Chanel Purses and Bags

Chanel purses are the ultimate status symbol in the world of women’s luxury purses.  The simple purses with the iconic logo; the Chanel logo is an overlapping double ‘C’ – one facing forward and the other facing backward for the French designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.  Coco Chanel was the Chief Designer at Chanel from 1909 until her death at age 87 in 1971.

Coco Chanel introduced new designs and revolutionized the Parisian fashion industry by her simple designs that incorporated elegance, class, and originality.  In 1909, Chanel opened a small shop on the ground floor of the Balsan’s apartment in Paris, an humble beginning to what would become one of the greatest fashion empires in the world.  The Balsan home was a meeting place of the elite of Paris and the French gentlemen would bring their fashion conscious lady friends along, which gave Coco the opportunity to sell her specialty at the time, decorative ladies hats

Coco expanded her talents into the perfume industry with the introduction of Chanel No. 5 in 1921, the perfume that has the highest sales of any perfume in history.  Chanel introduced the “little black dress” in 1928, a design that was the ‘new uniform of the modern woman” according to Vogue.  Also that same year, Chanel, inspired by visits to Scotland with the Duke of Westminster, designed her first classic tweed suits.

The Chanel purse was introduced in 1955, a quilted bag with a shoulder strap.  The simple Chanel purse with a Mademoiselle lock became so popular the first year, Coco had to decline numerous requests for the bags due to the amount of time it took to manufacture each one by hand by her skilled artisans.  In 1957 at the Fashion Awards in Dallas, Texas, Chanel’s Spring collection received the Fashion Oscar and the fashion world called Coco the most influential designer of the twentieth century.

The Chanel purses of today still exemplify Coco Chanel’s simple lines and functionality.  The classic elegance of a Chanel purse is still crafted of the finest leathers, such as calfskin, goatskin, and lambskin.  Many Chanel purses have chain straps very much like the original Chanel purse of over 50 years ago.  The original Chanel purse design of 1955 was reintroduced to the world in 2005 and is as popular today as it was then.

Many Chanel purses have the Mademoiselle twist lock and some have the famous double C logo.  Chanel purses prove to the world that quality and classic design never go out of style.  Carrying a Chanel purse shows the world that you are where you want to be in life.