Vintage Handbags

By Author: Adam Peterson
Total Articles: 11
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Chanel,' is a French fashion house founded by the late couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, recognized as one of the most established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods.
She established new designs and revolutionized the fashion industry by going "back to basics", incorporating elegance, class, and originality.
Chanel has always specialized in items such as simple suits, dresses, women's pants, and vintage costume jewellery. Coco Chanel's vision was to replace such opulent, sexy pieces with items which conveyed casual elegance. Her designs and creations are timeless, as the basic silhouettes have remained consistent from generation to generation. Chanel's own lifestyle fuelled her ideas of how modern women everywhere should look, act, and dress.
In 1909, Gabrielle Chanel opened a shop on the ground floor of Étienne Balsan's apartment in Paris—the beginnings of what would later become one of the greatest fashion empires in the world.
Chanel continued to create successful looks for women through the 1920s and '30s. Despite her great success, Chanel closed the doors of her salon in ...
... 1939, when France declared war on Germany.
Chanel's comeback collection of couture debuted in 1953. Her vision was to set out to rescue and reinvigorate women's fashion. Although it was not a critical success, the designer persevered. Within three seasons, Chanel was enjoying newfound respect. She updated her classic looks, reworking the classic tweed designs until wealthy women and celebrities returned to the showroom.
In late 1950's, she designed the famous quilted handbag with gilt chain, which she named ‘2.55,' as it was introduced in Feb 1955. She decided to design a handbag that freed up her hands. This pioneering, quilted 2.55 handbag was hand stitched diagonally over padding to form a soft, quilted surface. In 1955, the 2.55 handbag was made in Chanel's favourite colours navy, beige, black and brown- either in soft leather, jersey and lined with grosgrain or leather.
The chains were attached by leather-threaded chain inserted though eyelets. The original bag came with a front lock called the Mademoiselle Lock (in reference to Coco Chanel never marrying). The zippered compartment on the inside of the front flap is where Coco sequestered her love letters, as she was having an affair at that time. The back outside flap actually marks where Coco would stash extra money.
Subtle variations on the original quilted bad emerged from season to season, in shape or sizes of the bag. These bags are carried on arms of the rich and famous the world over, the Chanel 2.55 chain bag represents the epitome of style and the ultimate status symbol.Coco passed in 1971, but the brand continued, even launching their first ready-to-wear collection in 1978
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