5.17.2011

a change of heart


in light of the blogger meltdown, last week was a nice week to take a break from blogging. i have some news to update here - and it does seem like a lot has changed since i last posted!

so those of you who read my blog regularly may remember that about two months ago, i splurged on a vintage Chanel classic flap, my holy grail bag after several years of wishlisting and saving for it...

after i got it, i wore it pretty regularly for a few weeks, and did a few style posts about it here as well. however, i noticed that i just could not bring myself to get past the stage of 'babying' it. even though the lambskin leather on the vintage jumbos is a lot more durable than the current ones, i was always slightly too-careful when i was wearing it out. also, as it turns out, the large CCs made me rather self-conscious. so, last week, after much mulling, i sold it.

since i am not a fan of the current classic flaps, i am now newly obsessed with the 2.55 reissue in distressed calfskin. the way Daria is wearing it in these photos epitomizes the kind of stylish ease of the Chanel flap bag that was just missing in my vintage classic flap.

the ever-chic lin and S are also fans. sigh...this is such a bad time to be in the market to buy one, as the much-ballyhooed price increases have just made both the classics and the 2.55 reissues go up another egregious 20% (!!). oh well. patience and more research and ebay stalking for now...

there is quite a bit of trial and error and some fickleness with shopping, of course, but for me to shell out so much for a Chanel bag, i have to be 150% satisfied with such an investment purchase.

have you ever changed your mind after a big-ticket purchase?

24 comments:

  1. omg, those pictures are so gorgeous! I think this is exactly what scares me about big ticket purchases ... that in the end I will change my mind. Even if you have patience and wait and save ... sometimes I feel like I have to live with an item for a while to really know if I love it. Which can be a costly process! Meanwhile, my stepmom keeps going to Chanel boutiques and sending me pictures of the reissue ... making me drool over and over. But the price, yikes!! It's just so scary if you even think you might change your mind. I guess the only good thing is that resale values are so strong.

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  2. I prefer the 2.55 reissue as well. It's on my ultimate wish list of things to buy some day if I can afford it and/or if I have the guts to spend that kind of money. It's very understated and thus much more elegant to me than having the big C's making a statement that this is a Chanel bag.

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  3. yes for a big ticket purchase it has to be the "it" bag for you. I'm glad you went with your heart, instead of letting the chanel bag being chanel hinder your decision

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  4. S: oy, indeed! that is the risk we take...but yes thankfully Chanel bags be they vintage or current still keep their value quite well on the resale market. so not much of a loss for me. i suppose it's as if i just 'leased' the vintage Chanel for the past 2 months! :P anyway, i find it hilarious that your stepmom is such an enabler!! she should start her own blog and we can all go and ogle her wishlist items/purchases! i'm less freaked out about the high price tag of items like Chanel bags because i have some experience from 2 years of wardrobe selling. it makes the idea of possibly having to get rid of a mistaken purchase a bit less scary...

    Pret a Porter P: yeah, i still really like the boxier shape and flap of the vintage Chanel classic flaps, but the lambskin leather and the CC is really not for me. onward to the 2.55 reissue!

    Anon: it totally is - i realized that the 2.55 reissue really is IT for me when i tried on a display bag in the store. and the mademoiselle lock is gorgeous.

    Nanashi: yeah...in the interest of staying true to the edited wardrobe, i had to sell it. in an ideal world i guess i could keep the vintage and get the 2.55, but that's just way too extravagent given reality!

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  5. Hi, I have read your blog for ages but never commented and I just have to now as I can really identify with your experience. I saved up for a Chanel 2.55 reissue in 2007, those pictures with Daria carrying the bag really helped keep me motivated. When I went to the Chanel store in Paris they didn't have the one I wanted (black or navy distressed calfskin with silver hardware), so I ended up buying one of the flap bags with the interlocking c's. Like you I never felt very comfortable carrying it, it just felt a bit wrong. So I sold it last December and got back what I paid, thanks to the price increases on the new bags also meaning the resale prices went up...and I am still kind of craving the 2.55 reissue, but now there are other bags I'm considering (the SC for LV bag and several ones from Celine). Do you think you might eventually get the 2.55 reissue?

