An honest review of every item i've bought from Chanel

Quality, sizing, how to get the best price, and where they can improve as a brand

*This will be a long one so you may need to open it in the Substack app to see the full article.

Why Chanel?

Chanel is one of those brands where I sit on the fence. For the most part, I don’t love the current collections, and haven’t ever really been tempted by the clothes. The pieces that do speak to me are those that have a more timeless quality to them. It’s the pieces that read a little ‘Nana’ that I’ve always found myself drawn to. I appreciate the repetition of certain elements over the years like the use of tweed, even if that gets reinterpreted as a print instead of a fabric.

Call me bias, but as a late eighties baby, I feel like I grew up with the golden era of Chanel. I think of the supers walking the Chanel catwalks, and the intertwined CC’s being seen as a definition of luxury. The quality back then was in my opinion far superior to what it is today, especially where leather goods (especially handbags) are concerned. As a teen I yearned for a Chanel bag, a 2.55 to be precise or a classic flap. Back when the stitching count on a Chanel bag stood for something, the plating was real 24 carat gold and the lambs leather was the softest imaginable.

I coveted that bag with gusto, and as the Y2K era followed, seeing women my own age (late teens) carrying one made it all the more desirable. This was when MTV ruled our screens and introduced us to the likes of The Hills Lauren Conrad, as well as a host of other pop stars carrying the Chanel Flap bags in various sizes. I remember vividly watching LC tote her Chanel jumbo flap as she got out of her convertible Mercedes, wondering how the hell i’d d ever be able to afford one while making $3.51 as a sales assistant at New Look. The Chanel bag stayed a dream…until it wasn’t.

By my thirties I had got to a point where technically I could afford one of those bags. I remember going to Rodeo Drive feeling giddy with excitement at the thought of being able to purchase a bag, only to find myself feeling incredibly underwhelmed by the offerings available, and the quality! In an attempt to channel my inner LC in my twenties I had bought a fake Chanel bag, and no joke, the quality of the Chanel bags laid out in front of me didn’t feel superior to the fake in the way I had expected it to. They looked lackluster, flat, and the instead of the beautiful high shine 24 carat gold hardware, I saw coated metal that looked cheap and dull. I left empty handed. I decided in that moment if I were to get a Chanel bag one day, it would probably be vintage, with the 24 carrot gold and high quality leather that I grew up coveting.

The classic shoes have been where I’ve made an exception, as I’ll go into detail with each pair in the review portion.

My top tips for buying Chanel at the best price

When it comes to Chanel it truly depends on how much demand there is for that particular item at the time of wanting to purchase it. For example, when I wanted to buy my wallet which at the time cost $575 before tax, it was going for double that amount over on the preloved sites, because the black was the best seller. So for that piece I stopped by a Chanel boutique inside a Neiman Marcus store on a work trip to Texas, and they took my details to let me know when they would get it in. This was after I had tried at the Rodeo store in LA where they told me there was a waitlist, without offering to put me on it or providing any information regarding what I needed to do in order to be in consideration for one. I think it was two months after that visit in Texas they text to offer me the wallet. My advice (where possible) is if it’s going for more on the preloved market, wait it out and buy it new. For everything else, go the pre loved route. A 1990s Chanel bag generally speaking goes for a lot less than a 2020 bag and is much higher quality, plus they just look more beautiful. It’s also worth pointing out if an item is trending, think the Dad Sandals era, expect to pay more if someone is selling them preloved.

Where can they improve as a brand?

Well, if I haven’t made it clear from the above, the quality of the bags. The leather, the hardware and the service, I don’t believe match the quality given the price point. Speaking of service, it’s interesting that in London I experienced pretty good service (nothing to shout about though) whereas anywhere I’ve been in the US has been pretty piss poor. I’ve always felt rushed and nothing about it has felt like a luxury experience. Maybe I’ve just been unlucky? I have to say the makeup boutiques I’ve found incredible, so why is it so hard to do it in the main boutiques? As someone who doesn’t own any clothing from Chanel I can’t speak to that, and while I don’t know much about the sizing, I remember Abisola Omole sharing her amazing plus size guide on her site where she was able to try on items (I think if I remember correctly) in a UK size 20/22 in a London boutique, although not every piece comes in plus size options. When it comes to designer brands and the luxury space anyone bigger than a UK size 12 for the most part finds themselves excluded, so it was interesting to read that Chanel do offer plus sizing, even though they don’t advertise it.

