Saturday, April 12, 2008
How to get dressed: the Chanel bag
Vintage Chanel Handbag - A timeless classic
Lisa Armstrong
The next best thing to inventing a classic, especially in this age of so many ersatz ones, is learning to identify the genuine classic. Which brings us to the Chanel bag. I’ve left the 2.55 (a reference to the year it was created) until last because, frankly, it has had its moments languishing among the out-takes. Unlike the bouclé jackets, the faux jewels, the pumps and the perfumes which have, incredibly, never gone out of style, Chanel bags were about as infra dig during the Nineties and the first half of this decade as it’s possible to be, before you meet yourself coming the other way. That ought to mean it isn’t strictly a classic. But let’s consider the evidence – namely, that it has not merely survived but triumphed over ubiquity several times (if you were around in the late Eighties you may remember a permanent sensation not unlike being in a giant bouncy castle – it was the feeling of all those quilted Chanel bags, both real and rip-off, bumping against your flesh) and the inevitable periods in fashion Siberia. You could call it the Kate Moss, or if you prefer, the Edith Piaf of bags. Perhaps that’s what makes it seem so appropriate for our times.
Now it’s dangling from the shoulders of trendsetters again – not just the 2.55, but a myriad variations. Instructively, in an era when an “It” bag is artificially anointed by PRs who send it to truck-loads of celebrities to carry for five minutes, the 2.55 has worked its way back pretty much by stealth, with relatively little hullabaloo and precious few freebie hand-outs. It’s a safe bet that it’s the stealth factor that sealed the Chanel bag’s destiny. It was the too-cool-for-school crowd who work on magazines such as Pop and Cheap Date who first began buying Chanel bags a few years ago, bashing them up and wearing them with their usual, carefully cultivated who-gives-a-damn attitude. Others have gradually followed, and this winter, Chanel bags – not just the 2.55 – were dotted along the front rows, as well as on key style-setters such as Kate Moss, Sofia Coppola and Phoebe Philo.
Obviously, in a couple of years or so Chanel bags will be out again. But that probably doesn’t matter. Apparently Chanel is among a handful of brands increasingly regarded as akin to pearls, shares and rich husbands, ie, bona fide investments which hold their value – unlike many accessories which plummet in value the moment you’ve paid for them. What a perfect alignment of contemporary obsessions – money and high fashion. Also, unlike the Birkin, which is now a firm favourite with the Wags, Chanel, for the moment, is the preserve of the cognoscenti. When it becomes too popular, early adopters will stow their bags away for ten years on the pretext that they’re saving them for their daughters. Such is the nature of a modern classic. I suppose it’s what we deserve.
Lisa Armstrong
The next best thing to inventing a classic, especially in this age of so many ersatz ones, is learning to identify the genuine classic. Which brings us to the Chanel bag. I’ve left the 2.55 (a reference to the year it was created) until last because, frankly, it has had its moments languishing among the out-takes. Unlike the bouclé jackets, the faux jewels, the pumps and the perfumes which have, incredibly, never gone out of style, Chanel bags were about as infra dig during the Nineties and the first half of this decade as it’s possible to be, before you meet yourself coming the other way. That ought to mean it isn’t strictly a classic. But let’s consider the evidence – namely, that it has not merely survived but triumphed over ubiquity several times (if you were around in the late Eighties you may remember a permanent sensation not unlike being in a giant bouncy castle – it was the feeling of all those quilted Chanel bags, both real and rip-off, bumping against your flesh) and the inevitable periods in fashion Siberia. You could call it the Kate Moss, or if you prefer, the Edith Piaf of bags. Perhaps that’s what makes it seem so appropriate for our times.
