Vintage Love: Gucci Top Handle Bag

I think it was in the early to mid-nineties when my mom clipped a Gucci ad of a top handle bag and showed it to me. It was very lovely -- from the rich and warm caramel brown tone of the leather to the impeccable craftsmanship. It was also very, very, very, and if I might add, VERY EXPENSIVE. How she wanted to buy it for me, or at the very least, I get to buy it for myself. But much as I love bags, when you spend so much time thinking long and hard when considering buying, say, an Esprit bag, Gucci bags, or any other luxurious bags, are definitely out of the question. 

So years passed. I kept that clipping in my stash. For years.

Then we moved here in Dumaguete in 2011. One day, I took one last look at the old Gucci ad and threw it away, along with my other clippings and stuff.

Then November 2011 came. I visited a popular flea market here, Aly Mae. And there, among other bags, standing out from the rest, is the Gucci bag I coveted. Complete with the shoulder strap and the hangtag, but in black. The lining was sticky because of the paint, but nothing I can't repair. When I asked the tindera for the price, I thought she'd quote something close to a thousand, and I was prepared to get it, if only for my mom to know that I, we, finally have the bag, but she gave it for LESS THAN 100 PESOS! I very nearly fainted. I paid immediately, lest the tindera changes her mind. 

See? Dreams DO come true.

Vintage Love: Canonet G-III QL17

From Wikipedia: "The Canonet G-III QL17 is a coupled-rangefinder, leaf-shuttered, fixed-focal-length 35 mm camera first manufactured by Canon in 1972. It features fully shutter-priority automatic exposure and fully manual shooting modes.  The Canonet G-III is the third generation of Canonet, following the original Canonet and the New Canonet. The G-III features a 40 mm f/1.7 with six elements in four groups. The integrated lightmeter provides shutter priority and manual modes. The sensor is located on the forward part of the lens, which allows use of filters without manual compensation of exposure. The Canonet can use standard flashes, or the Canonlite D which was custom-designed for the Canonet."

TL;DR :) You'd be better off with this review, which described it as a "poor man's Leica." "Give Canon some well-deserved credit for producing such a nicely executed and finished camera for those poor, unfortunate slobs who just didn’t have the cash for your Leica, the impoverished dears...." (Do read the entire thing. It's a good piece.) 

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Got this from a flea market for PHP50 (~USD1.15). Seriously.

It's working fine, except for the light seal, which has already deteriorated (I will just DIY this, crossing my fingers), and the exposure meter, which is powered by a PX625 mercury battery, which is now discontinued. My fingers are itching to remove the grain-like black leatherette and replace it with pink leather, but it seems like a travesty.