Posts about Bags

The Chanel 2.55 Reissue. A Time Travelling Modern Classic by Emma

We are all very familiar with the Chanel 2.55 Classic Flap bag right? It is one of fashion’s most recognisable images and consistently tops lists of the most wanted handbags (along with the Hermes Kelly and Birkin) and is undoubtedly a Modern Classic. But did you know that there is a more modern Modern Classic? One spawned from an older Chanel classic; the Chanel 2.55 Reissue bag – in many ways the original Chanel ‘It bag’.

This is a story of handbag time travel. First a bit of history (not a Roman or a Tudor in sight though, I promise).

The seeds of this most iconic of accessories were sewn in the 1920s when Coco Chanel wanted to free up her hands. Remember that prior to this women’s bags tended to be hand held or in a clutch style – very much not hands free. So Coco added straps to a bag allowing it to be worn over the shoulder; when it was released onto the market in 1929 it was a huge success. Whilst this first Chanel bag was not the 2.55 bag that we know and love today, it was very much a ‘working prototype’. Following the Second World War Chanel updated her handbag to the 2.55 – named after its release date of February 1955 (February being the second month of the year, so when written in shorthand you get 2/55 or 2.55).

Still with me? Good. Back to more recent times, in February 2005 the Chanel 2.55 Reissue was created. Part of Karl Lagerfeld’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Coco’s original Chanel 2.55 bag, it was not in fact named the Reissue at the time. But it quickly became known as such. Now if you are being pedantic the term Reissue should only be used for those bags that were made to commemorate the original ie those from 2005, but as is often the case with fashion democracy the buying public’s will took over and the name Reissue name stuck. It is now used to describe all bags that resemble the original 2.55 Reissues. And yes, this whole ‘original copy of an original via a 1980s update’ thing is a bit confusing. For most of us the 2.55 Reissue version’s most obvious difference from the more common Classic Flap version is the clasp. The Reissue has the original Coco Chanel designed twist clasp (called the Mademoiselle Lock – a reference to Chanel never marrying) and the Classic Flap has Karl’s CC clasp (introduced in the 1980s and soon becoming synonymous with the Chanel flap front bags).

There are of course many stories as to where Chanel gleaned her fashion influences. A lot of them hark back to her childhood days growing up around nuns in an orphanage and her iconic quilted bags are no excepting (even the quilting is supposed to be based on the mullions of the orphanage windows). One such story claims that the double chain shoulder strap on the 2.55 was inspired by the chains that the nuns of the orphanage would dangle their keys from. There are also claims that the brownish red colour of the inside of the original 2.55 represents the colour of the  uniforms she and the other children wore. Of course it is impossible to verify these stories 100% but it is likely that at least some of them have some basis.

Over the years there have been many variations to the 2.55. Both the 2.55 Reissue and the 2.55 Classic Flap bag, with its interlocking CC closure and leather interwoven chain, have been produced in a whole range of leathers, exotic skins and textiles and in a whole range of sizes -  mini, jumbo, maxi etc – as well as with single flaps and double flaps.

When it comes to a choice between the Reissue and the Classic Flap, it seems that Chanel fans are happy to embrace both, but those ladies looking for a taste of the real Coco love the Reissue most. Which do you prefer?

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