Alexandra Leclerc's Bag: Wedding Keepsakes, Mexican Candy, and a Dog-Hair Roller
VOGUE JAPAN
In Vogue Japan's "In The Bag" series, model Alexandra Leclerc, who is married to Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc, empties a summer bag and explains each item. Leclerc says they usually carry very little. The contents turn out to be mostly personal: gifts, wedding mementos, childhood objects, and things for their dog, Leo, with only a few everyday products.
A Tiny-Bag Person With a Lot Inside
The bag for the video is a Jacquemus piece that Leclerc calls one of their favorites. They like it because it feels summery and because of its material. They say they normally carry much smaller bags, the "very unpractical" kind that "can't carry anything," but they always manage to fit a lot into even the tiniest ones. The day-to-day essentials are short: a hairbrush, a lip balm, a small snack, and a little notebook. Everything else in the video goes beyond that baseline.
Near the end, while pulling out yet another set of objects, Leclerc jokes that they like to carry only "the bare minimum," then adds, "Clearly."
Mini Mannequins From the Engagement Night
The first item is a gift from a friend: small mannequins dressed in the outfits Leclerc and Charles wore on their engagement night. The friend had made the same kind of figures of their own wedding gowns, then gave this pair to the couple during a visit to Abu Dhabi. Leclerc says the evening mattered because it was the first night they spent in their new apartment after moving in. The couple liked the idea enough that they want to have another set made showing their wedding gown and wedding suit.
Mexican Candies and a Family Connection
Leclerc always carries a few Mexican snacks: Pelon Pelo Rico and Fritos Sal y Limón. Their mother bought these for them on a trip to Mexico when Leclerc was about 10. The candies were the mother's own childhood sweets, since she was born in Mexico. Leclerc now buys a supply every year on the family's trip there, enough to last the year, and says the Fritos go well with guacamole or almost anything.
Leclerc calls the flavor "definitely a funny taste." In their words, it is not the typical sweet people are used to "maybe here in Europe," and it is a bit spicier.
A Camera That Goes Everywhere
Next comes the camera Leclerc uses for "literally all" the photos on their main account and on a separate art account. It goes with them to museums, to events, and everywhere else, and they call it "the best one" in their opinion. They say they photograph anything aesthetic or colorful, such as paintings and views, with sunsets as a particular favorite.
The only beauty products in the video come right after: eye patches and a blush. Leclerc says they "can't live without" these and always carry them.
Wedding Place Card With Leo's Face
One item Leclerc calls "quite special" is a name card from the table at their civil wedding. It was the first time their new full name had been written out. Each guest's card carried a small stamp of their dog Leo's face. Leclerc describes the wedding as family only and says everyone had "the best time" and that the weather turned out well.
Life With Leo: Lint Roller and Chewed Toys
Leclerc calls Leo their "little blond dog" and says his one flaw is how much hair he sheds. For the past two years they have carried a lint roller constantly. Because Leo is blond, the hair shows on black clothes, which Leclerc says they "don't [wear] anymore honestly." Leo travels with the couple most of the time. Leclerc explains that it would be sad to get a dog and leave him waiting at home all day, so they bring him whenever they can.
Two of Leo's favorite toys are in the bag. One is a small bag-of-chips toy bought in Paris, which he goes "crazy for" because of its noise and the little chips that come out of it. The other is a mini shell. Leclerc says the one in the bag was freshly unboxed because the previous one was destroyed at home. About Leo chewing on "a mini him," they say they don't think Charles minds: "whatever makes him happy."
The 4 p.m. Snack From a Friend's Shop
Leclerc always keeps an afternoon snack in the bag: a small confetti mini cake. They describe themselves as having "the sweetest tooth" and being obsessed with anything sugary, especially cakes. The cake comes from a shop a friend recently opened in Monaco, which Leclerc says means they now have cakes at home every day.
A Photo With Their Mother
Leclerc carries a small photo of themselves as a very young child with their mother. They don't know how old they were in it but like it for the little tongue sticking out. They explain that because they move around so much now, they see their mother somewhat less, so they keep the picture close.
Notebooks, and Pens From a Hotel
Leclerc buys a small notebook in every place they travel and keeps several on them at all times. Butterfly covers are an instant buy, though lately they've been drawn to other prints. The pink notebook came from a shop in Florence, found with their mother. Leclerc recently discovered the same shop also has a location in Venice and says they could spend hours in it.
Leclerc admits that the notebooks mostly stay empty. They are too pretty to "dare" write in, so apart from a few, they end up carried around unused.
The pens come from one specific hotel, Leclerc's favorite, which they take from the room on every stay because they love how the pens write. They won't name the hotel, saying it "might never invite me again," and admit to being a bit embarrassed. They present it as part of the same habit: buy a notebook, take a pen to go with it.