Now it’s dangling from the shoulders of trendsetters again – not just the 2.55, but a myriad variations. Instructively, in an era when an “It” bag is artificially anointed by PRs who send it to truck-loads of celebrities to carry for five minutes, the 2.55 has worked its way back pretty much by stealth, with relatively little hullabaloo and precious few freebie hand-outs. It’s a safe bet that it’s the stealth factor that sealed the Chanel bag’s destiny. It was the too-cool-for-school crowd who work on magazines such as Pop and Cheap Date who first began buying Chanel bags a few years ago, bashing them up and wearing them with their usual, carefully cultivated who-gives-a-damn attitude. Others have gradually followed, and this winter, Chanel bags – not just the 2.55 – were dotted along the front rows, as well as on key style-setters such as Kate Moss, Sofia Coppola and Phoebe Philo.
Obviously, in a couple of years or so Chanel bags will be out again. But that probably doesn’t matter. Apparently Chanel is among a handful of brands increasingly regarded as akin to pearls, shares and rich husbands, ie, bona fide investments which hold their value – unlike many accessories which plummet in value the moment you’ve paid for them. What a perfect alignment of contemporary obsessions – money and high fashion. Also, unlike the Birkin, which is now a firm favourite with the Wags, Chanel, for the moment, is the preserve of the cognoscenti. When it becomes too popular, early adopters will stow their bags away for ten years on the pretext that they’re saving them for their daughters. Such is the nature of a modern classic. I suppose it’s what we deserve.
Labels: authentic chanel handbags, chanel fashion, chanel handbag, luxury vintage, vintage chanel handbags
# posted by Give Me Something to Blog About @ 3:26 PM
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Chanel "naked" purse
by Ellen Warren, Chicago Tribune
How many of us would invite strangers off the street to take a tour of our closets?
Would you follow that up with a gander at the contents of the medicine cabinet? Then, perhaps pull open the dresser drawers for a close inspection of what lurks in the bottom of the underwear drawer. Not likely. Well, think of a woman’s purse as a portable closet. A closet blessedly and firmly shut to all prying eyes. Which is why the popularity of the see-through handbag this season is so very peculiar. From Target to Dolce & Gabbana, the transparent purse is a big seller.
The Chanel “naked bag” shown here was created by one of the chicest designers on the planet, Karl Lagerfeld. He made it in reaction to the airline regulations requiring travelers to put their cosmetics in clear plastic bags. Surely it was just a fashion-y joke, right?
I buy my Baggies in bulk for a few bucks at Jewel but this clear plastic bag, trimmed in white patent calfskin and embellished with the Chanel interlocking Cs, costs $950. The larger model goes for $1250. Setting aside the cost, what would possess anyone to parade their messy ways for all to see?
Even the neatniks among us, after all, carries the embarrassing drugs (Rx only, of course), the occasional used Kleenex and products sufficiently personal that they that still command the euphemism “feminine hygiene.” Why show all that off to passersby, not to mention co-workers and potential boyfriends?
A Chanel rep reveals that among the celebrities who own this purse is a woman so cutting edge that she that she is designated a fashion “muse”—actress Chloe Sevigny. (ed: put two dots over e in chloe) Only a pristine lifestyle admits a purse of this stunning transparency. Is it possible that there are no lint-covered Lifesavers, revealing to-do lists or female necessities jumbled in Ms. Sevigny’s handbag? If so, give her an Emmy for overcoming the inner slob that affects us all. And an Oscar for tidiness.
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eFashionHouse.com is recognized as the top online retailer of off-priced authentic CHANEL handbags & accessories by About.com. For more information, please visit the eFashionHouse.com Press Page - Click Here. CHANEL items are priced as marked at 30% - 60% off retail - everyday prices, no coupon code needed.
Labels: authentic chanel handbags, chanel fashion, chanel handbags, efashionhouse
# posted by Give Me Something to Blog About @ 4:29 PM
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Designer Brands - Online Shopping Bargain
CHANEL designer jewelry white pearl necklace with gold metal bow with inlaid pearls and cut stones. Pearl necklace measures approximately 54 inches long. The bow is 2 inches long. The necklace has three gold orbs with pearls and cut stone inlays as well as the interlocking CC logo. There is a three inch metal hanging chain with the CC logo. Comes in black Chanel box. Guaranteed authentic.
