black bag and torn between Chanel & Hermes

I think if you really want a H bag but need to fill the gap for a Chanel black flap, maybe you can consider the Wallet on Chain (WOC) bag from Chanel. It comes in various styles. One of the styles is the reissue but if you want to carry more, there's the half moon style WOC.
There's a thread in the Chanel forum about various styles of WOC and another thread for price ;) Hope this helps
 
maryg1 - I have more black bags than I know what to do with, but I find I use my Hermes black bags the most.

I bought Chanel bags for 25 years, and I no longer buy them because I just do not like the quality anymore. Many of the older bags were very well-made, but I feel things have really changed at Chanel over the last decade...

Do you have long hair? When I used to have long hair, my biggest complaint with Chanel was the darn chain straps. My hair would get caught in the chain, and it would literally get ripped out (ouch!).

Ranag, I'm happy to hear your opinion about Chanel. I no longer (sigh!) have long hair, but I'm going to let them grow again, but it will take at least 2 years!
 
I have both, a 28 bbk and m/l lambskin flap. I think both are very versatile as they can be worn day and night.

For formal dinners I prefer the flap as it looks more refine/compact than the kelly (when worn with the strap). I guess what I am saying is that the size compliments my outfit/silhoutte better. Also, if it is a sit down dinner then the flap is perfect to either just hang from my chair or placed behind my back. I would not be able to do that with the bbk. If I have the KL or the KP then it would be better. Since I don't have either of these, I can shorten the chain on the flap and make it into a handheld.

For small dinner parties at friends, then the bbk would be my pick for the night as I can placed the kelly down and not worry about it being near the dinner table.

Since both are different, you can't go wrong with having both. Here's a pic for size comparison. GL

IMG_4925.jpg

very helpful post indeed! I must admit that my formal occasions are nowhere near glamour - dinners with DH, some meets with friends and family reunion. No big parties or premiere!
 
Three things to tell you here. Totally unrelated.

  • I have a med/large black caviar flap which I rely upon for things like dressy events, when black is called for. When a thread on the bag fell apart I had to take it to the boutique for repair, which took months, I realized how very much I needed to have this little guy in my closet.
  • When I was attracted to a pretty little black flap in the Channel boutique last summer and I was on the hunt for a black box Kelly at the same price, I found the Kelly (in sadder shape that the seller let on) and realized that the Kelly was the better buy, even at it's advanced age of 39 years. It's a beauty. But, not a substitute for that little flap, which doesn't hold much, but is more appropriate for different occasions.
  • If you want a "formal" or "dressy" H, look for a Jige clutch, I think they are very reasonably priced and you can see them on the H website. Just a thought.
A constance is very, very expensive and as much as I love mine (purchased a a sale otherwise was cost prohibitive) I find that I use it infrequently. I'm afraid of damaging the clasp!

I definitely had a quality issue with my Chanel Maxi Chevron. It was bought directly from a boutique. To my horror, the leather strap intertwined with the chain has a horizontal cut. Think about spending $3000 plus for a bag only to be disappointed. On a positive note, returning it was not a problem. But the inconvenience was.

I very much appreciate your posts. I learned that I have to search for a vintage Chanel flap if I really want quality at its best.
 
Ranag, I'm happy to hear your opinion about Chanel. I no longer (sigh!) have long hair, but I'm going to let them grow again, but it will take at least 2 years!

I did buy a Chanel metallic black flap bag a couple of years ago simply because I loved the look of it - not for the quality. I love it because it is very edgy-looking, but I do not think it would fill the need for more formal wear. I use a baby birkin or a smaller kelly for dinners and such (and we do not do really "formal" anything anymore). I haven't used my Constance yet, but it would be a nice option too :flowers:
 

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They are two very different things. I own both, they both (BBK28 sellier and an old black 226 Chanel), and the use I have of them is very different.
They both are bags that go from day to night.

Chanel is more always the same because it is identifiable, hermès is a jolly that maybe makes me look more like an old lady, wich I am not, but it really goes with everything and has a versatile non tiering aspect that Chanel doesn't have. That said I am happy to have the Chanels for a change from time to time.

It also depends on how much you want to fit in the bag and how formal you want your bag to be.
For very formal occasions I would more go for a clutch or a smaller version of kelly or of Chanel.

Honestly? I would make this kind of long term plan if you want to be covered for all kind of formal occasions:
First purchase BBK, sellier, 28.
Second, Chanel 226 or 225 reissue flap in either black or blue.
Third, a Kelly Pochette in black, PHW.

If you want to skip one of these three I would go for a Chanel, and then after that the Kelly Pochette.

But that's just me... you have to really think what suits you more and what you like more.

Sorry to make things more complicated and more expensive. ;)
 
The Wallet on Chain is a good idea if you don't want to carry much. I love my black lamb camellia embossed WOC. I have been using that for very dressy occasions when I'm afraid to carry my Judith Leiber. I tuck the chain in (I wish they would make it detachable, like Feraggamo!) and it becomes a lovely clutch. I like it a lot, much less $$ and it could fill in a gap for you. The half moon, which I also own, a think is great because it holds a ton of stuff and nothing, even a torrential downpour, can kill it, is not dressy at all.
Again, just my thoughts.
 
I have a couple of black Chanel flaps and a Kelly 32 BBK sellier, and I think if my Kelly were a 28 sellier, it would be better for formal occasions and I would use it far more frequently than the Chanels
 
^ BBL, so the chain is not detachable on the WOC? I am thinking of getting a WOC and is toying with the idea of cutting a link so I can detach the chain to use as a clutch and use a clasp when needed. I don't like to tuck the chain inside as it would greatly diminished the capacity. The WOC would be a great solution to having a messenger & a clutch (if I dare to alter the chain). lol

Mary, sorry to be OT.
 
^^^
Lucky you re: the hair and the Chanel chains! :flowers: I had waist-length hair, and the Chanel chains would pull the hair out from the root! :sad: I got so tired of it I started to hand carry the bags.
 
darling I have 2 chanel a classic black and silver caviar 2.55 and a jumbo white and silver 2.55, but fact is I wear the black one out with the chains tied in so the handle becomes almost like the one on a Kelly pochette, you tie it with a rubber band, or a hair band, but the issue here is that chanel beautiful as it is does not have the Kelly effect, if it is a smaller bag then a Kelly in box 28cm is more than perfect if it is in Togo Epsom or swift then I would go sellier and all the way up to 32 or 35 that way you get the sleek composed look. thing is and this is what I mean by the Kelly effect, that the Kelly in black is something that you pull out and it instantly ads glamour you ,need comfort then you just add the shoulder strap as oposed to the channel that in my case I always find converting as to not get the bardot shabby chic look ,I love the always pristine look that the kelly gives when going out my black Kelly is turning 50.I believe and it is just divine, could not ask for a more well, put together composed bag.truth is my Old Kelly vs my new chanel no contest, take it from someone who already fell for the chanel and found it to be less than practical, and actually less than stunning.