A Childhood Tiger and a Painting From Montmartre
A stuffed tiger that Leclerc has had since babyhood is also in the bag. They say its name without knowing where the name came from; the name isn't clear in the transcript. Leclerc says they have always been a gentle person and took good care of the tiger, washing it and never pulling at it. It stayed intact until Leo ate its nose, which Leclerc calls "the only hard time he knew."
A small painting comes from a recent trip to Paris. In Montmartre, Leclerc bought it from a woman selling her own work. After the sale she told them it wasn't dry yet and would need about a week. Leclerc had to carry it home by hand but says it was worth it.
Hair Clips
Leclerc can't pass up hair clips with a fun shape, such as shiny little flowers, cherries, or anything shaped like a sausage dog. In practice, they say, they use the same clip every time. The others are bought simply because they have to have them when they see them.
Protective Charms
Leclerc keeps a small lucky-charm bracelet that they believe a friend gave them from Turkey, and they wear it constantly. When it comes off, they carry a red string against the evil eye. They say it is "not very glamorous" and that people often ask them to remove it on shoots and at events. Sometimes they do, but mostly they try to keep it on. Leclerc explains that they believe in energies in general and like protecting themselves with these small things. They gave Charles a matching one and say it reassures them.
Earphones
Leclerc says they went back to a particular pair of earphones after seeing many people wearing them, admitting to being "very easily influenceable." The practical appeal is that they don't need charging.
The Carousel Collection
The final items, which Leclerc says they brought specially so viewers could see them, are a collection of miniature carousels. They say they're struggling to find more in the exact style they like best. The collection probably started with one their mother bought, and Leclerc kept adding to it. They used to collect small dolphin statues too but stopped long ago. The carousels stayed because they look good at home, where they sit in the middle of the couple's dressing room among the clothes. Leclerc calls this setup "very girly."
Each carousel is tied to a moment. One is very recent, one was bought for the wedding, and the first one, which started the collection, is also the prettiest. Leclerc says they value both the memories and who gave each piece. Most came from their mother, but now that Charles knows about the collection, Leclerc says he "needs to buy me one in the next few years."
Hi folks, this is Alexandra Leclerc, and this is what's in my bag.
This is one of my favorite bags. It's from Jacquemus. It's very summery. I really like the material of it. My bags are usually way smaller. I love really tiny bags. The ones that are very unpractical and can't carry anything. I usually really like these, but I always manage to fit a lot of things in the tiniest bags. So, you'll see even in this one I managed to fit a lot of things. My essentials will probably be just a hairbrush, a lip balm, a little snack, a little notebook, and then all the stuff that we're going to see.
So, this is a gift that a friend got for us, and they're actually mini mannequins. They're dressed in the clothes that we're wearing for our engagement night. Our friend actually did this for their own wedding gowns, and so they gifted it to us when we went to see them in Abu Dhabi, and it was just a very special night because it was the first night that we spent in the new apartment when we moved in. It was just a really thoughtful gift. We really like the idea, and we actually want to get some made for wedding gowns and wedding suit.
The next item that I always have with me are these little Mexican candies. They're Pelon Pelo Rico and Fritos Sal y Limon, which I love. My mom bought them for me when we went to Mexico when I was maybe 10, and I'm obsessed with them. So, every year when we go I buy some of it and I just stock up for the year. And these are amazing with guacamole or with anything. I just favorite. I found out about these through my mom cuz these are her childhood candies cuz she's actually born there. It's definitely a funny taste. It's not your typical sweets like we're used to, I would say maybe here in Europe. It's a little bit spicier in a way. It's really nice.
The next item is my camera that I use all the time for literally all my pictures that you'll see me post on my main account but also on my art account. If I go to a museum I'll take this with me. If I go to an event I'll take this with me. It just really goes with me everywhere and it's the best one in my opinion. I take a lot of pictures. Anything that's a bit aesthetic, anything that's colorful, a painting, a view. I really love a really nice sunset. I just really take pictures of everything.
The next items are my eye patches and my Rhode blush. I just can't live without these products so I always carry them with me.
My next object is something quite special because it's from our wedding table, civil wedding table. That's when they wrote my new full name for the first time and it's with this little Leo stamp that we put on everyone's name so it's Leo's face here. We had a really beautiful day. The wedding was so special. It was just our families and we had the best time. We got really lucky with the weather as well. We're really happy.
Something very important for me now that we have Leo. Leo's my little blond dog. He's the cutest thing. He's so sweet but he loses a lot of hair. That's his one flaw. So for the past two years I've been using this non-stop and he's blond so whenever I wear anything that's black, which I don't do anymore honestly, I just take this with me and I just have to roll everything cuz I'm full of hair all the time. He does travel with us everywhere. We bring him most of the time whenever we can because it would be sad to get a dog and for him to be waiting at home all day so we just try to bring him along with us as much as we can.