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  6. Alex: thanks for commenting and please do offer your thoughts more often! :)

    i'm glad i'm not the only one with this experience! one of the reasons why i got the vintage classic flap was because i was quite put off by the price of Chanel these days. but i realized that the 2.55 is both more laidback and still more elegant than the classic flap. you can't beat the original design, really. i really do want to get the 2.55 reissue now - they're harder to come by (i suppose most people who have them don't want to part with them!) and i really don't want to wait too much longer when the price goes even higher!

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  7. I agree completely about the price, it has gone up sooo much since I originally saved for it. The thing about the 2.55 reissue is that it goes with my most casual clothes (skinny jeans and converse) without looking like I am trying to elevate the outfit just by carrying an expensive bag..it just blends in, and its perfect as an evening bag. I do see it come up on ebay from time to time, and not for as much as it retails for..

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  8. miss sophie, that's hilarious, "leased" your chanel! omg, my stepmom is the *worst* enabler ever. she keeps saying, you should just buy it, you only live once, you deserve it, you need it before you have another baby, etc etc :)

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  9. I totally relate to the feeling of having to "baby" an expensive item. I tried to get over this with my bayswater, and ended up snapping the latch off- this didn't help my fear of wrecking things! I can't say I've changed my mind on it, but that is a huge fear of mine when it comes to planning future purchases. Good luck with your decision, it's certainly a difficult one. Personally, I don't really have the longing to own a Chanel bag as a lot of others do- I'm not big on the chain strap. xx

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  10. Wow - that's quite a big decision. Good for you :) I hate babying bags - leather is such a durable material after all. And increasingly I prefer bags that age well, developing a lovely patina over time, bruises et al.

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  11. That's such a beautiful bag. Good thing the resale values are strong. Just like S, I don't want to end up disappointed after a big purchase like that. Saving up for years, and then it's not what you expected. I have to see the SC for LV bag in person before I decide on whether I should save up for it or not.

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  12. Big purchases scare me - I recently bought my first (relatively) expensive pair of shoes and they simply refuse to break in and become comfy. You never know how you're going to feel (or how they will feel!).

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  13. I don't think I need to go into the virtues of the reissue, haha, but I'm glad you didn't make too big a loss selling off your bag! And I think it's good you made a decisive decision as well. I was silly not to buy the reissue when I saved up for it a few years ago, now it's so expensive! But I don't really spend much on other items in my closet so if I'm really motivated, and the right colour comes along, I might take the plunge.

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  14. Alex: i know! that's precisely what made me realize the 2.55 is the one. it's funny that the classic flap and the 2.55 both exist in the collection, as they really could not be more different. i'm crossing my fingers that it will pop up on ebay or another luxury re-sale shop soon...but in many cases those prices aren't much lower than retail. i may have to buy it at Chanel for peace of mind :/

    S: lol - she does have a point, at least about certain very special items! :) is she a big collector of Chanel?

    asha: thanks! don't worry, it is annoying but i am also reminded by my boyfriend that this is one of those FWP (First World Problems)...which Chanel bag to buy? hehe. i always end up figuring out a way to get what i want after i decide on it, so i'm just a little bit impatient with waiting for right right moment. did you ever get your bays clasp fixed? actually i think the bays would take a beating well - especially the black leather one! but having to baby an expensive bag totally ruins the pleasure of owning it.

    Ammu: i know! i actually got a 'vintage' balenciaga city in chevre (goatskin, before Balenciaga switched over to lambskin for all their bags) and it has aged beautifully with gorgeous distressing. and i treat it like any normal thing. it has fast become one of my favorites.