Online Shopping Bargain for Sale & Final Clearance:
Online Shopping Bargain for Sale & Final Clearance:
- Use coupon code OFF20 for an extra 20% off FINAL CLEARANCE items
- Use coupon code OFF10 for an extra 10% off all SALE items
- Plus, Free Fedex to Lower 48 States $200 orders & NO Sales Tax World Wide!
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Labels: chanel fashion, chanel handbags, chanel jewelry, chanel purses
# posted by Give Me Something to Blog About @ 9:34 AM
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Designer Handbags a big hit for holiday shoppers again this year!
Here's an interesting article written by Tom Braithwaite of Financial Times (FT.com). It covers holiday '07 shopping predictions for luxury fashion brands, luxury items, designer handbags and shoes. We certainly would like the prediction to be correct. It is based on a survey conducted by Deloitte.
Etailers, retailers and resellers of designer handbags and shoes will be delighted if the Financial Time survery is correct. Online shopping and the designer luxury business as a whole has increased steadily over the past several years. We do not anticipate this to fade or go away soon.
More people are migrating to the Internet for convenience, comfort, safety, security and convenience. When was the last time you placed an online order at 3 a.m and had it delivered to your door within 24-48 hours? Happy holiday shopping!
Big spenders plan a designer Christmas
by Tom Braithwaite of Financial Times (FT.com)
Luxury items are in hot demand this Christmas as consumers shrug off the cooling housing market, interest rate rises and credit squeeze to splurge on designer handbags and fine wine. Research published on Tuesday by Deloitte, the consultancy, suggests resilient consumer attitudes in the run-up to Christmas – particularly for luxury products – but warns that the determination to spend on the festive period could lead to a painful hangover in the new year.
Some 19 per cent of consumers intend to purchase a designer handbag or shoes, according to a survey of 1,000 adults, while 16 per cent plan to buy food from a farmers’ market – which compares with 6 per cent purchasing upmarket foods last Christmas. “The rich are getting richer at a faster rate than the less well-off,” said Tarlok Teji, analyst at Deloitte. “There is an underlying trend for ‘premiumisation’, or trading up.” In all, consumers intend to spend 7 per cent more on Christmas gifts, socialising and food and drink, the report found.
Price has also diminished in importance for shoppers deciding where to shop. In 2005 some 37 per cent of consumers listed price as a main reason for choosing a particular store; last year it fell to 23 per cent and fell further to 20 per cent this year. “Value for money” has declined as a reason over the same period, while “convenience” has risen from 50 per cent of shoppers in 2005 to 62 per cent this year – evidence, according to Deloitte, of our so-called “cash rich, time poor” society.
Deloitte decided to repeat its survey this year after concerns that spending would be hit by the credit squeeze. But the November survey differs little from the September version, finding that consumers intend to spend an average of £706 compared with £662 a year earlier, or £33.6bn overall. But Mr Teji warned that, although Christmas should defy doom merchants, the following months might tell a different story: “It could be the last hurrah before ... a downward trend.” One company more sensitive than most to a potential retail hangover is Majestic Wine, which reported interim results on Monday.
Tim How, chief executive, noted “challenging” trading conditions, but said customers’ thirst for fine wines was continuing unabated. “Last week somebody in our Mayfair store bought an Imperial [6 litres] Latour 88” for £2,500, he said. If growing expectations of a serious slowdown do become reality, retailers are aiming to supply so-called luxury products for less.
Asda intends to make “the inaffordable affordable” by selling cheap truffles grown on a farm in Pontefract, Yorkshire. The only catch is that there will be a three- to five-year wait before the truffles will be ready to be harvested. In the meantime, luxury lovers who have fallen on hard times can rely on Lidl, the German discount chain that has been supplying cheap food to the UK since 1994. For a second Christmas, Lidl’s lobsters are selling for less than £5 each.
