Went to the boutique. And was do underwhelmed....

l.ch.

l.ch.

O.G.
Mar 24, 2011
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2,877
#1
Hello all!
This Saturday I went to the boutique to buy my FIRST Chanel bag! I was so excited and happy! And then.... nada...
Maybe I was expecting too much? When I saw the bags in person, they seemed cheap and nothing like the gorgeous bags posted here!
Am I missing something? I thought I would be swept off my feet, as soon as I layed my eyes on a Chanel bag in the boutique... At least, when I'm spending that much...

Also, the service wasn't brilliant. Not bad either, but also not what one expects from a luxury retailer. So I came back empty-handed. I still keep thinking of buying a Chanel bag though...
Has anyone else felt this way too?
 
#2
Aww I'm sorry! Maybe you had just hyped yourself up to much....in the end, purses are still just purses! Maybe you just didn't like the current collection? Which store did you go to? Were you looking for anything in particular?
 
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#3
Well, partly yes. I was looking for the perfect red shiny puffy bag! And they only had a red boy with GHW and some seasonal bags, I wasn't particularly fond of. She also showed me a maxi caviar with SHW. Again, it didn't feel right. Same with the black boy (this is the one I liked the most, actually, still thinking about it)
I was in the Zurich store.
Maybe you are right, I hyped myself too much! I blame the PurseForum for that! :smile: With all the gorgeous reveals! :smile:
 
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#4
The Zurich store is one of my favorites in Europe actually haha. I hope you find what you are looking for! Who knows, maybe next time you into a Chanel store they will have the perfect red bag! Good luck!
 
#5
Maybe it was because you did not see what you had set in your mind. The fantasy begins with what we visualize. I had a similar experience yesterday. I went in the boutique to pick up my Jumbo with SHW. It was paid for 2 weeks ago but the SA went on vacation on the day after my purse arrived and then I was unavailable for a week. Anyway, once I arrived at the boutique and my bag was brought out to me I did no care for it. The caviar leather was dull and I just did not feel right leaving the boutique with it. I do still want a Jumbo but I want one with a sheen. The heart wants what the heart wants and you will get there. "Patience my young Padawan." :smile:
 
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#6
Oh, I'm so sorry, you didn't care for a bag already paid for!
Yes, I had fantasized about owing a red Chanel bag for sooo long, that I was disappointed...
And yes patience is a virtue... That I don't possess, unfortunately :smile:

PurpleRabbit said:
Maybe it was because you did not see what you had set in your mind. The fantasy begins with what we visualize. I had a similar experience yesterday. I went in the boutique to pick up my Jumbo with SHW. It was paid for 2 weeks ago but the SA went on vacation on the day after my purse arrived and then I was unavailable for a week. Anyway, once I arrived at the boutique and my bag was brought out to me I did no care for it. The caviar leather was dull and I just did not feel right leaving the boutique with it. I do still want a Jumbo but I want one with a sheen. The heart wants what the heart wants and you will get there. "Patience my youg Padawan." :smile:
Click to expand...
 
#7
DrMom12 said:
The Zurich store is one of my favorites in Europe actually haha. I hope you find what you are looking for! Who knows, maybe next time you into a Chanel store they will have the perfect red bag! Good luck!
Click to expand...

Really? Are you also in Switzerland? Do you think I should keep trying? I feel kinda self-conscious to ever set foot in the store again :smile:
 
#8
l.ch. said:
Well, partly yes. I was looking for the perfect red shiny puffy bag! And they only had a red boy with GHW and some seasonal bags, I wasn't particularly fond of. She also showed me a maxi caviar with SHW. Again, it didn't feel right. Same with the black boy (this is the one I liked the most, actually, still thinking about it)
I was in the Zurich store.
Maybe you are right, I hyped myself too much! I blame the PurseForum for that! :smile: With all the gorgeous reveals! :smile:
Click to expand...

if you've never seen or felt rigid caviar in real life then yes, it can be disappointing. i'm being completely honest because how you felt was exactly how i felt when i saw a Chanel caviar m/l classic flap for the first time. my husband surprised me with my first Chanel about 3 years ago and it was a black caviar m/l CF with ghw. we then went back to the Chanel boutique and i exchanged and upgraded to a jumbo lambskin with ghw and never looked back!! hehe. if you put caviar next to lambskin and put them both in front of me, 10/10 times i will be immediately drawn to the lambskin bc there's just a depth of richness and color to the lambskin that is just not the same with caviar, IMHO. caviar is extremely popular bc of it's durability and more carefree maintenance. but having said that, i've had my jumbo lambskin for 3 years now and it still looks brand new. there are some very superficial scratches but i just buff then out with my fingers or the Chanel glove. I just tend to stick to classics and avoid seasonal bags bc i can't drop the amount of money Chanel bags cost and have it look too trendy or dated in a few years. all my bags have to remain timeless with the $$$ these bags cost now!

re: black boy - is it caviar, smooth calfskin, or lambskin?? once again, i am not a fan of the caviar, esp in the boy bags bc it looks so rough and rigid, but that's just me.
 
