Should I buy my first Chanel now?

[ozorezanitako]

Congratulations !
I have just replied to your previous post, not knowing you had already made a purchase.
Beautiful bag! Enjoy!

No worries! And thank you for sharing, I could always look into that seller for future purchases
Before getting this newer ver of the Jumbo, I did look into some of the Chanel vintage purses as well.
For example, I quite like the Diana style in lambskin.
But I decided to go for what I really love, as my first Chanel purchase!
How's your experience with the leather on more vintage purses?
Do you find that you have to be more delicate with them?
Does it bother you that some of the lambskin ones could have totally lost its puffiness?

 

[ChanelCanuck]

No worries! And thank you for sharing, I could always look into that seller for future purchases
Before getting this newer ver of the Jumbo, I did look into some of the Chanel vintage purses as well.
For example, I quite like the Diana style in lambskin.
But I decided to go for what I really love, as my first Chanel purchase!
How's your experience with the leather on more vintage purses?
Do you find that you have to be more delicate with them?
Does it bother you that some of the lambskin ones could have totally lost its puffiness?

I find that vintage lambskin is way more durable than today's lambskin; it feels more like calfskin even. You can be less delicate with it than normal! It used to bother me that vintage lambskin usually loses its puffiness but I find with enough conditioning, I can at least bring back some of the shine, and I try to embrace the lack of puffiness as indicative of the history of such an old bag.

 

[ozorezanitako]

I find that vintage lambskin is way more durable than today's lambskin; it feels more like calfskin even. You can be less delicate with it than normal! It used to bother me that vintage lambskin usually loses its puffiness but I find with enough conditioning, I can at least bring back some of the shine, and I try to embrace the lack of puffiness as indicative of the history of such an old bag.

That's a great way of looking at it too
I feel like I wouldn't mind a vintage Chanel to rotate with, since a lot of people seem to really appreciate the better quality of the gold hardware and the leather of those older purses.
I just didn't wanna go vintage for my first Chanel right away haha.
As for conditioning, I just ordered a Cadillac select premium lotion.
Is that what you use too?
I'm trying to be very careful over here...

 

[ChanelCanuck]

That's a great way of looking at it too
I feel like I wouldn't mind a vintage Chanel to rotate with, since a lot of people seem to really appreciate the better quality of the gold hardware and the leather of those older purses.
I just didn't wanna go vintage for my first Chanel right away haha.
As for conditioning, I just ordered a Cadillac select premium lotion.
Is that what you use too?
I'm trying to be very careful over here...

I think you've done it exactly right - new bag for your first Chanel, and then go for a vintage afterwards. The leather (especially black lambskin) can be so sleek, and the 24k hardware pops.

I use Cadillac lotion - mine is in the green bottle, but other people use the premium in the white bottle. Both are supposed to be good; some users say the green bottle is the one some of the boutiques use, so you can't go wrong.

I'd be curious to hear what people's methods are for applying lotion onto their lambskins. I tend to use a generous amount on my vintage bags (especially re-dyed) just to overcompensate for their lack of moisture, but use it way more sparingly on my new bags.

 

[ozorezanitako]

I think you've done it exactly right - new bag for your first Chanel, and then go for a vintage afterwards. The leather (especially black lambskin) can be so sleek, and the 24k hardware pops.

I use Cadillac lotion - mine is in the green bottle, but other people use the premium in the white bottle. Both are supposed to be good; some users say the green bottle is the one some of the boutiques use, so you can't go wrong.

I'd be curious to hear what people's methods are for applying lotion onto their lambskins. I tend to use a generous amount on my vintage bags (especially re-dyed) just to overcompensate for their lack of moisture, but use it way more sparingly on my new bags.

Oh cool.
How long do you usually leave it on after you applied the lotion (aka let it air dry before storing back in the dustbag etc)?
Have you tried applying it on caviar leather too?
I feel like caviar may not need as much conditioning as lambskin, but I may be wrong.

 

[ChanelCanuck]

Oh cool.
How long do you usually leave it on after you applied the lotion (aka let it air dry before storing back in the dustbag etc)?
Have you tried applying it on caviar leather too?
I feel like caviar may not need as much conditioning as lambskin, but I may be wrong.

I let it air dry overnight before I store it again. In theory, I should be letting it air dry overnight in between each layer too but now I just leave it for a few hours, and will do a couple of layers a day.

