chanel classic double flap bag review.

fashionoutfits

Jan 2

Written By

i've had quite a few people ask about the process of buying my Chanel bag, so i thought i'd share! i just want to say right off the bat that this is in no way meant to be bragging. {robbie always tells me i'm being silly but i'm always so worried about coming across braggy or materialistic when talking about big designer purchases.} i ended up buying my bag second-hand and just want to give a few pointers for those who have this item on their dream bag list, too! ❤

with Chanel prices steadily rising each year {read this article}, i knew i should start saving to buy one before the price became even more overwhelming. at first, i really had my heart set on walking into a Chanel boutique and buying one brand spankin' new with my hard earned money. this was my goal for a few reasons. one, that way i knew without a doubt it was authentic {there's too many good fakes out there}. two, i wanted to save up my blog earnings and feel proud to walk in the boutique knowing i had earned the bag. and three, i've only bought two other high end bags brand new at the store {i'm definitely a fan of pre-loved bags!} and wanted the Chanel bag to have that special white gloved, straight-from-the-boutique experience.

after watching a million YouTube reviews and reading blog post after blog post all about the different Chanel bag sizes, materials, and colors, i had a very specific bag in mind: a {true} red classic jumbo double flap bag in lambskin leather. with my research done, i headed into my local SF Chanel boutique {i had even researched the highest recommended Sales Associate to chat with via Yelp reviews haha}. she was very kind and helpful, allowing me to try on any bag i wanted and even gave me a brief history about Chanel and the story behind each bag i looked at. unfortunately, this season Chanel is making a very, VERY orange-red bag {the bag may be called red for some reason but it is literally a true orange, no hint of red in sight}. each season, Chanel makes a different red and they currently aren't making a true red. so from there i knew i had to go pre-loved if i wanted to find my very specific dream bag. i contemplated getting the jumbo or maxi {which is the size bigger than the jumbo} in black, but robbie convinced me to keep searching for the red bag i truly wanted. he was right; there's no room for settling when you're going to make a purchase like this!

side note: although most people go for the durable caviar leather instead of the more delicate lambskin leather, after seeing the bags in person i knew my first bag in red had to be in lambskin. it's much more striking and i also knew this was not going to be an every day bag for me, and thus i could afford to 'baby' it more. not to mention, the Sales Associate at Chanel convinced me that lambskin isn't as fragile as most YouTubers lead you to believe. ;]

long story short, it took me a month to track down the exact bag i wanted. i had several friends and personal shoppers on the lookout and one day {thanksgiving week to be exact, right before heading to Paris!}, my social media bestie Miss Jes F. from Seattle texted me screaming {you know, all caps} that she had found the one on Yoogi's Closet and i needed to snag it ASAP. luckily i was at home so i quickly hopped onto my laptop, thoroughly read of all its specs, called my bank to inform them of the transaction that was about to happen, and boom! i was the proud owner of my new Chanel bag {!!!!!}! it shipped in three days {one of those was a holiday, Thanksgiving} and arrived on Black Friday, which was the day before i left for Paris! perfect timing.

now, how did i choose which pre-loved retailer to go to to find my bag? there's a few that i trust: Trendlee {who i've 'borrowed' several bags from before for blog posts}, The Real Real, Portero {i've never purchased from here but friends have AND their Sales Associate was helping me look for my dream bag}, Vestiaire Collection, Fashionphile, Tradesy, and Yoogi's Closet. i have never shopped Yoogi's, but Miss Jes F. who is a designer junkie {see her gorgeous IG here} does frequently, so i knew i could trust them. these are the kinds of retailers that guarantee authenticity, share all specs of the bag so you know it's proper condition, will send you more detailed photos if you ask, and some {like Trendlee} even come with an authenticity certificate. these are very important aspects in finding a luxury pre-loved bag. i can't imagine there being anything worse than spending all that hard earned money on a fake. bottom line: do your research!

my bag didn't come with the original Chanel box, but it did come with the original dustbag, original tag, and Chanel authenticity card. you can actually view the listing for it here, where all the specs and condition are listed, any previous damage, and what the bag comes with.

now for price, i did pay below retail for the bag since it wasn't brand new, but only slightly. Chanel bags hold their value {as mentioned in the above linked article}, especially reds, which are high in demand. in fact, some of the red Chanels i looked at on other luxury pre-owned sites were actually more than the current retail price. like i said, they hold their value & thus are a great investment!

i was so pleased with Yoogi's Closet! i had called them to make sure my bag would arrive on Black Friday and they said no problem! my bag was listed as 'like new' condition and that it was! i couldn't have been more happy with my purchase. the best part was being able to take it to Paris.

as for my review of the bag, i absolutely adore it. it can be worn several ways: over the shoulder with both chains, cross-body with one long chain, or one long chain over the shoulder. with the lambskin, i definitely am more careful with it compared to my other bags, but no scratches thus far! i'm very happy i went with the lambskin, too. the jumbo size holds everything i typically carry and then some. i'm very happy i went with this size! one day i'd love to invest in the medium size for more of an evening/more dressy bag, but the jumbo is perfect for my needs. the bright red and gold hardware are my very favorite parts!

i'd be happy to answer any questions about buying a pre-loved luxury bag if you leave them in the comments below! i've bought several other brands pre-loved over the years. as mentioned above, this is in no way meant to brag, i just wanted to share with you how i came to own a pre-loved Chanel bag and what that process was like for me. hope you enjoyed this post! i would love to share more bag reviews in the future! xx