This Louis Vuitton mouse can be yours for a paltry $300 US. And what, you may ask, do you get for your three Bennies? Not much, aside from the disbelieving stares of your more reasonable friends. In true Louis Vuitton fashion — where form usurps function rather than follows it — this is nothing more than a $5 mouse with the Louis Vuitton name. It has no scroll wheel, a boring design and a frosted plastic body that looks about as robust as a tissue paper anvil. Oh, and it’s not even USB — that’s right — it’s a PS/2 ball mouse.

I was in a Louis Vuitton store in Manhattan a few years ago, and I saw a $15,000 steamer trunk for sale. Despite what the price suggests, it was not encrusted with diamonds or filled with gold dubloons. The only thing it was encrusted with was the god-awful green and gold LV logo. I’ve noticed that use of the word “encrusted” is limited to two categories: things covered in precious jewels and things covered in barnacles. I think that it also works well with the LV logo, but its connotation varies depending on whether you’re a LV customer or a sane person.

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