Paris shopping - Chanel 2.55 classic flap bag

I have been so behind my travel blogging that I don't know where to start again. Then I realized that what better gives me the writing muse than my favorite past time, shopping. So yes, this post is dedicated to my first Chanel bag (and hopefully not the only).

There is no question on why I decided to buy this bag. It should be more of the question: Why should I NOT buy it when I was in France? From all the information I had gathered, it would be very unwise not to buy a Chanel bag (or any Chanel stuff for that matter) when I was in Europe. The tax refund alone could justify the reason. And given the weak Euro when I went there, I would definitely regret not buying anything. Now, think about it, I feel quite sad not buying a pair of Chanel shoes. But Lanvin won at the end.

Anyway, with this in mind, I gave myself no limit for my shopping budget. Just what I should buy. How could I give myself a limit when I was in the land of Chanel, Hermes and Lanvin? But I gave myself a goal. No looking at other bag designs from other brands. And it was really a challenge as I fell in love with Delvaux. Its bag structure is so beautiful that I was literally forced myself to walk away, after purchasing a wallet from the boutique in Brugge. I felt it was time to have the first Chanel in my collection.

Also, I had made a point getting my 2.55 at the 31 Rue Cambon boutique. A lot of people said the experience itself was worth of the effort getting there. And was it really? Yes, the novelty of stepping into the store overshadowed the not-so-great service I got there. I'm not saying the service was bad. After all, I helped to increase that SA's income so she had to be nice to me. But I didn't feel the genuine happiness of giving a good service to her customers from her. Again, better her than her colleague, who didn't even have the necessary product knowledge.

Even though I had wanted a Jumbo flap bag, there was no stock at the time. And I wanted to buy the bag THERE and AT THE TIME. Yep, that's me! Impulsive with my instinct. So I settled for a Medium 2.55. But now, looking at it, I feel it is the perfect first Chanel bag to get. Beautiful and just the right size to go with any outfit.

About the price, yes, it is expensive but in comparison with how much they are selling it here in Singapore, I saved quite a nice sum actually. More than SGD1k. With this amount, I could buy a LV Neverfull PM in Singapore. And the price always goes up, never goes down for Chanel, or any branded bags for the matter.

Nothing fills the blank better than a couple of pictures.

Chanel store @ 31 Rue Cambon, Paris

In front of 31 Rue Cambon boutique with my new purchase

Unwrapping my new love

A gorgeous Medium Chanel 2.55 classic caviar flap bag

San Francisco Sep 08

This was taken on 29 Sep 08 at Union Square in San Francisco. I so love the weather there! Just nice to wear light coat and boots. And introducing my lovely Furla bag.

Am I a bag snob?

I am on the 9th cloud right now. Why? It is because I just bought a Kate Spade Tarrytown Quinn for myself. For those who know about my travel plan this Sep, laugh all you want. Yes, I know I was talking about waiting to shop in the States. Yes, I know I need to save lots of money for that trip. Yes, I know this year the economy is down. Yes, I know there were many reasons that I need to save money. But really, I thought very hard before I decided to bring this bag home. I have been lusting over this bag for a year, or as long as I saw it. And when it was on sale last year, it was 30% discount and I couldn't feel justified enough, for that kind of leather, color and brand.

Time passed, this year's sale has come, I wandered to Kate Spade store again, didn't expect much. And there it was, sitting invitingly on the shelf. I couldn't help myself and took a look at it. Lo and behold, it was a 50% discount and in my favourite color. OMG, I thought to myself, "I could afford it, should I buy it?" Anyway, I walked out of the store and went to buy some jewelry at Swarovski. The next day, I was still thinking about it which meaned I really wanted to buy it. So I went back there with a friend who I wanted to give me a rational voice. And you know what? The bag was sold out at the store. What the heck? I felt so lost and so sad. And I realized I would have to buy it at all means. So I asked the SA to call to another branch to check if they still had stock. The answer was YES. I felt so relieved but it was too late to go there at that time. And today, I went to the other branch, saw the bag, checked with SA for the new piece, had my credit card swiped and BAM, I am a proud owner of a new bag. A Kate Spade Tarrytown Quinn in orange.

That is the typical story of a reformed shopaholic. And back to the question, am I a bag snob? I do not know. Truly. I just feel myself loving bags made of good materials, and at the moment, I am really into leather. I do believe that leather bags will last you very long, compared with bags made of other types of material. The more you wear them, the more they look beautiful. Long-time worn leather bags have a very particular look which make them more unique. Also, just do some simple math, if you keep buying cheap-material bags, you can only wear a few months and then you will feel bored with them, and of course, discard them. And nowadays, those bags are not very cheap either. You can spend nearly 100 bucks for them. And because you think they are cheap, you will buy more, quantity over quality. Within a year, you can easily spend a few hundred bucks on bags which you can't keep at all. Whereas, you save and buy 1 or 2 good bags a year, but you feel content and confident when wearing them. Over the time, you will have a collection of good bags which you might be able to pass down to the next generation. That is if you keep them in very good condition.

And speaking of cheap bags, they will do you no good when travelling. I had a case of bag malfunction at the airport where the handle of my bag broke. I had to run around to find a new bag, just to replace that old bag. It wasn't a pleasant experience, I must say.

Anyway, enough talking, now it's time to goggle over my new bag. Muahahhahaha....

In its shopping bag



Then in its dust bag



In its own glory



In another angle



Enough? Yes, I think so!