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#9
ceedoan said:
if you've never seen or felt rigid caviar in real life then yes, it can be disappointing. i'm being completely honest because how you felt was exactly how i felt when i saw a Chanel caviar m/l classic flap for the first time. my husband surprised me with my first Chanel about 3 years ago and it was a black caviar m/l CF with ghw. we then went back to the Chanel boutique and i exchanged and upgraded to a jumbo lambskin with ghw and never looked back!! hehe. if you put caviar next to lambskin and put them both in front of me, 10/10 times i will be immediately drawn to the lambskin bc there's just a depth of richness and color to the lambskin that is just not the same with caviar, IMHO. caviar is extremely popular bc of it's durability and more carefree maintenance. but having said that, i've had my jumbo lambskin for 3 years now and it still looks brand new. there are some very superficial scratches but i just buff then out with my fingers or the Chanel glove. I just tend to stick to classics and avoid seasonal bags bc i can't drop the amount of money Chanel bags cost and have it look too trendy or dated in a few years. all my bags have to remain timeless with the $$$ these bags cost now!

re: black boy - is it caviar, smooth calfskin, or lambskin?? once again, i am not a fan of the caviar, esp in the boy bags bc it looks so rough and rigid, but that's just me.
Click to expand...

Both boys, black and red were lambskin. The SA told me that with use the corners of the bag will show wear and tear eventually, because of that. She also showed me two reissues, one in chevron with black HW and one Classic in RHW. Maybe, I should have bought this one... They also had two dark green reissues on display...
 
#10
I also think red is a hard color to find because there are so many different shades and finding the one thats perfect for you can be a challenge! I bought a red lambskin chanel bag not too long ago, loved how shiny and puffy it is but put it for sale because I wanted a more darker classic red and the one I have now is more of a medium red. Red bags are so hard to find!
 
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#11
l.ch. said:
Oh, I'm so sorry, you didn't care for a bag already paid for!
Yes, I had fantasized about owing a red Chanel bag for sooo long, that I was disappointed...
And yes patience is a virtue... That I don't possess, unfortunately :smile:
Click to expand...

No worries! My SA is working on getting another bag for me. Now my patience have to kick in. Good luck on your red bag adventure.
 
#12
I'm sorry to hear that . I think it's a right decision to leave without buying anything you don't care for. You perhaps have a higher expectation. At the end of the day, purses are purses. You only purchase what you love , make you happy and feel it's worth you $$$. I personally love chanel and will keep buying it.
 
#13
Perhaps this is a good thing- lots of $ saved :smile:

I only wish I could be underwhelmed when walking into a Chanel boutique!

Actually I have been underwhelmed two times, both at Heathrow when I really was looking forward to buying something. I had called beforehand but nothing I was looking for was in stock. I tried to fall in love with other items but I think I just couldn't get over my disappointment with them not having what I really had wanted. Looking back I'm sure if I didn't have particular items in mind I would have easily purchased many others (and I wish I had). So, I feel it all begins with expectations...

In any case I would personally be happy now walking out of a boutique not wishing to purchase anything ;)
 
#15
My experience has been, oddly enough, that although I have "just casually walked into a Chanel stand-alone boutique or dept. store Chanel and picked out a handbag bag" - this method has literally NEVER worked for me. I ended up returning everyone of these purchases. Alternatively, ALL of the Chanel handbags I now own and love, I saw either on the Chanel website, TPF, or a picture was texted to me by a beloved SA that I had created a with customer-relationship first. When a particular item caught my eye, I searched the country for it. I live in California. All of my jumbo classic flaps are from NYC (BG and Saks, respectively) and were over-the-phone purchases via a trusted/referred SA. I did manage to find my wallet at a Chanel Boutique local to me, but had called ahead of time to see if they had it. Duplicate scenario with a recent tote; I saw a picture of it on the Chanel website, than called around. Likewise, my 1st visit to the Chanel boutique on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, CA was completely OVERWHELMING! Service was extremely poor (due to so much foot/tourist traffic). On a more positive note, my next visit was to a boutique in West Hollywood, CA, no more than 5 miles away from the 1st and the customer service was exemplary! Personally, I am more successful when I have "prepared myself" for my next purchase. And I believe this also reduces my returns and even dollars spent. Chanel is an elusive "creature" for sure!
 
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