Chanel chat thread

[AprillaCourt]

As some of us really enjoyed talking about Chanel on my white bag thread I thought I'd start a Chanel chat thread here 🙂

I'm a lover of all things Chanel - the history of the brand, the life of Gabrielle Chanel herself, & of course the products. It would be great to have like minded others to share our knowledge & wares with 🙂

@highfidelity
@Snowite
@schmalex

I'm nametagging you as (I think) you said you'd like a chat thread/were very much involved in my white bag thread!

If anyone hasn't seen it, Justine Picardie's book on the life & work of Gabrielle Chanel is fantastic. This is a good link to learn a little bit more: www.chanel.com/gb/fashion/news/2011/03/la-vie-de-mademoiselle-une-biographie-par-justine-picardie.html

All welcome 🙂

These are most of my collection bought around 10 years ago. Probably all out my price range now, so pleased that I have them. I think I paid around £1,400 for the single black caviar flap, my first purchase back in 2013 in Heathrow T5.

Hi, very well. TBH i dont wear it often,but it was so different from everything else i really fancied it. I used to have a gst with gold hardware i used everyday, but now i have started to use my smaller Hermes bags daily. I love the gst,but like a bag i can use across my body for daily use atm.

Thanks MummyJ12. I too have a few necklaces and belts. My favourite necklace is one with a matryoshka doll on it. great fun to wear.
This gypsiere is my current favourite hermes, it goes with everything and i love it for everyday use.

What's a double flap?

I have had them out of their dust bags for a couple of weeks since gave some close friends a tour of our new house. I really need to put the dust bags back on but other than that they’ll stay there. I always store my bags upright as I made the mistake of laying my lambskin bag flat (all nicely packed in its bag and box) only to find it was starting to crease and wrinkle! 😱 so now I make absolutely sure those babies are stood up!! 😆xx

Love this too 💕you have impeccable taste in bags! X

Thank you! Yes, I completely agree the 12A and the 10C are absolutely legendary! Definitely my favourites. X

loving this thread!! 💗

It’s a classic flap with an inner flap as well as outer. You don’t get 2.55 single flaps (I don’t think…..?!) but the classic flap has had versions of the single. They are lighter but don’t have a full front pocket in addition to the full interior. The eyelets for the straps give away whether it’s a single or double flap as they are lined up across the length of the bag instead of the depth of the bag if that makes sense?! They were more popular in the USA x

I’ll try and explain with these photos about single and double flap….!

single flap….

Double flap….

Beautiful @RockingAmadeus especially the last one - I'm coveting that <green eyes> 😀

@moonspiral This might help to explain - the double flap (the first photo) literally has an inner flap that you lift, the single flap (the second photo) doesn't.

The double flap was one of Coco's innovative designs. There's a zip pocket on the inside of the outer flap where - legend has it - she kept her love letters. Those bags have far more leather, are more labour intensive to produce & thus more expensive - about double the price I paid for my white Mini on Tues.

@MummyJ12 They do make single flap 2.55s - my new white Mini is one 🙂

@MummyJ12 I store mine in the original dust bags in the original boxes, resting vertically so the bag is effectively stood up inside the box! I put tissue paper between strap & leather too to prevent imprinting. The SLGs & scarves are in their pouches/tissue/original boxes.

I've never treated my leather, just used the cloth provided.

@AdoraBell & @VooVooV I will get on with photos but it may be the weekend before it happens. Despite wishing to be a Chanel-clad lady that lunches it appears my work & children may require some attention which is very irritating when I just want to chat Chanel & play with my new purchases 😀

How do the shoes fit? I’m so tempted to get a pair of the ballet flats but don’t want the embarrassment of having wide feet that don’t fit and the sadness of coming home without a pair!

All minis are single flap @AprillaCourt whether they’re 2.55 or classic because of the size 😊
I may have been remiss in my previous post not to say this!! 🤦🏻‍♀️xx

What a fab idea for a thread. There are some lovely bags on here.

I have a 2.55 in black which It’s not a terribly practical bag as I can’t fit much in it. It’s pushing it to get my purse and iPhone in never mind anything else. I got mine as a gift about 15 years ago. I know there was a bit of a wait until they came into stock and it seemed very expensive at the time. The one with the double C clasp (is that the Classic flap?) was the more popular choice then but when I saw the 2.55 in the boutique and heard the history of it I decided that was the one for me.

It’s a medium size one, I should have said, so from the outside it looks like it’s a reasonable size.

Then you have the East West flap which is a whole other story! And the Easy flap…..!

Ah, Chanel. I have the most painful story to share.

My parents came to the UK in the early 1980s. My mum bought several Chanel quilted bags and one of my earliest childhood memories actually involves being in a Chanel store with the bags on display whilst my mum looked at them. Clearly as a young child I recognised what they were!

Except my mum didn’t know what Chanel was. She just thought they were pretty good quality bags. So in the mid 90s, as a family friend was heading back to their home country, she packed a huge suitcase of all her old clothes and bags to give to her sister and sisters in law, which included all of my mum’s Chanel bags.

Chanel wasn’t even known there so gradually they all disappeared (binned after being worn out a little, etc).

I look at old photos of my mum with her bags and can’t help but weep that I could have had a decent selection of vintage Chanel bags!

Thank you @AprillaCourt your bags are also beautiful. Absolutely loving this thread, so many fabulous bags!

@MummyJ12 I have the aged calf skin ballet flats and I'd say they are a quite narrow shoe. But the leather is soft so would offer some flex.

Size wise absolutely spot on to my typical shoe size. I've had mine over 10yrs now and still look good as new. I used to wear them every day for work so have definitely been well worn (and loved)

Sorry that was for @Martinisarebetterdirty re the shoes.

Oh my goodness. My heart is literally breaking for you…..what a waste! What a loss! I really don’t think Chanel was truly appreciated as an household brand until the 90’s-00’s even though it was becoming increasingly popular in the 80’s.

Ah you mean they don't do a single flap in 2.55 in small or above? That makes sense now 👍🏻 😀