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After a novel’s worth of broken English emails with Alstermo Bruk’s customer service, a wire transfer to a Swedish bank, and a brand new Zero Halliburton carry-on suitcase, what do I do with my Alstermo Bruk suitcase now?

I snagged a new Zero Halliburton 21″ carry-on from Craigslist for two Benjies. The plan was to gift it or let it be my German Shepherd Major Dukes‘s suitcase, but it’s so superior to my Alstermo Bruk luggage that I’ve decided Major should share.

Here’s what I’ve packed into it for my trip to New York this week: Marlies Dekkers panties, silk jersey tank dresses, bespoke linen shirt dresses, Donna Karan Collection snakeskin sandals, an Hermès Kelly Danse, a bottle of L’Artisan Parfumeur Tubereuse, an iPad and keyboard dock, and a few dog biscuits for Major (live chickens don’t travel well)…

I’ve a thing for classic hardcase luggage — it romanticizes an era when the journey was supposed to be as glamorous as the destination.

I usually carry-on Alstermo Bruk, handcrafted Swedish luggage that’s similar to Globe-Trotter — it’s essentially a fancy, empty, expensive cardboard box.

But I’ve always loved Rimowa, which has more function and as much form as Alstermo and Globe-Trotter. German goods store Manufactum collab’ed with Rimowa on a special-edition “Topas” suitcase that revives details from the original 1950′s “Topas” suitcases: handles made of cowhide, polished corner reinforcements, and black Rimowa-branded lining…

I hardly romanticize life before electronic mail, the flying bus, the horseless carriage.

But there’s something romantic about a train ride, about a process of traveling outside of carefully placing your Giuseppes in a security tray, a journey that includes holding on to private packages like this  Manufactum cardboard hat box.

Hugging a hatbox on a train is so seductively innocent.

Espesh if you stash your Marlies Dekkers panties in it…

I take my Alstermo Bruk luggage everywhere, and people love the leather-trimmed retro trunk. A lady I just met at a photography show asked me if I had an orange suitcase — she’d noticed me in JFK airport seasons ago.

But as glam as hand-crafted, hard-case luggage is, you know what? Whether it’s James Bond’s Globetrotter attache or the Swedish royal family’s Alstermo luggage, it’s really just a fancy cardboard box.

Which I dig.

So I ordered this Manufactum cardboard attache, a Czech-made briefcase that cost less than Globetrotter’s four figures and Alstermo’s three. For fifty bucks, it’s the perfect home for the Hackintosh netbook I bought off Craigslist, and a spare silk jersey tank dress. What else do you really need…

Wanting.

I love that sapphire blue of this Alstermo Bruk attache. Only issue? It’s basically a box lined in linen, so I’m not sure how my MacBook would do in there…

Using.

I finally got my Alstermo Bruk cabin case. Alstermo Bruk began before Globe Trotter luxury luggage and it’s got the same vibe, for a third of the price: handcrafted, ultra-light elegance. Alstermo Bruk’s AMO-fiber^®, the patented material their luggage is made out of, is better than I thought: it’s got a subtle, snakeskinny texture…

Hating.

Cute briefcase, but Alstermo Bruk’s best work is in their AMO-fiber^®… ]]> http://www.kristopherdukes.com/2009/03/13/alstermo-bruk-luggage-k-is/feed 0 http://www.kristopherdukes.com/2009/02/12/alstermo-bruk-k-is http://www.kristopherdukes.com/2009/02/12/alstermo-bruk-k-is#comments Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:31:57 +0000 Kristopher http://www.kristopherdukes.com/?p=1894

Wanting.

Alstermo Bruk handmakes luggage like luxury travel gear Globe Trotter — for less than half the price. Alstermo Bruk is hardly a knock-off, though: the Swedish company has been making their patented gear since 1804 (that’s 93 years pre-Globe Trotter, and 200+ years pre-Globe Trotter at J Crew)….

Using.

Perfect for stashing makeup on the bathroom counter…

Hating.

Alstermo Bruk’s appeal is in their function-meets-form elegance, not a nutty pattern…

Wanting.

When I visited the Porsche store at Two Rodeo, the publicists schooled me that all the gear was designed in house: even the pens aren’t licensed. And when you feel product like this Porsche PTS luggage, you can tell.

I love the elegance of economy in Porsche design, and when your 69-year-old, billionaire boyfriend buys you a Turbo, you’ll find out how Porsche luggage perfectly fits into the cars…

Using.

That Porsche “Carfit” luggage wheels have Carrera rims is a little cheese. But I love that ultra basic ballistic nylon, the lightness, and–

That Porsche luggage is a great ice breaker with Korean businessmen when you’re laid over in Seoul…

Hating.

Somehow that airbrushed Porsche duffle doesn’t match the minimalist Porsche design I’m drawn to… ]]> http://www.kristopherdukes.com/2008/12/19/porsche-luggage-k-is/feed 1 http://www.kristopherdukes.com/2008/09/23/luggage-k-is http://www.kristopherdukes.com/2008/09/23/luggage-k-is#comments Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:32:41 +0000 Kristopher http://www.kristopherdukes.com/?p=1259

Wanting.

If I owned more jewelry than a cameo my gramma gave me, a beautiful Teslar watch, a “K” necklace, and a medical alert bracelet, I’d have ordered this…

Wearing.

Or “dragging onto the flying bus.” I stuffed a MacBook Pro, The Bonfire of Vanities, iPhone, NARS powder, and a small third-world adoptee into this…

Hating.

This bag begs, “Steal me.” Unless you’re a dude looking to get laid by a Russian model, why would you pay thousands of dollars to be inconvenienced… ]]> http://www.kristopherdukes.com/2008/09/23/luggage-k-is/feed 3