a99kitten's Musings

I’ve been wanting a pink Chanel flap since I was about 20ish? But I always scoffed at the price for a purse. It is absolutely ridiculous. I actually still believe this but sometimes you have to do ridiculous things :)

My husband would blow out a few brain cells if I paid this much for a purse. Well…pretty much anything really. But sometimes a girl has to do what a girl has to do. And I know he would never buy something like this for me as a gift. So it will need to be a gift to myself! And he can spend his money on surf boards and Porsches.

I doubt most men would though. Unless they are wealthy enough that the cost of this is comparable to buying a $100 item. Men just cannot lay out the $$$ for things they don’t understand. They just don’t understand that women like pretty things. This is why he has such a hard time buying jewelry for me. He sees it as a waste of money. I pointed out that jewelry is like boobs. I don’t understand the male fascination with boobs but it’s there. Men don’t understand girls’ fascination with sparkly things. But it’s there. So imagine the horror about spending so much on a purse! “You can buy a perfectly acceptable purse at Nordstrom or The Gap for like $50!” Sure I *could*. And then I point out that he is not a professional surfer and does not need 6 surf boards collecting dust in the garage….

But I do understand it’s ridiculousness. It is *just* a purse. And there are many other useful things to spend money like that on. But if you went through life thinking that way all the time with no indulgences, well….you would be Scrooge McDuck.

Back to the house that Coco built…They sell out of these bags in the Chanel boutiques every year. And buying them on the secondary market is hard since the Chinese have perfected the fake. And even if you find an excellent used one, it’s still in the thousands of dollars price range. Which is now my argument FOR the purchase instead of against it. It goes UP in value, so it’s like an investment. Like buying gold coins or stock in a blue chip company. The retail pricing has consistently gone up over the years. And you can always sell it on the secondary market if you want to.

And really, this bag is a classic that you will keep forever. Sure, I should probably invest in black if I were to buy one. But that’s just not me. The black is very pretty and if I could have 2, I would get one in black. But my first will be in pink.

There are different shades of pink depending on the year. The baby pink is my absolute favorite but very hard to find as it’s from a few years ago. The rose is also very nice and that is easier to find right now. When I went to the Chanel store in The Wynn in Vegas, they were sold out. They had the jersey one in a light orchid color but that was the only color in this style they had in stock. Boo :( I should go up to the store in SF and see what they have but my guess is not much more. This one is very rare and GREAT shades of pink:

le sigh...

Just not sure if it’s too big. It is the classic 2.55. I *think* I want the bag 1 size smaller than this one. BUT…maybe not. They did not make this color in the smaller bag so maybe I’d give up the smaller size for this most perfect color. And it’s not like it’s a huge hobo or anything!

I’ve been checking eBay (you can get them authenticated by The Purse Forum with good pictures) and Portero. You can’t buy Chanel retail online. They don’t sell online and don’t allow the stores that carry them to sell them online. So if you can’t find one in a boutique, you are limited to the secondary market. Which is OK actually. If you find one in pristine condition, it’s like buying a car a year or 2 old. The person who paid sticker took the off-the-lot hit for you but you are still getting a great car :)

Maybe one day I will pull the trigger :)