first Chanel bag - everyday use - lambskin?

[chaliyai]

Hey everyone


Very soon I am going to buy my first Chanel bag.
It will probably be my only Chanel bag for many years so I really want to make a good decision.

I am no collector and I do not plan to collect dozens and dozens of bags.
To each their own, but the whole collecting-thing with having 1000 of bags sitting on my shelve is absolutely not for me - I do not like this abundance in my life - it gives me absolutely nothing and is not appealing to me.

I am very happy with having also only 1 card holder (Chanel classic flat card holder in caviar), 1 key pouch (LV pochette clés in Monogram), 1 coin / cash purse (Hèrmes Bastia in epsom) & I am planning on adding a LV Mini Pochette in Damier Ebene to use as a catch-all as soon as I am able to find one in the stores or online.
--> so as you can see I went with very durable options for my SLGs

Two of my friends own each 1 classic flap in beige and they both use them as their everyday bags.
So far they look pretty good.
Both of them are lambskin but they are really old vintage models which were bought pre-loved and I heard a lot of times, that Chanel vintage bags were waaaay more durable and sturdy.

I absolutely would love to go for lambskin rather than caviar, as I prefer the look of it, I love to touch it and it would be great to have a bit of variety (with my card holder I already own a caviar item)

I also plan on carrying the purse nearly every day and every time when going out - but I would prefer to buy it in the boutique rather than a vintage one.

Do you think that could work out fine - or is the new lamb just way too delicate?

I would really not mind little scratches here and there - as in my opinion, this just adds some character to the bag and I do not plan on reselling anyway.
On top of that I heard some people mention that you can buff out the scratches from the lamb sometimes.

(I have one back-up bag from another brand for rainy days & action days)


Thank you for your help

 

[Cinderelladress]

Much prefer lambskin but I would go for caviar if this will be your only chanel. What size are you thinking? IMO the perfect everyday classic flap would be a jumbo black caviar.

 

[Baybeeh0ney]

Agreed with Taiwo92, I own medium and jumbo classic flaps both in caviar. If it's going to be your only one and an every day bag. I would go for jumbo as well because you can fit more. Crossbody friendly, I use strap shortners (I'm 5'2)

Definitely if you could, go try both sizes in store and see which one you are in love with!

 

[7h5f921]

I have 2 jumbo’s in lambskin and love them both.
I do take care about where they sit and not to rub them against corners/walls.
If I could only have one I would keep the black since I would not want to worry about color transfer.
As long as you are mindful of the bag it will last for a very long time - even with everyday wear.

 

[hermesgeek]

Honestly love lambskin more than caviar for my Chanel flaps. I love the look and touch of it more than caviar. It feels more Chanel to me. However, as an everyday piece no matter how much you baby it, rubbing will show and corners will lighten. So if that bothers you, I’d go for the caviar. Though, must warn you that soft caviar also rubs and lightens. However, the caviar-caviar won’t— it’s one of the most durable leathers out there.
Cost wise, in case you’re someone who wants to get the most of out of their purchase, chanel used to price lambskin more than caviar. I haven’t bought a classic Chanel since 2010ish as I’ve completed my collection so I was surprised to know that both lambskin and caviar are priced the same. Good luck on your decision!

 

[luxsal]

I would go with whatever makes you happy and content! A SA recently told me that if the leather starts to peel then they can repair it for you. Not for free of course. I would suggest that you buy from boutique for the experience and also to get the warranty. Vintage lambskin is beautiful! But it is very expensive on the resell market right now unless you are lucky and find a reasonably priced one. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of your options!

 

[janetaz]

I personally don’t like caviar. I absolutely love the lambskin. I have a lambskin boy wallet that I’ve used a lot for 4 years. I do not in any way baby my wallets. The wallet has scratches but still looks great. My jumbo is from 2010. To be honest I don’t carry it much and I am careful with it. It looks great. I’ll attach a picture. I love the vintage lambskin so much that I’m about ready to just use mine and let it age. I keep telling myself that I need to use my bags and not worry, I just need to use and enjoy. I don’t plan on reselling.