The next item is his favorite toys. So this little bag of chips that I got from Paris and this mini Charles that he really likes. This one specifically for the noise and for this little chips that comes out. He just goes crazy for this. This is new and I opened it from its box because the other one is destroyed at home. I don't think Charles minds that he's chewing on a mini him. It's whatever makes him happy, you know.
The next item is my little 4:00 p.m. snack, which I always keep in my bag. It's this little confetti mini cake, which I have a soft spot for. It's the best, and I always have it in my bag with me. I have the sweetest tooth. Anything that's sugar, cakes, I'm just obsessed with it, and this is actually my friend's shop from Monaco. She opened it recently, and so now I have cakes every day at home. It's the best thing.
The next item is an object that you've probably never seen before. It's a little picture of me and my mom from when I was very small. I don't know how old I was here, but it's a very cute picture. I love this picture with my little tongue out. I think it's very cute. Moving around so much now, we see each other a little bit less, but it's very sweet. I always keep it next to me. And I carry it in my bag, obviously.
Something that I get every single time that I will travel somewhere, every single place I go, I just bring a little notebook with me. I'm obsessed with them, and I have a few of them that I keep with me at all times. So this is what's in my bag. Little notebooks. If they have butterflies on them, I'll just instantly get it. But lately, I've been loving these types of prints. That pink one I got in Florence with my mom. There's this little shop that's there, and it's also in Venice, that I found recently, and I can spend hours in that store. It's very very cute. And then the worst thing is I have all these notebooks, and then I don't really dare to open and write on them because they're so pretty. I don't want to ruin them. I use a few, but then mostly I tell myself I'm going to keep them, and then they just end up in my bag like this, mostly empty.
And to go with all these notebooks that I have to find a purpose for, I have all these pens that I steal from one specific hotel whenever I go because it's my favorite. I just love the way it writes and I can't say from which hotel cuz they might never invite me again, but every single time I'm in the room I will steal them. I'm a bit embarrassed about it, but it goes really well with my little addiction, you know, I buy a little notebook and then I steal a pen so it's to go with each one of them.
The next item is a childhood memory. So this is my little teddy bear that was a tiger that I have since I was a baby and I really like it. Leo ate his nose but until then he was really still perfect and intact. His name is which I don't know how it came about but that's his name. I think I've just always been quite soft as a person so I just really took care of him. I would wash him. I never pulled on anything so yeah, the only hard time he knew was Leo eating his nose but until then he was in really great shape.
The next item is a little painting that I got in my recent travel to Paris. I was traveling in Montmartre and there was this little lady that was selling paintings that she was making but she sold it to me and then she told me it wasn't dry yet and it would take a week to dry. So I had to travel back with it in my hand but it was worth it cuz it's very very cute and I carried it in my bag all the time.
All these little hair clips, I love them. Whenever I see them I need to buy them if they have a funny shape and then I will always use the same one, so this is the one that I actually use but the rest I just have to get them when I see them. Maybe they have like little shiny little flowers, little cherries, anything that is sausage dog shaped I just have to buy. I don't think I like to take a lot of things with me. I think I just really take the bare minimum with me. Clearly.
Next, we have a little lucky charm. That's a little bracelet that I keep on me. It's this one. It was gifted to me, I think it was from Turkey, by a friend, and I just really use it all the time. And when I take it off, I always have this one with me, which is a red string for the evil eye, as well. Which is not very glamorous, and people don't like me wearing it on shoots and during events, and they always ask me to take it off. And sometimes I do. Most of the times I try to keep it with me. But I just believe in energies in general, so I just like to protect myself with these little things. And I also gave this one to my husband, so he has the same. And it just reassures me.
My pair of earphones, which I take with me everywhere. I went back to these ones. I've just seen them on a lot of people, and I'm very easily influenceable, so that's why I have them in my bag. And you don't have to charge them.
And lastly, the items that I always carry with me in my bag are my little collection of carousels that I had to take with me because I really wanted you to see it. It's my all-time favorite. I'm struggling to find other ones that are similar to this exact style, because it's my favorite. My mom probably bought me one, and then I just started buying more, and now I have this little collection that I carry in my purse every day. I used to collect little dolphin statues as well, but this I stopped a long time ago, and I just stuck to these ones, cuz they actually look very cute in the house. So, they're in our dressing room with our clothes, and you just have these little carousels in the middle. It's very girly.
And they also remind me of a moment in my life when I got them. So, this was very recent. This I got for our wedding. And then this one was the first one that started my collection, and also the prettiest one. They have like cute memories attached to it, which I really like. And also who gifted them to you, you know? Mostly they're from my mom, but Charles also knows now that I do this collection, so he needs to buy me one in the next few years.
Thank you so much, Vogue. I was very happy to show you everything that I carry with me at all times. See you soon.
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