Yesterday I drove down to the outlets at Primm, NV to browse Neiman Marcus Last Call.
They were having a big clearance with an extra 20% off if you used your NM card. I wasn't anticipating there being much left in the handbag department, but there was actually some nice stuff. A bunch of Tory Burch, Marc Jacobs, L.A.M.B., Kooba, Matt & Nat, Cole Haan, Linea Pelle, etc. Many of them younger labels the main store in Vegas doesn't even carry.
Anyway, I had picked out a couple of potential purchases and then I came upon a shelf with some Chloé bags. There were a few more recent bags that they kept locked up behind the counter, but some previous seasons' bags were out on the shelves.
I saw a Paddington Capsule satchel. I had long had a regular Paddington on my wish list, but had yet to find one on sale even close to my price range. When the See by Chloé bags first came out last year I figured my first Chloé purchase might be one of them, but I didn't find one I liked enough, and they really seemed too expensive. I expected them to be more in the Marc by Marc Jacobs price range.
In any case, I had pushed my wish for a Paddington to the back of my mind, focusing on bags in the $300 - $500 range instead including Hayden Harnetts and Treesjes on sale, satisfying my bag cravings.
But I had a look at the Paddington anyway, and realized that with the discounts it was actually affordable! And I liked the Capsule bags because of the smaller lighter lock and the ease of access. It was black leather with a front flap pocket and two other outside pockets, I though it was an appealing choice for a first Chloé.
The price tags seemed to have been reattached, so I figured someone had purchased the bag and returned it. That was okay. Then I noticed no dustbag. I checked the three or four other Chloés and took a dustbag from one of them. There was something strange about it though. The bag had Chloé printed on it in light cream coloured letters instead of the brown I'd seen before. I checked all the bags, a Saskia, a Bay and a couple of Pearl totes. They all had this same lighter coloured lettering on the dust bags. Did Chloé make dustbags like this?
Also, on the tag the colour was stated as bleu nuit. To me the bag looked black. I tried to find better light to see the colour better but light in the store wasn't that great. No matter, can't go wrong with black, the tag might just be wrong. When I got home, I checked out the Chloé reference thread and saw mention that the Capsule bags in bleu nuit look very black and barely blue if at all. Upon examining the bag in better light at home, it still looks black to me.
I figured I may as well get it while I could. After the discounts I ended up paying about $750 for it. Today when I took out the paper stuffing and had a good look, I found that the stamped tag on the inside said 03-07-53 which I think means it was from 07, maybe fall? Then in one of the outside pockets I found evidence of the previous owner. Two business cards, a drinks reciept, and two movie ticket stubs (for the movie "Wanted") all dated July 13, 2008 and all denoting addresses in Chicago. So the bag had not only been returned but it had been used! The NM it had been returned to perhaps in Chicago, took it back with these items inside and then sent it to the outlet to be resold and somehow it ended up in Primm. Is this something NM would normally do? The bag doesn't seem worn or damaged in any way. It doesn't smell like gum or god forbid cigarettes. I think the person who used it was careful. But still, it doesn't smell new either, I don't know. Maybe I'm projecting.
My question is, do you think I have reason to be concerned about its authenticity? Has anyone heard about issues like this with merchandise that had been returned to Neiman Marcus. I'm in no way an expert on Chloé, but I'd appreciate the thoughts of any of you who are more familiar. I've posted a few pics below as well (not the greatest, but an idea).
Sorry for the long post, but I felt the need to share both my excitement and my concerns about my first Chloé with you gals.
They were having a big clearance with an extra 20% off if you used your NM card. I wasn't anticipating there being much left in the handbag department, but there was actually some nice stuff. A bunch of Tory Burch, Marc Jacobs, L.A.M.B., Kooba, Matt & Nat, Cole Haan, Linea Pelle, etc. Many of them younger labels the main store in Vegas doesn't even carry.
Anyway, I had picked out a couple of potential purchases and then I came upon a shelf with some Chloé bags. There were a few more recent bags that they kept locked up behind the counter, but some previous seasons' bags were out on the shelves.
I saw a Paddington Capsule satchel. I had long had a regular Paddington on my wish list, but had yet to find one on sale even close to my price range. When the See by Chloé bags first came out last year I figured my first Chloé purchase might be one of them, but I didn't find one I liked enough, and they really seemed too expensive. I expected them to be more in the Marc by Marc Jacobs price range.
In any case, I had pushed my wish for a Paddington to the back of my mind, focusing on bags in the $300 - $500 range instead including Hayden Harnetts and Treesjes on sale, satisfying my bag cravings.
But I had a look at the Paddington anyway, and realized that with the discounts it was actually affordable! And I liked the Capsule bags because of the smaller lighter lock and the ease of access. It was black leather with a front flap pocket and two other outside pockets, I though it was an appealing choice for a first Chloé.
The price tags seemed to have been reattached, so I figured someone had purchased the bag and returned it. That was okay. Then I noticed no dustbag. I checked the three or four other Chloés and took a dustbag from one of them. There was something strange about it though. The bag had Chloé printed on it in light cream coloured letters instead of the brown I'd seen before. I checked all the bags, a Saskia, a Bay and a couple of Pearl totes. They all had this same lighter coloured lettering on the dust bags. Did Chloé make dustbags like this?
Also, on the tag the colour was stated as bleu nuit. To me the bag looked black. I tried to find better light to see the colour better but light in the store wasn't that great. No matter, can't go wrong with black, the tag might just be wrong. When I got home, I checked out the Chloé reference thread and saw mention that the Capsule bags in bleu nuit look very black and barely blue if at all. Upon examining the bag in better light at home, it still looks black to me.
I figured I may as well get it while I could. After the discounts I ended up paying about $750 for it. Today when I took out the paper stuffing and had a good look, I found that the stamped tag on the inside said 03-07-53 which I think means it was from 07, maybe fall? Then in one of the outside pockets I found evidence of the previous owner. Two business cards, a drinks reciept, and two movie ticket stubs (for the movie "Wanted") all dated July 13, 2008 and all denoting addresses in Chicago. So the bag had not only been returned but it had been used! The NM it had been returned to perhaps in Chicago, took it back with these items inside and then sent it to the outlet to be resold and somehow it ended up in Primm. Is this something NM would normally do? The bag doesn't seem worn or damaged in any way. It doesn't smell like gum or god forbid cigarettes. I think the person who used it was careful. But still, it doesn't smell new either, I don't know. Maybe I'm projecting.
My question is, do you think I have reason to be concerned about its authenticity? Has anyone heard about issues like this with merchandise that had been returned to Neiman Marcus. I'm in no way an expert on Chloé, but I'd appreciate the thoughts of any of you who are more familiar. I've posted a few pics below as well (not the greatest, but an idea).
Sorry for the long post, but I felt the need to share both my excitement and my concerns about my first Chloé with you gals.