Labels: authentic designer handbags, chanel fashion, chanel handbags, chanel jewelry, chanel purses, designer brands, designer handbags, discount designer purses, discount luxury, gift ideas, holiday shopping
# posted by Give Me Something to Blog About @ 6:00 AM
Monday, November 12, 2007
About.com recognizes eFashionHouse as the top of three online retailers of authentic Chanel
eFashionhouse.com recognized for selling authentic Chanel handbags at below retail prices.
Desert Hot Springs, CA (PRWEB) October 28, 2007 – Although Chanel is one of the most coveted and sought after designer handbag brands in the world, it is often hard to find Chanel handbags at affordable prices – authentic Chanel handbags that is. About.com recently recognized eFashionhouse.com, named “Best of the Web” by People Magazine StyleWatch for discount designer handbags, as the top of three online retailers for authentic Chanel bags.
As an online retailer of authentic Chanel handbags for 12 years, eFashionHouse.com prides itself on sourcing 100% authentic, new and vintage Chanel handbags in various styles, from the undeniable quilted lambskin to chic shearling, and reselling them at below retail prices (up to 50% off retail!).
“We are one of the few online retailers that carry authentic Chanel handbags and have been for years, which is why we were so happy when About.com recognized us as one of the top three retailers.” says Anna Miller, CEO of eFashionHouse.com. “Actually Chanel handbags are often the hardest to find but the most coveted designer, which is not surprising but exactly the reason why we love to offer our customers the authentic Chanel bags at huge discounts.”
eFashionhouse.com has been named “Best of the Web” by People magazine StyleWatch and has been featured in StyleWatch numerous times because they offer the hottest designer handbag brands – Chloe, Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Prada, Tods, Dior and more – all authentic and at below retail prices.
About eFashionHouse.com
Anna Miller is the President of i-GlobalMall.com, Inc. She operates the website http://www.efashionhouse.com and sells high-end authentic designer handbags and accessories at off-retail prices. EFashionHouse.com was named BEST OF THE WEB by People Magazine Fall 2006 StyleWatch for Discount Designer Handbags and Purses. EFashionHouse.com should not be confused with any other website selling a similar product or using a similar name. EfashionHouse.com is the home of five fashion ecommerce stores: BrandsBoutique, LuxuryVintage, DesignersLA, ItalysOutlet, and ValueBags. Anna is considered an Internet Pioneer & Ecommerce Entrepreneur. She’s been reselling Designer Merchandise online since the early 90s.
Labels: authentic designer handbags, chanel fashion, chanel handbags, chanel purses, designer brands, discount designer handbags, discount designer purses
# posted by Give Me Something to Blog About @ 11:53 PM
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Classic Chanel Handbags: The First Chanel Handbags
from high-fashion.be
Although Coco began with hats and clothing, designer handbags were a natural progression. A purse is an extension of a woman’s wardrobe, along with her shoes and perfume. Chanel handbags are an expansion of the Chanel fashions, with the same traditions being incorporated into the bags’ designs.
With matching fabrics, trims and fine details, the first Chanel handbags were a classic fit to the rest of the brand. When a woman in the early 1900s would dress, she could easily create a matched outfit complete with her Chanel clothes and accessories.
The Little Black Bag It is no surprise that when Chanel invented the “Little Black Dress” along with it came the “Little Black Bag.” Then, when she expanded her costume jewelry line, her handbags began to be accessorized with gold chains clasps and jeweled buttons.
Her signature bag become the black handbag with the gold chain shoulder strap, Coco herself never left the house without it. Along with her liberation of women through clothing, Coco also incorporated this mission within her handbag collection. In the 1930s, she created the first handbag that could hang on a woman’s shoulder. With the idea that freeing a woman’s hand movements would free her personality, the first shoulder bag was born. The Chanel shoulder bag had a slow beginning, but really took off in the 1950s.At this time, Chanel re-released a slimmed down, squared and quilted shoulder bag version, which became an instant status symbol for the next fifty years.
