ShopBop continues to bring us a small, eclectic group of vintage handbags. What are we digging the most? The Chanel bags. Chanel vintage handbags show us that the brand is not only timeless but also that their designs continue to be relevant. The newest addition to the vintage collection at ShopBop is a Chanel Vinyl Bag which features signature chain straps with a clear vinyl body and interlocking black letter Cs at the front and back.

The reason this bag doesn’t do much for me is because I have never loved vinyl bags. If I wanted to own a vinyl bag, this could be it. I can picture pairing this bag with large oversized sunglasses and a casual outfit of jeans and a tee. In my mind it looks good. The other thing about a clear bag is to make sure whatever is showing through is not entirely awful. I would opt for oversized colorful pouches to be the innards which will show through with a little pop of color. Dimensions are 12.5″H x 16.5″L x 4.5″D. Buy through ShopBop for $2,860.

My family spends Christmas Eve with family friends who throw an amazing party every year. It is now a staple of our holidays and an event that we look forward to. This year Shannon and I put down our bags for a moment and Vlad took the opportunity to capture a shot.

My bag, a 2004 navy blue and white Chanel bag is a little treat I love to bring out. Small, light-weight, feminine, and still very Chanel. Shannon added a bit of glitz to her outfit carrying a gift from Katherine Kwei herself, a Donna Clutch in metallic water snake.

Before we go any further, does Chanel’s website make anyone else sort of dizzy and motion sick, or am I just way too sensitive to that sort of thing? Websites where brands make their bags run frantically from side to side make my head spin, and that website structure makes me find something else to look at almost immediately.

In this case, however, I persevered in order to find the Chanel Rubber Effect Python Signature Tote. Was my nausea worth it? I think it was, but then again, I do have an unnatural affinity for everything black.

There’s just something so thoroughly Chanel about an exotic black bag. They use the color to greater effect than probably any other major designer, and the python gives the bag a thoroughly luxurious appeal that the brand’s customers expect.

I haven’t seen the bag in person, so I can’t comment with full knowledge about the rubberized finish, but the matte effect is a welcome change from the python that I normally see, which is almost always glossy. Flat black has an edgy, modern quality to it that the brand’s bags have lacked over the past season or two (at least in my estimation), and the finish might have done a bit to make the delicate scales more durable as well. Now that is killing two birds with one stone. More information available via Chanel.com, price available upon request.

Some people dream for years of owning a Chanel Classic Flap Bag or Chanel Reissue 2.55 Flap Bag, some already own multiples of each, and still others think that they’re too traditional and played-out. I couldn’t agree less with that third group of people – with lots of finishes, colors and sizes, Chanel’s famous flaps have a little something that everyone can appreciate, if you stay open-minded. Still on the fence? Allow me to persuade you…

1. They’re just going to go up in price later: Seriously, are you considering buying one? If you are, go ahead and do it. Chanel is among the masters of the crippling price increase, jacking up the MSRPs of its bags every six months to a year, sometimes by as much as $500 for a basic bag. As a general rule, bags don’t hold their value all that well, but constantly rising prices keep the timeless flap bags fairly easy to resell later. Plus, even if you don’t take resale into consideration, you’re just going to have to fork over more cash if you wait.

2. Owning one is like getting in to one of the most exclusive sororities on campus: Except, you know, this is real life. Legendary actresses, socialites and royals have carried this bag, and hey, if you can’t marry a prince, you can at least buy the same bag as the broads who can. Or the same bag as the girls from The Hills – it seems as though the bag has become the go-to accessory when a younger woman wants to signal to the world that she has grown and matured into a fashionable lady.

3. So many designers have been “inspired” by the flap – if you’re going to pay big bucks, get the original: Everyone from Urban Outfitters to Marc Jacobs has been accused of stealing from Chanel’s signature bag, and there’s a good reason for that – it’s timeless, iconic and still as relevant to luxury customers today as it was back in the 1950s. Chain straps and quilted leather have become nearly synonymous with the idea of the designer handbag, and the Chanel flap may even be more well-known across the world than the illustrious handbag holy grail, the Hermes Birkin.

4. Buy a flap bag in caviar leather and it will likely outlive me and you both: Seriously, that stuff is indestructible. Run your fingers – no, better yet, run your fingernails along it next time you’re near a Chanel bag made of the material, and you’ll see what I mean. It has a finish nearly as tough as Louis Vuitton monogram canvas, but you’re paying for actual leather instead of, well, canvas. With how much those monogram bags run these days, the price of a neutral leather Chanel bag with similar durability seems downright reasonable. But…

5. Despite their cultural ubiquity, the bags themselves are still too price-prohibitive for everyone to own: They come in sizes ranging from XS to XL, but even the smallest of the Chanel flap bags is way more expensive than the average woman wants to spend. You’re in no danger of seeing your bag on every woman on the block (unless you live on a really, really nice block, but if you do, there’s probably no sense in trying to stay one step ahead anyway), and even if you see a lot of people carrying non-Chanel bags that look similar, there’s absolutely no comparison when you see and hold a Chanel flap bag in person.