    Garderoben: sigh, this happens sometimes! thank goodness that we have recourse to ebay and online re-selling these days. back in the days before internet, it must have been even *more* scary to plunk down big $$$ for a luxury item! and i can email you about my thoughts on the SC bag...it's quite gorgeous :)

    Kate: ah, shoes are tricky! which ones did you get? i had a pair of Louboutins that fit perfectly in the store, but after wearing it a few times i realized they were half a size too small for me (and i don't even have wide feet!). sold them as well...

    lin: i know, it's terrible! i think the luckiest people were the ones who bought their Chanel bags in the 90s and 2005 when the reissue came out. it's painful to pay so much for something any time, but it sounds like you've been committed to getting it for long enough! :)

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  15. Oh, please send me your thought on the SC bag! I know, I sell a lot on ebay too, and it definitely less scary to buy expensive things now. I just noticed a used meduim reissue on a Swedish site for 4000 SEK ($600). I have no idea what they usually sell for, just wanted to let you know: http://www.blocket.se/stockholm/Original_CHANEL_REISSUE_LV_armband_mm_33608052.htm?ca=11

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  16. Garderoben: i'll email you later tonight about the SC :) thanks for sending the link! i went to the listing for the medium reissue, and that's a *really* low price for pre-owned Chanel! i'm also a total cynic when it comes to scoping out listings for pre-owned luxury bags...i think the ideal size for me is the 227 size in the reissue. we'll see - hopefully i'll find mine before they jack up the prices...

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  17. Hi miss sophie, I am a firm believer in following one's own heart. It's a tough decision but at the end of the day, what really matters is your own satisfaction.

    Hope you'll get THE one soon. <3

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  18. I'm sorry to hear that the bag didn't work out for you. But like others have said, it's good that you went with your heart and decided to sell it. It must have been a difficult decision!

    I love the 2.55 reissue. If you decide to go for it, I think you'll get a lot of use out of it. Unlike a lot of Chanel pieces, the 2.55 is so subtle, yet obviously Chanel.

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  19. I bought a Chanel jumbo a few years back. I thought I was obsessed with it. Then I started feeling so self conscious about the bag. I thought it was a shiny symbol that showed that I was a flashy consumer. I decided to sell and got a small vintage classic flap. I love my classic flap but barely wear it as I feel it's a bit too glamorous for both my look and my lifestyle. I am debating whether to sell!

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  20. jennifer: i know - although with the prices of chanel these days (and there's no vintage version of 2.55, sadly), i may just end up saving up some more for a vintage hermes instead!

    RA: i completely understand! which smaller vintage chanel did you end up getting? i am still partial to the medium size flaps from the 80s (in a lipstick red color!), but yeah i think the jumbo is just not me. i think if something makes you feel self conscious, that's a sign that it's not the right one for you...it's funny, but i think i'd feel less self conscious with an hermes kelly or birkin than a chanel jumbo because the hermes is just a lot more understated in its design.

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  21. Oh, you preach to the choir!
    I sold back my Chanel ballet flats. I had to splurge on them to really see them. It was as if the fantasy veil was only lifted when I actually wore them in the street.
    I debated for awhile and as pretty and perfect as they were, they were so not "me" in the end.

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    1. yeah. i'm thankful for the very fast resale market for Chanel - at least you don't have to rue over a VERY expensive mistaken purchase :)

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  22. I bought a vintage, red jumbo classic flap with horizontal-stripe quilting (versus the diamond pattern) almost on a whim and, thankfully, I don't regret it. I am actually still sometimes surprised that I bought it, since my taste in handbags tends towards the neutrals (black, oak, camel), I never thought I would get myself a red bag, much less a classic flap in red. But I like that it brings a pop of color to my outfits (my clothes are like my bags: brown/khaki, white, black, navy) and that it isn't instantly recognizable because of the different quilting pattern.

    So, yes, hopefully my feelings for the my biggest ever purchase don't change.

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    1. yeah, it's funny how our instincts work! and sometimes you just *know* instantly. that's how i felt about the SC bag!

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