Chanel Vintage Flap Bag

The acquisition for this Chanel bag was made in November last year, but I was so busy in the past 2 months and could not manage to draft a post for this black beauty. So, here is another late post from me.

Without further ado, please meet my (new to me) Chanel vintage flap bag. This length is 9inch and it is a medium size. I have been hunting this bag for nearly one year, and I can't describe how excited I am when I can finally get one in excellent condition (not 100% perfect but it is still amazing). Yay! *happy dance*

I have put a Chanel vintage flap bag on my bag wishlist since early 2014. But as the mission was to hunt a vintage item (i.e. old stuff) it was quite challenging to get one in great condition. Most of the time I saw bags which corners or leather or metal were damaged. And sometimes the hologram sticker (and authenticity card) was no longer available. Well, it was almost impossible to get a perfect Chanel vintage bag. So, the key is to be patient (in hunting the One) and to keep expanding the knowledge about Chanel vintage bag (because Chanel has released so many versions/styles of flap bags from 2 decades ago). It was an overwhelming process for me, but I enjoyed it.

Since I owned this piece, my admiration towards vintage stuff has been growing steadily. It is a proof that an excellent product can stand for such a long period of time. The craftsmanship and materials used were in high standard so that the bag is still wearable until today.

I can conclude that acquiring this bag was one of my (bag) highlights in 2014. But I don't think I would stop now as I am planning to put another Chanel vintage flap bag on my 2015 (bag) wishlist. Maybe the one in maxi size would be a nice addition to my Chanel family.... So, let see how this quest will end *wink*

How to store Chanel flap bag

 

 

Those Chanel bags have cost me an arm and a leg. So it is a must that I take a good care of them especially when they are being stored inside the wardrobe.

Here I explain the process of how I normally do it.

1. Put an insert into the bag
The main objective is to ensure the bag will not loose its shape while it is not in use. In my case, the insert was simply made from tissue paper that we normally get whenever we buy a handbag. I make an adequate volume for the insert according to the bag size/shape and wrap them with the same paper. So the insert looks quite tidy and is easy for handling.

2. Keep the long chain inside the bag
Pull all the chain and carefully fold it inside the bag. Do not let the chain hanging loosely outside the bag. The heavy metal may damage the leather. If the Chanel flap bag is made from lambskin, it is suggested that the chain is wrapped in tissue paper since the lambskin is not as firm as caviar calfskin. The worst scenario that we want to avoid is that the leather has few dents due to metal pressure from the heavy chain.

 

 

3. Cover with felt fabric

The fabric is normally given whenever we buy the bag from boutique. If the felt fabric is not available, then in my opinion it is still ok for not doing this step. I would emphasize more on step 1 & 2 since they are more critical than this felt covering.

 



4. Put the bag inside its dustbag

5. Store inside the box
Whenever we buy the classic Chanel flap bags, it will normally come with a box.

 

6. If the original Chanel box is not available, then 'improvise'
Not all of my Chanel flap bags have the standard box from the boutique.
In my case then I use a (used) box from dry cleaner which happens to have the appropriate size for keeping the Chanel flap bag. Or I also would not mind to buy a nice and sturdy box to protect the bag.

7. Lastly, store the bag in standing position
Simply never let the bag stored flat inside the wardrobe.

I understand that some women would store their classic flap bags in a more meticulous way. But I have my own method that I find it quite practical and proven to be effective.

Now I can simply wish and pray that one day I can add my Chanel flap bag collection. A medium-sized classic flap bag is very much welcome for the new addition as it has been on my top wishlist for ages. *fingers crossed*

Bag of the day: Chanel Maxi Soft Caviar

This bag is an old version of Chanel Maxi flap bag and made from soft caviar leather. It is different from current maxi flap bags as they are now made from lambskin or caviar leather. This rather old bag is much less structured (due to the use of softer leather) than the regular Chanel flap bags. It is then common for this bag to have the slouchy look when it is worn.