I've never applied anything to caviar leather; my feeling is it's treated, so it's not very porous, so I have a feeling that lotion won't have anywhere to absorb? Unless the point is just to add a coating of "sheen" to the surface of it, maybe I'd use it very sparingly and buff the bag with a smidgen of conditioner and a microfibre cloth. But I don't think it will do anything from a moisture perspective. How shiny is your new bag right now?

 

[ozorezanitako]

I let it air dry overnight before I store it again. In theory, I should be letting it air dry overnight in between each layer too but now I just leave it for a few hours, and will do a couple of layers a day.

I've never applied anything to caviar leather; my feeling is it's treated, so it's not very porous, so I have a feeling that lotion won't have anywhere to absorb? Unless the point is just to add a coating of "sheen" to the surface of it, maybe I'd use it very sparingly and buff the bag with a smidgen of conditioner and a microfibre cloth. But I don't think it will do anything from a moisture perspective. How shiny is your new bag right now?

Thank you! I'll leave it overnight too then.
I'd say mine is alright, as you can see in the picture I posted earlier.
It's not in desperate need of a conditioning or anything like that.
But I'm so used to conditioning my other leather goods, even treated leather like Prada saffiano, that I figured I'd get the Cadillac lotion just in case.
I think what I might do is, I'd just apply it very sparingly onto a soft cotton or microfibre cloth, and gently buff it into the leather to get rid of some surface dirt and leave it to dry overnight.
I might try it on a small hidden area first before applying to the whole purse, just to be safe.
I'd let you know how that goes

 

[Mimi-2020]

vintage Chanel bags are all in lamb skin.
My bags are not big, so they’re easier to be protected. The biggest one and latest purchase is my 2.55 with 25cm base. Please see photo attached.

Yes, I have scratched my bags some, but I have found lamb skin is easy to be repaired.

For minor scratches, Saphir mink oil base leather cream will do.

For those few deeper scratches which appeared on my bags when they first arrived,
I used a tiny bit of Feet People shoe cream in black, let dry then polish; and then Saphir shoe cream (Without color), let dry then polish.

The black color from Feet People does not come off after it is dry. It is a very good product.
However, their clear cream doesn’t work as well as Saphir. So , I use Saphir for the long lasting shine.

I love to restore bags to give them a new live.

I don’t have a lamb skin bag with puffy quilts, my bags are Chanel’s older productions and they were made flat originally.

As you can see my pre-1986 2.55 in attached photo, the quilts were made flat and tight. If the quilts were puffy once then later flattened, they would have that sagging deflated look.

I think I like these older bags because of the quality of the hardware. After all these years, although the leather has some wearing, the gold coating is still good as new. Amazing.

haha, with PayPal 24month payment plan, it’s not hard to start your vintage Chanel collection. Wait for 0 or 5.99% interest rate though. I think they’re having 0% APR right now.
Enjoy!

p.s. I would definitely carry your new Chanel caviar to work. Other ladies will see it and love it . I beg, they will start their Chanel collection too.

 

[ChanelCanuck]

vintage Chanel bags are all in lamb skin.
My bags are not big, so they’re easier to be protected. The biggest one and latest purchase is my 2.55 with 25cm base. Please see photo attached.

Yes, I have scratched my bags some, but I have found lamb skin is easy to be repaired.

For minor scratches, Saphir mink oil base leather cream will do.

For those few deeper scratches which appeared on my bags when they first arrived,
I used a tiny bit of Feet People shoe cream in black, let dry then polish; and then Saphir shoe cream (Without color), let dry then polish.

The black color from Feet People does not come off after it is dry. It is a very good product.
However, their clear cream doesn’t work as well as Saphir. So , I use Saphir for the long lasting shine.

I love to restore bags to give them a new live.

I don’t have a lamb skin bag with puffy quilts, my bags are Chanel’s older productions and they were made flat originally.

As you can see my pre-1986 2.55 in attached photo, the quilts were made flat and tight. If the quilts were puffy once then later flattened, they would have that sagging deflated look.

I think I like these older bags because of the quality of the hardware. After all these years, although the leather has some wearing, the gold coating is still good as new. Amazing.

haha, with PayPal 24month payment plan, it’s not hard to start your vintage Chanel collection. Wait for 0 or 5.99% interest rate though. I think they’re having 0% APR right now.
Enjoy!

p.s. I would definitely carry your new Chanel caviar to work. Other ladies will see it and love it . I beg, they will start their Chanel collection too.

Your bag is absolutely stunning!

 

[Mimi-2020]

Your bag is absolutely stunning!

Thank you. So is yours, an absolute beauty.