 

[honeybunch]

I personally would not get lambskin for an every day bag. I used to only ever buy lambskin and then I sold a lot of my bags and only bought caviar. The first flap I bought was lamb and it was the older, better lambskin that people talk about. I used it as a daily bag and it did still look beautiful on the quilts and once it developed a patina you couldn’t see scratches. However, the base scratched easily cos it’s flat and the corners wore quickly. Also the back of the bag, where it rubbed against me, sort of changed in texture and discoloured (it was a black bag!). I am extremely careful with all my bags. Lambskin just does not wear as well as caviar. Corners wear easily. That’s the main concern for me. Also if you have make up on your hands and touch your bag it leaves marks which you have to be careful when removing in case it lifts the dye. I’ve only ever bought lambskin wallets but I was looking at my wallet the other day and, while the quilts look beautiful and have developed a shine, the edges are well worn. I’m going to sell it and get a caviar one instead. It took me a long time to like caviar but now I love it for its durability. Why don’t you get the flap in caviar but look for one that’s got a nice sheen and smaller grain so it looks like lamb from a distance? This is the caviar I love. I don’t like the dull, matt, very grainy caviar. You could always save for a woc in lambskin that could be a special bag for the evening.

 

[chaliyai]

hello everyone
thank you for your thoughts
I will keep all of your arguments in mind.

wow, @janetaz - your bag looks flawless and soooo luxurious

To me: I never wear any make-up, so I should not have this particular problem.

With the color I am not 100% sure yet. Most definitely it won't be black.
Of course black is 'safe' as you can't spot any dirt - but black does not suit me well. It makes me look old, does not go well with my wardrobe and I think black looks horrible on me (does not match my skin-tone / complexion & my hair color).

I love a nice warm beige - but honestly I am a liiiiittle bit clumsy sometimes and a dirty bag looks not good.
So maybe I will go with a nice dark brown - something like the new 2021's Chanel dark yummy chocolate brown.

Sizewise the jumbo is not an option for me.
I do not like carrying my whole household with me - I only carry minibags so far.
My keys, cards, cash, AirPods - (maybe a tissue, bandaid, tampon, small pack of gum, miniature hand sanitizer & sometimes a very tiny lotion - these things I would like to carry in the mini Pochette which I do not own so far)

So honestly it will be between the square mini - which comes with a bigger volume than the rectangular mini & I like the strap length more. (I tried both on in the store. The only option would be lambskin in this case.
Of course with the mini it will be a tight fit - but it's possible - as I saw in multiple YouTube videos which showed the same items.)
-
Or - if I decide to go with caviar, it will be the small CF with a little little little bit of extra room.
Honestly the double flap takes a lot of space - so it does not hold a lot more than a mini & I do not care about the mini not being a true "classic".

( If there are rare occasions which require to carry more stuff, I will go with my non-luxury backpack from school instead of carrying a heavy purse on my shoulder and breaking my spine )

 

[doni]

I also much prefer lambskin, but my Chanel lambskin bags are all older or vintage. I find the lambskin very resilient, it can be easily taken care of and does not peel like caviar. Any embossed leather is going to be less fragile in the short term because of resistance to scratches, but in the long term the corners peel and scratches cannot be repaired as with natural grain leathers. So for a bag that you want to use a lot and keep a long time, lambskin is better if you accept that scratches are going to happen and that you are going to have to take care of the leather, just as you would with a pair of shoes.

That said, they do say the new lambskin is more fragile than the old, so I don’t know.

 

[sjofaye]

I definitely think you can get away with wearing a lambskin bag on the daily. You just have to be mindful of the bag. I don't think you have to go crazy and do backflips to avoid and dodge things that may damage it, but simply just be aware of your surroundings. For ex if you go grocery shopping, don't swing the bag to the back of you where someone may bump into you with their cart.

I also suggest getting a bag insert [or pillow but if you use it everyday I don't think you would want to constantly pull everything out to put a pillow in it then remove the pillow the next day] so you can protect the structure of the bag while keeping the inside clean!

Since you seem to not really care about reselling the bag, and actually appreciate the wear and tear I think you should go with the lambskin. I'm usually a caviar/grained leather type of gal but once I got my lambskin bags I think I have been converted. They are just so luscious and gorgeous. I haven't used my lambskin cf's enough to comment on how it wears but I am also super clumsy and my bags have been fine!