Chanel Bags Today In many ways, today’s Chanel handbags have changed very little. The timeless fashion of a Chanel bag highlights the collection of many purse enthusiasts. Aspects of the original bags that have been maintained are: The original quilted leather. The textured fabrics. The chains. The signature symbol of two CC's. With a classic and ageless appearance, the Chanel collection for fall 2006 still offers similar trends to history, from tweeds to chains, -- and always a “little black bag.” The product line is limited and only varies slightly with each new season.
Chanel Reporter handbags have been around for quite some time and remain one of the most popular styles of Chanel handbags. Out of all of the Chanel handbags that are available on the market now and have been in the past, the Reporter handbag is one of the most widely recognized, even by those that do not own a single Chanel bag. While the Reporter bag changes slightly from year to year, it has remained largely the same because it has been so successful and seems to have a very wide appeal stretching even to those that do not typically buy designer handbags.
If you aren't quite sure what Chanel Reporter handbags are or how to distinguish them from other Chanel handbags, they are commonly described as the puffy looking bags with several pockets. The look is understated by stylized at the same time. Many of the bags have an almost quilted look, although that would be quilted leather, far from anything that you would put on your bed to sleep with! Chanel Reporter handbags are generally made of leather on the exterior and then the interior is either satin or brushed leather for an all over classy look and feel. The outside of the bag is often stitched in a pattern as mentioned above and has two to four pockets on it. Overall the bag has sort of a square look to it with 10-12 inch handles on it. Most of the Chanel Reporter handbags also have at least one zipper pocket on the inside so that you can hold valuables or even a wallet in a secured pocket.
Not only do Chanel Reporter Handbags look great and have a great reputation as being very fashionable, each one is unique. Every reporter bag is issued its own hologram authorization number and card. This is the way to ensure that the Chanel reporter bag that you have purchased or that you are looking into purchasing is not a replica. With so many knock offs out there today, this hologram is one of the best ways to ensure that you are buying Chanel and nothing less. If in doubt, you can always look at the stitching and the overall craftsmanship of the handbag to see if you are dealing with the real deal or not. Chanel is very detail oriented and because the reporter bag does have many small details you will likely be able to discredit the fakes before you even consider paying for them.
If you want to buy a real Chanel Reporter Handbag for less than retail price you will not have a hard time doing just that. At the end of each season you'll find that your Chanel dealer will mark some of the bags down to make room for some of the newer bags. You can find that retailers will mark their Chanel bags down up to 30% or more when they need to make room for more products, and you can take advantage and save a couple hundred dollars. You can also shop on the Internet and find that many people are either selling their own personal Reporter handbags or there are discount or wholesale dealers online that will offer you a handbag at a great price. Of course, when you are buying online you should proceed with care to ensure that you are getting a real Chanel Reporter handbag, but generally you'll have an easy time of it.
The Chanel Reporter Handbag really is one of the most beautiful that you can find, whether it is new or old. Not only is it very stylish, it is also very functional. Whether you are a fashion guru, a businesswoman, or a stay at home mom, the Chanel Reporter will work for you and your life quite well.
Chanel revolutionized haute couture fashion by completely replacing the traditional corset with the comfort and casual elegance of simple suits and dresses. She introduced to the world hersignature cardigan jacket in 1925, introducing a more sultry and seductive definition to “sexy.” She had numerous other major successes that changed the fashion industry including the ever popular "'Chanel suit'", an elegant creation composed of a knee-length skirt and trim, boxy jacket, traditionally made of woven wool with black sewing trim and gold buttons, worn with large costume-pearl necklaces. Elite women of high societies around the world began to flock to the now legendary Rue Cambon boutique to commission couture outfits from her. The House of Chanel became an icon of elegance and from then on, the name “Chanel” became synonymous to elegance, wealth, and elitism, as well as the ultimate sign of French high class, la coquetterie.
Labels: brandsboutique, chanel fashion, chanel handbags, chanel jewelry, chanel purses, coco chanel, designer handbags, efashionhouse
# posted by Give Me Something to Blog About @ 11:22 PM
