Chanel 19 sizing, color and leather comparisons!

Which one is your favorite on me?

  • White medium

    Votes: 22 26.8%
  • Beige small

    Votes: 60 73.2%

  • Total voters
    82

rieestyle

Member
Dec 12, 2018
56
348
Here are my review as well as some mod shots of the Chanel 19. I had a hard time deciding on the sizing and the color and wasn’t able to find that much information online, so I hope this is helpful for those making similar purchase decisions. The two bags featured: 20S beige lambskin in small, and 20A white goatskin in medium. For reference I’m 5’9, 141 lbs.



My overall review of the bag: LOVE is an understatement. Super easy to carry in 4 different ways (shoulder, cross body, top handle and as a clutch), fits a ton, very durable leather, and goes with a wide variety of casual and dressy outfits. I haven’t owned these bags for that long but they are fast becoming my favs of my entire collection.



Sizing: I don’t think height should be a determining factor; it’s more about the look you are going for and what you typically like to wear. The small looks more elegant, and the medium has more of a casual cool vibe to it. I think the small looks better with a summer dress, a casual but slim fitting summer outfit or an elegant winter coat (like a camel coat), and the medium looks better with thicker winter outfits or dresses that are more loose fitting. Both sizes can be dresses up or down IMO, but I personally wouldn’t wear the medium to a semi-formal event (whenever that happens again lol).



Color: I love the 20S beige and think it’s one of the most beautiful beiges I’ve seen from Chanel, but I’m absolutely obsessed with the white. The white just really pops and is a surprisingly versatile color. I see myself wearing the white a lot in all four seasons. Beige on the other hand screams more spring summer to me.



Leather: to be honest, I can’t quite tell the difference between lamb and goat even when looking closely side by side. Goatskin seems a tad bit studier, but lambskin is really sturdy too since it’s treated. I’ve heard the leather on the 19 varies a lot from season to season and batch to batch, so maybe there are greater variations out there, but I personally wouldn’t worry too much about lambskin not being durable.



Practicality: the small is more comfortable to wear, but the medium fits more. The small looks really good and feels comfortable when worn cross body, but the medium not as much. However, the medium fits a lot more. People say the small already fits a lot but to me sometimes it falls a little short on that front. When you put all your backs in (wallet, sunglasses, mini pocketed etc.) in, it’s harder to use the back pocket to store your iPhone. It’s a definitely a trade-off.



Hope this is helpful! Which one is your favorite

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Fellow 19 lover here! I am most partial to the small size (which I own) as I don't care for the sag on this bag as it gets larger. I don't mind unstructured bags with a sag, I just don't love this one when it looks that way. The Maxi 19 looks like a pillow to me, and not in a good way. :smile: I also really only like this bag in black, beige, and white. I wouldn't mind a beige small at some point. On you, I definitely prefer the small, but don't think the medium looks bad at all. I can see why someone who carries a bit more in their bag would go for the medium; I downsize my items (which is kind of refreshing!) when I downsize my bag. I have plenty of room in the small for a compact wallet, LV Mini Pochette, and phone. If I want to fit extra items, I use a card case instead of the compact wallet. Lastly, my bag is goatskin and I am SUPER happy with it. Very shiny, puffy, and resilient as well. I really only hear concerns about lambskin as it relates to the Trendy CC. That one seems to strike some owners as fragile.

Are you planning to return one of these? Or are you keeping both?
 
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Here are my review as well as some mod shots of the Chanel 19. I had a hard time deciding on the sizing and the color and wasn’t able to find that much information online, so I hope this is helpful for those making similar purchase decisions. The two bags featured: 20S beige lambskin in small, and 20A white goatskin in medium. For reference I’m 5’9, 141 lbs.



My overall review of the bag: LOVE is an understatement. Super easy to carry in 4 different ways (shoulder, cross body, top handle and as a clutch), fits a ton, very durable leather, and goes with a wide variety of casual and dressy outfits. I haven’t owned these bags for that long but they are fast becoming my favs of my entire collection.



Sizing: I don’t think height should be a determining factor; it’s more about the look you are going for and what you typically like to wear. The small looks more elegant, and the medium has more of a casual cool vibe to it. I think the small looks better with a summer dress, a casual but slim fitting summer outfit or an elegant winter coat (like a camel coat), and the medium looks better with thicker winter outfits or dresses that are more loose fitting. Both sizes can be dresses up or down IMO, but I personally wouldn’t wear the medium to a semi-formal event (whenever that happens again lol).



Color: I love the 20S beige and think it’s one of the most beautiful beiges I’ve seen from Chanel, but I’m absolutely obsessed with the white. The white just really pops and is a surprisingly versatile color. I see myself wearing the white a lot in all four seasons. Beige on the other hand screams more spring summer to me.



Leather: to be honest, I can’t quite tell the difference between lamb and goat even when looking closely side by side. Goatskin seems a tad bit studier, but lambskin is really sturdy too since it’s treated. I’ve heard the leather on the 19 varies a lot from season to season and batch to batch, so maybe there are greater variations out there, but I personally wouldn’t worry too much about lambskin not being durable.