 

[ozorezanitako]

vintage Chanel bags are all in lamb skin.
My bags are not big, so they’re easier to be protected. The biggest one and latest purchase is my 2.55 with 25cm base. Please see photo attached.

Yes, I have scratched my bags some, but I have found lamb skin is easy to be repaired.

For minor scratches, Saphir mink oil base leather cream will do.

For those few deeper scratches which appeared on my bags when they first arrived,
I used a tiny bit of Feet People shoe cream in black, let dry then polish; and then Saphir shoe cream (Without color), let dry then polish.

The black color from Feet People does not come off after it is dry. It is a very good product.
However, their clear cream doesn’t work as well as Saphir. So , I use Saphir for the long lasting shine.

I love to restore bags to give them a new live.

I don’t have a lamb skin bag with puffy quilts, my bags are Chanel’s older productions and they were made flat originally.

As you can see my pre-1986 2.55 in attached photo, the quilts were made flat and tight. If the quilts were puffy once then later flattened, they would have that sagging deflated look.

I think I like these older bags because of the quality of the hardware. After all these years, although the leather has some wearing, the gold coating is still good as new. Amazing.

haha, with PayPal 24month payment plan, it’s not hard to start your vintage Chanel collection. Wait for 0 or 5.99% interest rate though. I think they’re having 0% APR right now.
Enjoy!

p.s. I would definitely carry your new Chanel caviar to work. Other ladies will see it and love it . I beg, they will start their Chanel collection too.

Wow that vintage 2.55 is gorgeous!
The hardware is so shiny.
I'm definitely tempted to add a vintage piece to my collection, maybe some time in the future.
Thanks for all the advice too!
Do you find that the chain of 2.55 is less comfortable in any way?

 

[kylienarak]

Happy to hear that you went for the black CF in the end! It's such a classic bag and the price will keep going up. I personally love both Chanel and YSL bags and for different reasons. I don't use my Chanel bags everyday. I feel more carefree with YSL bags and actually use them more often. I want to mention that YSL bags do go on sale (even in black) occasionally. Currently I see 30% OFF at YSL boutiques/website, NM, BG,Saks and Nordstrom. In case you're still thinking about YSL bag Enjoy your new Jumbo

 

[ozorezanitako]

Happy to hear that you went for the black CF in the end! It's such a classic bag and the price will keep going up. I personally love both Chanel and YSL bags and for different reasons. I don't use my Chanel bags everyday. I feel more carefree with YSL bags and actually use them more often. I want to mention that YSL bags do go on sale (even in black) occasionally. Currently I see 30% OFF at YSL boutiques/website, NM, BG,Saks and Nordstrom. In case you're still thinking about YSL bag Enjoy your new Jumbo

Thank you
Yes I'm definitely still planning to get a YSL bag at some point.
I have a few of their small leather goods and I'm so blown away by the quality of the grained leather and the beautiful shiny YSL monogram haha!
That's the good thing about YSL though--they do go on sales occasionally through all these retailers.
That's the reason why I prioritized getting Chanel first, since I would never be able to get it any cheaper in the future (sigh) haha.

 

[Mimi-2020]

Wow that vintage 2.55 is gorgeous!
The hardware is so shiny.
I'm definitely tempted to add a vintage piece to my collection, maybe some time in the future.
Thanks for all the advice too!
Do you find that the chain of 2.55 is less comfortable in any way?

Thank you for liking my vintage 2.55.
The chain on that bag is actually very comfortable, especially when I wear my chain double. This chain doesn’t dig in my shoulder like my intertwined chain does.
Have you worn your new bag out? How exciting!

 

[fdc]

Hi everyone!! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and reaffirm my decision to go for it haha. Happy to say that I've finally gotten my hand on the CF Jumbo in caviar leather with SHW At first I was worried the Jumbo might be too big/too heavy, but apparently it fits perfectly on my frame and I couldn't be more thrilled!

View attachment 4763688

How do you guys usually style your CF?
Do you dress it up or down, or both?
Do you find it appropriate or too flashy for work?

Congratulations on your new bag, I'm sure it'll be a classic keeper in your wardrobe, especially with SHW it's casual enough for everyday wear. I do wear my medium CF also in black caviar with SHW to work on the days where I don't have to carry my laptop. To be honest, I don't really care if it's too flashy or not, life is too short to not do what you want and when you work 5/7 days you spend your most time out at work than anywhere else. Apart from formal night events because it's a jumbo, the bag goes with all outfits.