The Chanel Slingback (with the bigger heel)

These had been on my wishlist for years and while I still love them, I can’t lie I tend to wear the lower heel version much more. I love the way these look with jeans and I just feel like they’re still such a classic shoe. I bought mine preloved from The Real Real back in 2021 for $895, and considering they have gone up so much in price even on the preloved market i’m holding onto them as an investment. As this was my first pair of Chanel shoes I got them in a size 40, which going forward convinced me i’m more a size 40.5 in Chanel. The fact these have more of a heel means I can get away with them being slightly smaller. The leather is buttery soft and for a higher heel shoe these are pretty comfy (granted i’m not going to walk around the city all day in them) and it’s worth pointing out they are quite a narrow fit, especially near the toe box. (I have narrow feet so this hasn’t been an issue for me).

The Wallet

As mentioned above, I held out to buy this brand new because the pre loved prices were double what the RRP was! This is hands down on of my favorite pieces I own from Chanel, for two reasons: it’s incredibly classic and wildly practical for my lifestyle. The CC’s have not patinaed and the leather still looks as good as the day I bought it (as you’ll see in the video). That’s the beauty of caviar leather it’s harder wearing when compared to the softer leathers.

The Chanel Dad Sandals

Ah the Dad Sandals! I went back and forth on these for soooo long! This is when I could have really used my traffic light system wishlist from my No Buy Styling Course to help me see I already had an item I liked more (my Toteme Gladiator Sandals). These have since been sold for that reason. I found myself loving these much more with trousers than I did with dresses. These had a substantial weight to them which made them feel high quality (I mean you would hope so right?!) but the main reason I bought these is because everyone kept saying how comfortable they were. Initially, I thought so too, but as I began wearing them for longer periods of time I found the metal buckle that the velcro strap goes through at the back of the shoe would rub on my ankle, giving me a blister. I couldn’t justify sandals that were meant to be for lots of walking that weren’t comfortable for doing so, which is why I sold them in the end, that and I just prefer the look of my Toteme ones.

The Slingbacks (with the low heel)

I know I know, some people think buying multiples of the same thing is a waste of money, but I wear both of these in equal measure (ok, maybe I wear the black ones slightly more). If it was between these and the higher heel, I would choose the lower heel everytime! I like that the lower heel offers the feel of a loafer, in that it’s not too flat like say a ballet flat. There’s just something I love about the flash of skin from the cutout in addition to the slingback, and I wear these with EVERYTHING! There’s nothing they don’t go with and I find them an incredibly versatile piece to style. The leather is butter soft, both in the preloved beige and black ones I purchased preloved, and the all black that I bought new from the boutique in London.

The Chanel Vanity Case

I’ve already spoken at length about this piece in this post, but for a quick summary, I bought this because I could, which is possibly the worst reason to buy something? Again if I’d had my traffic light system I don’t think I would have bought this, but we live and we learn. The quality just wasn’t there for the price and I liked the idea of who I thought I would be owning this, vs actually getting enjoyment out of the piece in a way that would have made sense to me and my lifestyle.

Chanel Sunglasses

I imagine sunglasses aren’t far behind perfume when it comes to the extreme mark ups of luxury brands, and with sunglasses I feel like (for the most part) you’re paying for the design, not the materials. That being said, I do own two pairs of Chanel sunglasses. I wear the top pair alllll the time and they are actually my most worn pair. As far as sunglasses go, yes they feel satisfyingly heavy, more so than a cheaper plastic pair, and I just love the minimal design and slim profile. However, the matte black cc’s are what attracted me to these and yet the black has started wearing off which is pretty shitty considering they were around $450! Did I sharpie over them to hide the silver peaking through? Why yes, yes I did! The second pair I haven’t worn as much but there is something classic yet a little twee about them that I quite enjoy. The second pair have a tiny gold heart as an accent with the cc’s in. It’s still very discreet but I like that it adds a fun little detail.

The Chanel Brooch

This was my first ever piece of Chanel, and for that reason I will never sell it. I bought this close to 20 years ago and I could have sworn I paid around fifty pounds for it. It’s costume jewelry but I loved the tweed embossed into the metal, and while I have kept it in its box when not in use, there is zero tarnishing. I remember wearing this on the lapel of my vintage trench coats when I lived in London, but I haven’t reached for it that much over the past years, so i’m going to start incorporating it back into my outfits. If you’re enjoying the Wardrobe Playdate’s most recent theme, check out our subscriber chat as I plan on sharing some looks with it there next week! (P.s. I’m LOVING seeing you all share your ideas and take on the challenge).

In the video below I share mod shots/close ups of each item and how I typically style them.