My kingdom for a bag! (almost literally..) part#2

Definition of an "it" bag : "an easily recognisable status high-priced designer  bag" (wikipedia).

So this is the last part of my to-die-for bags' sequel! Today i'm dealing with THE bag, the Chanel "2.55"  and the story behind it,which has much to tell us from Coco Chanel's own personal life. 

Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was one of the designers that marked the fashion industry of the 20th century. She was an open minder and a true pioneer with modern ideas that were extremely rare at that time. She always put simplicity and comfort in the front. 

pants, short hair,hats,cuffs and pearls

Therefore, when she realized that women had more responsibilities and a lot of things to do , thus they needed to free their hands and not carry their bags on their hands anymore,she designed a bag that had a strap and would be worn on the shoulder. That bag was first released on February of 1955 and was named after its release date "2.55" .
In most bags ,all characteristics such as the texture,color etc are chosen by designers according to trends or their inspiration at the moment. That is not the case here, as 2.55 was the bag that Coco Chanel herself used everyday, so she designed it in a way to fit her personal needs and reflect her own life. 


After her mother's death, her father left the family and Chanel ended up at a Roman Catholic orphanage where she spent 6 years of her life. The nuns working there wore robes in a red-brownish color and wore chains around their waists in order to hang their keys there. So i was impressed to find out that the straps of the 2.55 are said to resemble the chains the nuns used to wear  and the burgundy lining inside all black 2.55s ,the uniforms of her orphanage. 

There are different scenarios on what inspired Chanel to give the bag the distinctive quilted texture. It might be from the jockey's coats ,as she was fond of horse riding and attended many horse racings. Another possibility is that it resembles the  stained-glass windows of the orphanage or even the light brown suede cushions of her apartment on Rue Cambon in Paris.
The bag has a zippered compartment at the inside of the front. This is were Chanel used to hide her love letters ! There's another outer flap on the back of the bag, where she used to stash extra money. 

the burgundy lining, front inner and back outer flaps

Now about the lock. The original 2.55 that was designed by Coco Chanel herself had the, lately called, "Mademoiselle Lock" - "Mademoiselle "as Chanel never got married. The CC lock was designed and applied only during the 80s by Karl Lagerfeld . Only the bags with the "Mademoiselle lock" are called 2.55 (reissues) , whereas the rest are called "Classic Flaps". However it is usual to call "Reissue 2.55" all bags that resemble the original. 

the 2.55 reissue with the "Mademoiselle Lock"

the Classic Flap

There are however more differences between these two types of 2.55. One is the leather, as the reissue is made by a type of leather that looks kind of worn-out in contrast with the caviar or lambskin that is used for the Classic Flap. The two types of 2.55 come in different sizes too.
In fact:


The Classic Flap comes in 5 sizes:

the medium(left) and small Classic Flap

• Mini- 6.5"  *  5"  *  2.5"  - price €1,450 
• Small - 9'' * 5.5"  * 2" - price in France, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, Italy – €2.300
• Medium - 10"  *  6"  *  3"  - price in France, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, Italy – €2,450 
• Jumbo- 12"  *   8"  *  3"  - price in France, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, Italy – €2,550
• Maxi - 13″ * 9″ * 4″   - price in France, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain,Italy – €2,700

The Reissue comes in 5 sizes-of which two are not being released anymore: 

• The Baby- 7.5"  *  5.75"  * 1.75" - A302224 (size discontinued)  
• Small-  9.75"  *  7.06"  *  2.16"- A302225 -€2,450  
• Medium- 11"  *  8"  *  2.5"- A302226 -€2,700 
• Large - 12.25"  *  9.18"  * 2.5"-A302227-€2,950  
• x-Large/Jumbo - 14.2"  *  9.8"  *  3" - A302228 (size discontinued) 

Almost every girl in the planet who has a thing about fashion wishes to own a 2.55. As a matter of fact, my friend Ele is willing to start a charity with the aim "raise money to help Ele buy a 2.55"  and 'till then she copes with a paper-made replica like the one seen below:p-kidding.-