Hello Ying Ying,
Welcome to your first foray in Chanel. i remember not too long ago , actually just this year March i also embarked on my first dip in designer bags (up till now, the closest I got was
Coach, Fossil -very good quality leather and designs too) and hearing Chanel mostly from others, I decided to start collecting the first iconic bag of this house brand to celebrate my achievement in my career .
Similar to you I was non the wiser . Naively, I thought I could simply pick up a classic double black flap from the Singapore boutique off the shelves just by walking in. Boy ! was i wrong and completely rebuffed by the entire episode . I was firstly informed at the start of a terribly long queue that there is no more classic flaps but only reissues left.
Nonetheless I thought i should still see through the process since i was already in a queue. When it got to my turn into the boutique i was introduced to a less than enthusiatic SA (prolly i wasn't dressed for the part too and carrying an "ahem" rather economical but very very very very very good quality leather bag that saw and withstood the test of rain, sunshine and time ) whose negative answer to me was mostly, "no" , "no more stock", "dont know" . I asked if I could leave a deposit or even full payment to be on the wait list, the straight answer was "no" "there is no such thing". I asked for a phone number and to be wait listed and i wasnt given any number. Half heartedly the SA took out his book and put in my contact to wait list. Wthin 5 minutes, i was shown the door , clearly i wasnt their preferred profile of "clientele" and I never heard from this SA ever again.
Undettered, I went to another Chanel branch and took the pains to dress up more "ahem" appropriately and asked about the same thing. The experience was much better at this branch as luck would have it a very friendly SA of the jewelry section managed to enagage us (even though I didnt buy anything from her) and she even hook me up to the SA bag section and managed to procure a black classic flap in another months time.
Overall, i would say, one need to be patient and the black classic double flap would be invariably made available most of the time . Just make sure you engage an SA who is willingly to waitlist you and usually a good sign would be when the SA shares his/her mobile contact with u. I eventually went on to secure another SA contact who helped me to secure other classic bag. However most of the time, for the more popular colours like pink or models like coco handle, i would approach resellers . Since then, I have collected a sizeable number of Chanel bags mostly from resellers .
i was thinking of going unto the orange route but after studying the designs, aethestics and craftsmanship I think relatively Chanel still trumps in these department of beauty, versatility, craftsmanship , detail, lightweight ness (hence very carriable) and a large repertoire of variety fpr different occasion (despite all being said about the recent quality being compromised at the back of rising chanel prices especially- one just need to be more careful to QC the bags at the boutique and definitely do lots lots and lots of research and comparison) and the brand definitely holds resale value well.
All the best in your quest of the bag of your dreams
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