"This volume is an unprecedented history of Louis Vuitton's women's bags, the most coveted line of accessories in women's fashion. At the heart of Louis Vuitton are its City Bags, a range of women's bags that dates back to the turn of the twentieth century. Featuring the trademark monograms of the house, the City Bag story began with the Steamer, a resort bag designed in 1901 to be packed inside a much larger steamer trunk. These bags have in a hundred years formally diversified into a dizzying array of handbags for every conceivable function demanded by the modern woman

• Part I. Genesis. In the beginning /ressay by Florence Muller
• Common ancestors: the vanity, the alzer, the steamer & the keepall
• The heart of the self: the bag and personal identity /ressay by Jean-Claude Kaufmann
• Part II. Families. Profiles /rby Columbe Pringle
• Mutagenesis /ressay by Ian Luna
• CdG x LV /rby Rei Kawakubo
• A conversation with Takashi Murakami /rwith Mariko Nishitani
• Invasive species: Louis Vuitton in Japan /ressay by Mariko Nishitani
• Part III. Codes. Honest error /ressay by Deyan Sudjic
• Sites of manufacture, materials & processes
• Idiomatic expressions and common proverbs