L.L. Bean is your new plug for Balenciaga on a budget — sort of.
A good citizen by the name of Paul McCallion alerted the Twittersphere that L.L. Bean's custom embroidery services allow shoppers to get "literally whatever" emblazoned on products including backpacks and totes.
McCallion ordered the Deluxe Bookpack IV — a $50 Bean grail — with "BALENCIAGA" embroidered in serif, all-caps lettering.
Further digging on L.L. Bean's website reveals that duplicating McCallion's bag is as easy as a few clicks.
Accessories such as bags can accommodate up to ten characters of your choosing (Balenciaga just fits). Shoppers can choose to get their word or name rendered in fonts including block letters, script, and classic Times New Roman.
Color options are also plentiful, covering ROYGBIV on all fronts.
After perusing L.L. Bean's dedicated webpage on monogramming, it seems the company doesn't restrict what words can be selected (That isn't to say the brand would let anything offensive or derogatory fly).
For special requests such extended character counts or special capitalization, shoppers must call L.L. Bean's customer service line.
In fact, Coveteur re-'grammed a photo of someone carrying what appears to be an L.L. Bean tote branded with "psycho."
While McCallion's discovery is funnier than it is practical, it leaves the door wide open for other branding riffs. How about "Prada" by L.L. Bean? Or "Gucci," which one Twitter user by the handle @ginnpope already copped?
If L.L. Bean and Balenciaga have any sense of humor, they'd capitalize on McCallion's semi-viral tweet and link up for an official collab. Make it happen, Demna.