Prices start around $2000. Please contact Chanel customer service at (800) 550-0005 for more information.

What is there to say about the Chanel 2.55 Reissue Alligator Flap Bag that isn’t already patently obvious, just from looking at it? I’m not sure, so feel free to ignore my words and have your own private droolfest over this thing. I wouldn’t blame you at all.

What we have here is the standard 2.55 Reissue Flap with Mademoiselle chain, rendered in perfect patina’d alligator. It’s from the Pre-Spring 2010 collection, it’s utterly gorgeous, and it’s out of my price range. That doesn’t mean I can’t look at it, however – looking is free, and I encourage all of you to do as much of it as possible. This is a bag that deserves to be seen.

Price figures for this bag are hard to come by, but conventional wisdom puts it in the $20,000-$30,000 price range (which may actually be a bit conservative.) Is it really worth that much? I guess that depends on how big of a bite that would take out of your bank account. Either way, it was surely be a lovely thing to have in the closet for those days when your outfit needs a bit of reptilian flair. For price and purchase information, contact Chanel at (800) 550-0005

Last week on Want it Wednesday, I put together an entire outfit that I wanted. This week, all I ask for is one bag, one simple bag. Is that too much to ask? What I want is Chanel and why I want it should be clear. The simplistic design is ubiquitous of Chanel. Ivory is not a color I am drawn to, for fear of showing dirt and wear, but this ivory leather bag looks so soft, smooth, and sexy, I can’t stop wanting it.

The quilted top flap is on top of the two sac plain leather body of the Chanel Sac en Cuir Doux Bag. There is the typical Chanel sophistication while still remaining fresh and fun. Don’t expect anything other than supremely soft leather, as Chanel never disappoints with their quality. Buy through Chanel for $3,150.

Oh, Karl Lagerfeld is so clever. Or crazy. Maybe both! Yes, probably both. But this time, I think he might be crazy like a fox – the Chanel Casette Clutch is not only kind of hilarious (you know, in a droll fashion sort of way), but it’s totally useable (well, if you’re the type that would use a tiny, clear clutch.)

UPDATE: The clutch is vintage and for sale! Make the jump for more info.

Thanks to lovely commenter V., we’ve been pointed to the real origins of this lovely clutch: ShopLuxirare.com. Several blogs picked up these pictures from Luxuo.com yesterday, who did not indicate that they had taken the pictures from a vintage shop instead of from a press release or editorial, as is far more common. But now we know the truth!

The clutch is a lucite relic from the 80s (ok, nevermind, it seems as though no one is exactly sure when this clutch was made – perhaps as recently as a few years ago), and the shop owner says that it’s one-of-a-kind (take that with a grain of salt.) Not only is the clutch utterly lovely and available for $1500, but ShopLuxirare.com is absolutely chock full of awesome finds, both vintage and contemporary. Even if you don’t want to buy the clutch, you should check out the site for the awesome eye candy. Buy through ShopLuxirare.com for $1500.

Lucite box clutches like this one are sort of popular lately – the Spring/Summer 2010 Fendi lucite clutches are selling out all over the place. The material and shape has a midcentury modern appeal to it that fits in with a lot of emerging trends, so it’s only logical that they’d be popular.

What Chanel did, however, was give the lucite box clutch some 80s cred. At this point in the iTunes universe, cassettes are an object of pure, good-natured nostalgia, and as someone that associates them with my childhood I couldn’t help but smile when I saw this bag. Although we’ve seen the 80s trend wane a bit in the past season, it’s nowhere near over and this clutch is a welcome addition.

For pricing information, please contact your local Chanel boutique.

Photos via Luxuo.com

All I have to say is I absolutely adore everything about the Chanel Classic Flap Bag in semi-matte alligator skin from the Paris Shanghai collection.

Sometimes a picture truly is worth a thousand words, especially when it comes to an exotic Chanel bag. And for those asking the price, $28,350.

Most people who follow fashion know the Chanel signatures very well: black, ivory, bouclé, suits, camellias, black, ivory. Rinse, repeat. Karl Lagerfeld’s Spring 2010 haute couture collection of graphic white and silver was a significant departure from the Chanel aesthetic that we have all come to expect, and his Chanel Fall/Winter 2010 Haute Couture collection is yet another giant step into new territory.

The most startling things about this collection were the surprising choices in color and proportion. Normally Chanel’s color palette is very predictable, but these clothes were rendered in the very un-Chanel shades of maroon, gold, navy and brown. Proportion was primarily at play in the collection’s suits and coats – abbreviated jackets were paired with below-the-knee flared skirts, coats were often boxy and straight or puffed to comical proportions. As always with Chanel couture, the real fireworks started after the show’s halfway point, where somewhat odd suits and jackets gave way to beading and embroidery so intricate and masterful that an in-person viewing would surely be required in order to appreciate the skill of the work in full. In the end, this collection should be counted as a bold achievement on the part of Lagerfeld and his team even if the suits and coats looked to hold it back at times.

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