Any embossed leather is going to be less fragile in the short term because of resistance to scratches, but in the long term the corners peel and scratches cannot be repaired as with natural grain leathers. So for a bag that you want to use a lot and keep a long time, lambskin is better if you accept that scratches are going to happen and that you are going to have to take care of the leather, just as you would with a pair of shoes.

I agree with Doni. I have lambskin and caviar cf's but haven't used them enough so I can't comment on the durability of the two. However I do have a Céline grained nano luggage and Céline lambskin trio bag that I used on the daily over the past five years and the grained leather, while sturdy, I feel does not look as good as my lambskin trio does.

I got a few scratches here and there on the lambskin but they buffed out over time from simply rubbing them, but for the grained leather... I somehow got a scratch on it during a vacation and it does not look good at all. It is very obvious when you spot it and you cannot buff it out. So yes lambskin may be fragile but I think it will still look amazing even with wear and tear.

 

[ladysarah]

I had a Chanel classic lambskin which I bought new and wore for 10 years- they wear like iron! If it’s authentic the quality is incredible.

 

[wimp]

Hey everyone


Very soon I am going to buy my first Chanel bag.
It will probably be my only Chanel bag for many years so I really want to make a good decision.

I am no collector and I do not plan to collect dozens and dozens of bags.
To each their own, but the whole collecting-thing with having 1000 of bags sitting on my shelve is absolutely not for me - I do not like this abundance in my life - it gives me absolutely nothing and is not appealing to me.

I am very happy with having also only 1 card holder (Chanel classic flat card holder in caviar), 1 key pouch (LV pochette clés in Monogram), 1 coin / cash purse (Hèrmes Bastia in epsom) & I am planning on adding a LV Mini Pochette in Damier Ebene to use as a catch-all as soon as I am able to find one in the stores or online.
--> so as you can see I went with very durable options for my SLGs

Two of my friends own each 1 classic flap in beige and they both use them as their everyday bags.
So far they look pretty good.
Both of them are lambskin but they are really old vintage models which were bought pre-loved and I heard a lot of times, that Chanel vintage bags were waaaay more durable and sturdy.

I absolutely would love to go for lambskin rather than caviar, as I prefer the look of it, I love to touch it and it would be great to have a bit of variety (with my card holder I already own a caviar item)

I also plan on carrying the purse nearly every day and every time when going out - but I would prefer to buy it in the boutique rather than a vintage one.

Do you think that could work out fine - or is the new lamb just way too delicate?

I would really not mind little scratches here and there - as in my opinion, this just adds some character to the bag and I do not plan on reselling anyway.
On top of that I heard some people mention that you can buff out the scratches from the lamb sometimes.

(I have one back-up bag from another brand for rainy days & action days)


Thank you for your help

I'm very similar to you in that i'm not a collector; I would love to own more but can't justify it and am lazy to move things between bags so I have an everyday bag and a WOC for fancier occasions. I have never owned lambskin but my best friend had a flap and she was way too scared to use it because she said it scratched so easily. My definition of luxury is that it's both beautiful and comfortable so for me, I don't find it comfortable if I have to baby my things. With that said, I have a bifold wallet, which is caviar and my WOC is also caviar. I've had my wallet for over a year and the leather still looks brand new. I take my WOC whenever I travel and use it everywhere in any weather condition and it too is in wonderful condition. If you think scratches might worry you, then i'd definitely recommend caviar.

For my Miu Miu mini bow, I actually really like the worn/used look but I felt that if I bought it new, I might be too precious with it. My strategy was to purchase a preloved one so I felt much more relaxed using it.

Good luck very excited for you!

 

[dmrleal]

Hi!
I'm new here!
I'm thinking of buying the Chanel classic card holder in black. I do not own anything by Chanel.
I have the same doubt that @chaliyai ! Lambskin or caviar? The store where I want to buy only have the lambskin and I just loved the leather touch. I'm very careful with my things and I pretend use 2 card holders (switch from time to time).
I feel some pressure to buy right now, because the future price increase in November.
Anyone had problems with the hardware? Discoloration?

Thank you for your help!

 

[mc79638]

Most of my bags are lambskin. I use them regularly without any issue. I take good care of all my bags though.