Practicality: the small is more comfortable to wear, but the medium fits more. The small looks really good and feels comfortable when worn cross body, but the medium not as much. However, the medium fits a lot more. People say the small already fits a lot but to me sometimes it falls a little short on that front. When you put all your backs in (wallet, sunglasses, mini pocketed etc.) in, it’s harder to use the back pocket to store your iPhone. It’s a definitely a trade-off.



Hope this is helpful! Which one is your favorite

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Both gorgeous options and both look fresh and great on you
My advice truly is go with what YOU LOVE and what makes you feel happy. Both colours are useful and versatile. I have both sizes in black and the small really doesn’t fit much. It sounds like you like the white more for colour and size; great reasons and definitely go with your gut and your heart
 
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Wow I really like both!!! I've never held or seen the Chanel 19 in real life but here's my opinion:
You mentioned that the beige color is one of the best shades of beige from Chanel, so I feel like the beige would be better to get, purely from that standpoint In addition, I feel like Chanel (and other brands) will always have their white bags that you can use year round, if that makes sense? Would it be possible to find an even better white bag in the future?

Also another perspective: I actually think the white one suits your style more, cause the beige Chanel sometimes gets lost when I see your outfits. Because from the pictures, you wear a lot of black, blue, white, so I feel like the white one matches better with your clothes. The beige Chanel is alright when you wore the black coat, but mostly because they're very contrasting colors.

Hopefully that was helpful and I didn't confuse you more LOL
 
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Fellow 19 lover here! I am most partial to the small size (which I own) as I don't care for the sag on this bag as it gets larger. I don't mind unstructured bags with a sag, I just don't love this one when it looks that way. The Maxi 19 looks like a pillow to me, and not in a good way. :smile: I also really only like this bag in black, beige, and white. I wouldn't mind a beige small at some point. On you, I definitely prefer the small, but don't think the medium looks bad at all. I can see why someone who carries a bit more in their bag would go for the medium; I downsize my items (which is kind of refreshing!) when I downsize my bag. I have plenty of room in the small for a compact wallet, LV Mini Pochette, and phone. If I want to fit extra items, I use a card case instead of the compact wallet. Lastly, my bag is goatskin and I am SUPER happy with it. Very shiny, puffy, and resilient as well. I really only hear concerns about lambskin as it relates to the Trendy CC. That one seems to strike some owners as fragile.

Are you planning to return one of these? Or are you keeping both?

The unstructured 'pillowy' look is actually what attracts me to 19 :smile:

I love the look as it's so different from other structured Chanel bags. It's a lot easier to reach for and goes with my casual outfits (which let's be honest is 99% what I wear these days lol)

The small does fit a lot, but I also like the option of having a big bag that has room for kindle, sunscreen, etc. For that reason I'm very tempted to keep both!
 
Both gorgeous options and both look fresh and great on you
My advice truly is go with what YOU LOVE and what makes you feel happy. Both colours are useful and versatile. I have both sizes in black and the small really doesn’t fit much. It sounds like you like the white more for colour and size; great reasons and definitely go with your gut and your heart

Thank you!! I feel like I love both at the moment, tough decisions haha

I do like white for the striking color and size, but sometimes small is just friendlier. I find myself reaching for it when I go to the UPS or grocery store, whereas the medium can be a bit uncomfortable when wearing it cross body.
 
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If you can keep both then do it! Both look amazing on you and you clearly love both bags. They can each serve a different purpose in your collection.

I have a white large one too and I’m surprised how much I use it and what a versatile, easy bag it is.
 
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The unstructured 'pillowy' look is actually what attracts me to 19 :smile:

I love the look as it's so different from other structured Chanel bags. It's a lot easier to reach for and goes with my casual outfits (which let's be honest is 99% what I wear these days lol)

The small does fit a lot, but I also like the option of having a big bag that has room for kindle, sunscreen, etc. For that reason I'm very tempted to keep both!
In light of what you have said here, perhaps keeping both is an option?
 
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Wow I really like both!!! I've never held or seen the Chanel 19 in real life but here's my opinion:
You mentioned that the beige color is one of the best shades of beige from Chanel, so I feel like the beige would be better to get, purely from that standpoint In addition, I feel like Chanel (and other brands) will always have their white bags that you can use year round, if that makes sense? Would it be possible to find an even better white bag in the future?

Also another perspective: I actually think the white one suits your style more, cause the beige Chanel sometimes gets lost when I see your outfits. Because from the pictures, you wear a lot of black, blue, white, so I feel like the white one matches better with your clothes. The beige Chanel is alright when you wore the black coat, but mostly because they're very contrasting colors.

Hopefully that was helpful and I didn't confuse you more LOL

Those are really good points, thank you!! It definitely gives me a new framework to think about this for sure.

I totally agree that the beige can sometimes get lost. I realized after seeing your comment that my clothes have a lot of sharp colors, so sometimes beige just gets blended in whereas the white pops more. But then beige is SO easy to wear. Tough decisions...
 
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I initially was gunna say go for the small beige since it has a more classic look, but I love how you pull off the white medium :smile: It gives off more of an edgy vibe.
Thank you!! The white is more edgy I agree. I think the larger sizes on the 19 are more cool looking for sure, whereas the small is more classic as it can be worn as a cute top handle bag.
 
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