Mays ModeCollege: The Gabrielle by Chanel
People often ask me which bag they should buy. A reasonable question. Because if you're throwing away half, or a whole, month's salary (although I would still like to argue about that because a designer bag is quite the investment ), you want to have exactly that piece that suits you. That has to do not only with what you find beautiful, but also with the heritage of a brand. Because every bag tells a story, so it better aligns with your autobiography.
When I saw the Gabrielle by Chanel , I knew: this is my bag. And here's why.
1. The name
This bag honors Gabrielle Chanel and not Coco. Coco was her nickname and represents the polished version of the empire, Gabrielle stands for the free-spirited woman who tore up conventions with her two-tone ballerinas. Who designed a bag with such a long chain that she had her hands free for her glass and her cigarette. Look, that's my girl.
2. The chain
It's long, L-O-N-G. Wonderful when you're wearing ripped denim with a crispy shirt and that Gabrielle just casually dangling against your knee pits. If you wish for it to be a bit dressier, you hoist the chains up and it hangs perfectly just below the rib area. I prefer to wear it over both shoulders. This way the weight is distributed, each half of my upper body gets its share of Chanel and pickpockets look one door further, because this exercise is too complicated for them.
3. Gold and silver
Are you also one of those aunts who finds it difficult to combine her belt with a gold buckle with your Isabel Marant boots with silver studs? You're immediately rid of that problem, because the chain of Gabrielle is in silver and gold. Not either-or, but both-and. And let me tell you, I am very much on team both-and.
4. The details
On the studs that hold the chain, the Chanel logo is engraved. Those are the details I really enjoy. Of course, the inside, or the interior, of the bag is red. That was what Coco, or rather Gabrielle, wanted because this way you can at least find that annoying keychain in one go. And yes, there is also a secret pocket for letters from lovers. Letters, you know, that's WhatsApp from the last century.
5. About Pharrell
Pharrell was ‘the face’ of the Gabrielle and thus the first man to be crowned as ambassador of a women's bag.
6. The model
So classic that it almost looks vintage and thus not pretentious. The shape is inspired by the bags that held binoculars that men used to carry when they went to watch horse races. The connoisseur nods in admiration or perhaps asks if they can hold the trinket for a moment, a layman will find it a beautiful bag but will never perceive it as flashy. No big logos or brand names that hit you in the face. As my Parisian friends always say: ‘Money talks, but style whispers.’ And this Gabrielle, she's just a whisper girl.
