LV Neverfull review: comparisons with the Chanel Deauville, and throwback to @Doubletree by Hilton Johor Bahru with this Louis Vuitton tote

LV Neverfull

The LV Neverfull is one of the most recognizable bags by Louis Vuitton. It is loved by so many – to the point that it has practically suffered from overpopularity.

It comes in a wide variety of leathers – in the standard monogram canvas, the damier ebene and damier azure canvas, empriente leather, and other seasonal prints. Mine is in Damier Azure, with a Rose Ballerine (pink) interior.

Louis Vuitton Neverfull MM size, in Damier Azure and Rose Ballerine (pink) interior

There are three sizes, the PM (29cm x 21cm x 12cm), the MM (31cm x 28cm x 14cm), and the GM (39cm x 32cm x 19cm).

Generally, the MM is the most popular size. In my own social circle –  at least 5 of my close friends own a Neverfull, and ALL of them have it in the MM size.

With the sides pulled in, and top closure in use

One of LV Neverfull’s much loved feature is the bag’s design that enables some flexibilty in shape – (i) there is a closure across the top to hold the top close together, and (ii) the sides of the bags can either be pulled to look smaller or left out to accomodate more things. 

With the sides left out, and top closure is open

Tote for Travel: LV Neverfull

Prior to covid-19, there was the occasional weekend that my family would make trips either to Kuala Lumpur or Johor Bahru.

In fact, our favourite hotels in Malaysia are the Hilton Kuala Lumpur or Doubletree by Hilton Johor Bahru.

Usually, for these trips, the LV neverfull is my go-to travel tote.

In the One Bedroom Deluxe Suite at Doubletree by Hilton Johor Bahru

But. Why the LV Neverfull?

Some backstory involving Chanel: a close friend had pointed out that I already had a very useful Chanel Deauville Tote, and I had literally declared in another post that it was literally the most awesome baby bag ever.

Plus, didn’t I also frequently take the Chanel Deauville on weekend staycations in Singapore, such as when we went to the Conrad Centennial?

The close friend pointed out that I’ve always loved Chanel bags – especially the Deauville. In fact, it was so well loved as a mom bag, that following the birth of my second child, I got ANOTHER Deauville Tote, but in a larger size.

With that, the LV Neverfull (i) seemed like an unnecessary duplicate, and (ii) looked somewhat of an anomaly in my collection.

At the Lobby, Doubletree by Hilton Johor Bahru

However, personally the LV Neverfull is more suitable for travel.

Specially, international travel.

LV Neverfull vs Chanel Deauville

While I do love the Chanel Deauville as a baby bag and for staycation usage within Singapore, when it comes to travel abroad, the LV Neverfull outperforms the Deauville in the following areas:

Living Room in the One Bedroom Deluxe Suite, Doubletree by Hilton Johor Bahru

1) The LV Neverfull is extremely lightweight.

In the canvas version, LV Neverfull is much, much lighter than the Chanel Deauville (fabric version).

On the other hand, the Chanel Deauville is much heavier on the shoulders. Usually it isn’t a problem as I tend to carry it this way:

While travelling, I am not only constantly on the go; I tend to travel without a baby stroller.

Picture this – I’m already carrying a kid that might be strapped to my body via a baby carrier. In times like these, the weight of the baby bag trumps all other considerations. 

And as far as luxury bags go, to date, the LV Neverfull in canvas is the lightest tote that I’ve found.

LV Neverfull with the Matching Pouch

2) The LV Neverfull comes with a Matching Pouch

For travels, there are times that we want a nice tote to dump everything in. But there are also times that we just want to carry a small amount of foreign currency, hotel keycard, and handphone – and I’ve found the matching pouch immensely useful for these moments.

The pouch is casual enough to carry around even if I’m just wearing shorts and t-shirt. Yet it is also elegant enough to use as an evening clutch.

If I’m home in Singapore and attending formal events, yes, I would definitely get a dressier mini bag, such as the Chanel Wallet on chain (WOC) or a  Black Chanel Chevron Flap.

But for travel, practicality comes into play – I balk at the idea of packing an extra bag just because we may visit a couple of nice places. 

The little pouch functions just well enough for this purpose. It is also super slim and hardly takes up extra space.

Plus, brownie points for being matchy-matchy with the tote. 

Or, take your kids along to a nice place, and realise that you have to lug the kids’ stuff in the Neverfull anyway, LOL. This is at Tosca, Doubletree by Hilton Johor Bahru

3)  The LV Neverfull is foldable and easy to pack in a luggage

In the canvas version, the LV Neverfull, when not in use, can be folded and flattened for easy luggage storage. 

This is not possible with the Chanel Deauville.

Enough said.

Foldable

4)  The LV Neverfull is easier to take on a plane

If i had to choose one bag to shove about under a plane seat, or stash in the luggage storage compartment of an airplane, the Neverfull would be it. 

Flexibly shaped and made of canvas, this makes it more durable and easy to fit in odd corners, and is less prone to dirt generally (even the Damier Azure version) than the fabric Deauville. 

By the Pool, Doubletree by Hilton Johor Bahru

Disclaimer: I do love the Chanel Deauville VERY VERY MUCH. 

It’s just that for the purposes of TRAVEL outside of my country of residence, the LV Neverfull fulfills this specific need – so do take this review in context. If you have to choose a bag for yourself, do consider the situations that you will be using a bag, and not blindly take my words for it either. 

Throwback to Past Travels, Looking forward to Future Ones

While covid-19 has made current travel more challenging, I am grateful for the good times that my family and I have had in the past.

Can anyone tell that this pict is taken outside of Singapore? Lol. 

On a personal level – I had big dreams for this blog. One of the key features of this blog is that I do hotel reviews. I had a wish to review hotels from all over the world – especially since I used to travel for work. I had initially planned to start with the Asian region and branching out later to other continents. But any travel plans were indefinitely put on hold, and who knows how much longer things would be this way.

View from Doubletree by Hilton Johor Bahru

Still, there was a silver lining. Our family did do a few more local staycations than usual, and for that, I consider myself infinitely blessed. My problems in the end, are truly first world problems. 

I’ve put a link here to a list of all hotel reviews on this blog, if anyone is interested. 

Chilling late at night, in the Executive Lounge, Doubletree by Hilton Johor Bahru

This was meant to be a #throwback post to my family’s weekend getaway to Johor Bahru – but somehow it triggered all these thoughts, and it felt natural to simply share these thoughts here. Thank you my dear readers, if you’ve read this far, for truly giving me your time and for giving some attention to this blog.

At any rate. International travel seemed like something of the distant past, with covid-19 and all. But if given a chance to travel again (without restrictions), I would 100% do so again in a heartbeat.

And of course, I would choose the LV Neverfull as the ultimate travel companion.  😛

Dreaming of Travel again

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