I love to wear this bag to be paired with jeans, simple top and wedges or flat shoes. And today I wore my Chanel Maxi Soft Caviar to go to my son's school for meeting with his teachers. From the teachers I received a very positive feedback on my son's academic performance at school.  This has made my day.
So proud of you, Son *hugs*

Bag of the day: Chanel Jumbo Black

This bag has been one of my all time favourites *love*

On the lounge chair

This is the lounge chair in our bedroom that is very rarely used by us. The initial purpose was to use it for reading and a reading lamp has also been installed behind the chair. But nowadays my bags always occupied it lol. Well, it is a place where I temporarily put my bags that are being actively used for one or two weeks while others are kept in the dustbag inside the wardrobe.

So today I have these 3 bags sitting on the lounge chair: Bottega Veneta Mini Cabat lilac, Chanel Reissue in black and Celine Mini Luggage in black. Definitely they have been very busy in the past 2 weeks :)

Check out the previous similar post here and here.

Inside my bag: Chanel Reissue in black matte

 

Three days ago I wore this Chanel Reissue in black matte size 227 (check the recent 'bag of the day' post here). Since its compartment is relatively small, then I had to carefully select a number of items that I carried on that day.

 

The bag can fit my Bottega Veneta continental wallet (in fire opal), cosmetic pouch (in cute folklore print), tissue pouch (the one in green), red leather pensil case, a small pouch for power bank and a round mirror.

Bag of the day: Chanel Reissue in black matte

 

 

The bag has been in my posession for nearly 3 years and I am still loving it... It is a keeper definitely :)

Chanel Camellia Wallet

A recent birthday present from my husband, a lovely Chanel Camellia bifold wallet in turquoise. Just the right colour to brighten my days. I simply adore it!

Thank you Honey!

Chanel Outstanding Pieces in Alligator

Classic flap bag in alligator

Gusset zip wallet in alligator

From Chanel's FW 2012/2013 pre-collection, these two items are my favourite. Made from alligator leather, the bag and wallet look luxurious and very beautiful.

When the leather used for a bag is exotic enough and finished beautiful, a simple bag design is the best thing to be considered. So when the iconic Chanel's flap bag is made from such exquisite leather, the final result is undoubtfully an outstanding piece.



images from Chanel.com

Chanel: out in the sun

My Chanel Maxi Lambskin was enjoying the sun ;)

Kate Moss and Chanel boxes at the Ritz Paris

image from Vogue

OMG, I can clearly magine when those Chanel boxes are filled with Chanel goodies.....  bags, wallets, custom jewelry, shoes...
And the Ritz's room is just beyond amazing. It surely make everyone staying in that room feels like a French king or queen

By the way, the room featured in this photo is named as 'Coco Chanel Suite'

Another coffee time at Starbucks

It was another sunny afternoon when I met my friends at Starbucks coffee shop.

My bag of the day was Chanel Jumbo Black Caviar and Perigot bear bag shopper (i.e. an eco bag) in blue-white stripes. This Perigot eco bag has different fabrics from the red-white stripes that I featured on the other day in here. This one is made from cotton fabrics.

See the close up of this cute eco bag.

Lounging cosily

It was one of the weeks when I changed handbags quite often. Sometimes a decision to change a handbag was quite impulsive (helloooo... I am also impulsive shopper. Remember?). It means that it was often in the last minute before I left home. In that case, I had to spend extra 5-10 minutes to quickly take out the bag (stored inside the dustbag) from the closet, to carefully take out the bag out of its dustbag and to move the contents from the previous bag into the newly chosen bag.

However, sometimes I did not have time to put the previous bag inside the dustbag and to return it to the closet. And when the next morning/day I impulsively changed another bag (again) and did not immediately return the previous one to the closet, then I would have more than one bags that have not been stored properly. I normally just 'dumped' the bags on the lazy chair in our bedroom. I consider that it is still 'safe' as the lazy chair is not closed to the windows and those bags were not affected by the sunlight passing through windows.

Hence it is not a surprised that I would have 3 bags laying on our lazy chair, just like on these pictures. They basically were waiting to be stored inside the dustbag and returned to the closet. On that day when this pic was taken, I wore my Goyard St Louis bag that was not featured on this lazy chair.

So the 3 of them were just lounging cosily, enjoying our comfy lazy chair and became couch potatoes lol