laptop from damage in your travels, and the whole setup reminds very much of an instrument case as opposed to a shoulder or tote bag (which is no surprise considering they make guitar and violin cases as well). Available for £2020 through the Bill Amberg store.

laptop@home is a line of soft laptop accessories designed by Mike and Maaike that are intended to make using your laptop a bit more comfortable, especially if you prefer to actually work with it on your lap than set up at a desh. The PocketTop ($50) is a mobile workstation/laptop bag, with pockets for accessories. The CushTop ($35) is a lap desk that keeps the heat from the laptop from building up on your legs, as well as giving you a more comfortable angle for typing. The SleeveTop ($40) is the most streamlined of the line, very thin with built-in cooling pads for lap work.

Don't turn to Trader Joe's for a bottle of Two-Buck Chuck if you're looking for a good price on wine. The Wall Street Journal (subscription) reports that more and more wine lovers are heading to auction houses like Christie's to shop - not for the ultra-expensive or rare bottles of wine, but for bargains. Many lots of good, ready-to-drink wines, perhaps "from overzealous collectors, who bought more than they [could] drink," sell for well under $100 per bottle.

When people consign their collections to the auction block, they almost always have several lower-ticket items in addition to the really expensive bottles of Chateau Petrus that the auction houses take one either because they must, or because they're hoping to attract new bidders. Whatever their reason for offering the wines, the budget bottles are a boon to wine fans who find cases of their favorite vintages for less than retail. The self-described "bottom feeders" say that it just takes a little research on the catalogue listings to sniff out the best deals, but to come home with some good wines at even better prices, it is worth the effort.