Can We Talk About The Chanel 1999 2.55 Reissue Bag!?
My friends!!! With the dawn of the new decade, I decided It was time to get out my now-20 year old Chanel 2.55 Reissue bag! This bag was created by Karl Lagerfeld for the Millennium. He wanted to create something for a modern woman, so it’s a softer shell, wool rather than leather, so it bends and moulds to the body rather than being rigid like the classic structured Chanel Reissue bag. Also, because it’s fabric lined and made of wool, the bag is lighter to carry, again, perfect for a modern woman on the go. As for the inside of the bag, it has one open compartment and one slip pocket which is secured with a zip. On the back, it has no slip pocket, which adds to it’s minimal, less structured and compartmentalised feel. Y’know, modern! This Chanel 2.55 Reissue bag is Karl’s version of Y2K and quite frankly, I’m here for it!
Weight Of the Chanel 2.55 Reissue Bag
Much like the classic Flap bag, the Chanel 2.55 Reissue bag can be weighty AF! No really, once you have your phone, keys, make-up, snacks and tampons in… this bad boy is heavy. Sure, it’s absolutely stunning to look at, but it’s heavy! The Chanel 2.55 Reissue bag in the cloth is WAY lighter. Partly because it’s not leather, partly because it has as less chunky chain and partly because it’s not leather lined. The leather lining adds a surprising amount of weight to the bag. So I love my Reissue because it’s of less structured lighter weight feel, but if you are looking at a leather reissue, be aware of the weight and if you are like me and you love a softer, lighter bag, then consider a seasonal, cloth version of the reissue rather than a classic leather reissue. Also, if you are looking for a larger sized bag which is lighter, then I REALLY recommend thinking about the Chanel Deauville bag.
Chanel 2.55 Reissue Bag: Branding
The branding on the Chanel Reissue bag is something that polarises a lot of Chanel shoppers. For some, the interlocking C’s clasp is part of the attraction of the bag, which is why the classic flap is so popular, but the reissue bag is much more subtle with it’s branding. The Chanel on the clasp is SO easy to miss and there’s very little branding visible aside from this. It’s more of a ‘if you know, you know’ kinda vibe or maybe even ‘I don’t need you to know’, I guess it depends who you are! Plus if you are super minimalist with your style, you might want a minimally branded bag. Which is why for some shoppers the reissue is the PERFECT Chanel Bag. However, I am in #TeamFlashy, so ordinarily I LOVE the more visible logos, but saying that, I do adore this bag because I think it’s really special. As for the eyelets and general hardware, there’s very little branding on this bag, just the label, authenticity label (the one with the serial code) and ‘Chanel’ neatly stamped on the zip pull of the interior pocket. And even though I usually go for a bag that’s heavily branded, I find myself using this bag a LOT!
Price
If you are buying a Chanel Bag brand new in a Chanel Boutique, you are looking at around £4,500 for both the classic sized flap bag and the 2.55 reissue bag, and around £5,000 for a larger sized classic flap or 2.55 reissue bag. For context, mine is a larger sized bag. However, if you are shopping on the pre-loved market, I personally have found that the Chanel classic flap bag holds it’s value wayyyy better than the Chanel 2.55 Reissue bag. Great if you are buying, less great if you are selling… but let’s be honest, most of us aren’t buying them as investments, we are buying them to enjoy them and the value they retain are just an added bonus. HOWEVER, if you are thinking of buying a new Chanel Bag and you are thinking of buying it on the preloved market, it is worth knowing you can pick up a 2.55 Reissue for much less than a Classic flap… and that’s worth knowing about!! Oh and if you are buying preloved, I can’t recommend therealreal.com enough, as they give you a FURTHER 20% discount if you use the code ‘REAL’. Thank me later!
Chanel 2.55 Reissue Design Options
My Chanel 2.55 Reissue bag is a seasonal design, so it was created for Fall/Winter 1999 and then by the spring it was sold out and retired for the season. Seasonal bags are BRILLIANT if you are looking for something a little different, as it’s the seasonal bags which are in bright colours, metallic leathers, cloth prints and so on. Where as the black Caviar leather Reissue bags are pretty much sold all day, every day, all year round, which is great if it’s your dream bag, but not so good if you are wanting something a little different to your best friend or lunch buddy. Over the years they have produced some weird and wonderful versions of the Chanel 2.55 Reissue bag, I still regret not buying the furry one from the supermarket collection, personally! So, it’s well worth looking on the pre-loved market to see what gems you can find from past seasons. Remember, the cloth bags like mine will weigh less than the leather one, so if you are like me and you like a lighter bag, then this might be a great option. However, the leather bags tend to be more hard-wearing, especially in the caviar or patent leather, the lambskin leathers are a little more fragile.
Chanel 2.55 Reissue Bag: Ways To Wear
There are three main ways I wear my Chanel Reissue Bag, firstly, with a doubled over strap over my shoulder. It sits around my waist and is a really comfortable way to wear the bag, plus because my Reissue bag is designed to mould to the body, it’s less bulky than the leather ones and my arm sits more comfortably over it. I also wear it as a longer shoulder bag with the strap as a single chain, again, over my shoulder. Finally, I sometimes wear it as a crossbody bag. It sits fairly short, but definitely not too short and I’m chunky and 5 ft 6, so I’m not petite. I have also seen people wear this bag like a clutch, but to me it just looks like the strap has broken (yes, I went there!) and others wear the bag with the doubled over strap in the crock of their arm. I guess whatever works for you! But for me, I wear the Chanel 2.55 Reissue bag either as a shorter shoulder bag or as a crossbody bag!
Chanel 2.55 Reissue Bag Review…
And so here is it… My final review of the Chanel 2.55 Reissue Bag. Personally, I love mine, it’s one a wear a LOT, especially in the winter (never in the summer because of the wool!). I love the lighter weight of it and the way it is less structured. I think over the years there have been some amazing seasonal 2.55 Reissue bags made, we’ve seen some super fun colours, prints and fabrics which I LOVE and I will forever keep looking for the limited edition and seasonal ones both in store and pre-loved. However, for me, and this is just my personal opinion, I’m not partially into the classic black leather 2.55 bags, I prefer the classic flap bags and like I said, I’m #TeamFlashy! However, the reissue bags can be a real treat! I think because the branding on the clasp is so minimal, some of the seasonal designs can be a lot more fun when it comes to the prints on the fabric, which I’m really into, where as the interlocking c’s on the classic flap bag limit the fun Chanel have with the seasonal classic flap bags… does that make sense?! Finally, I LOVE the prices of the pre-loved Chanel 2.55 Reissue bags, as I mentioned above, they tend to hold their prices slightly less well than the classic flap bags, which means as a buyer, we are on to a winner!!!! So for me, when it comes to the Chanel 2.55 bags, I love the seasonal pieces and I love to buy them on the pre-loved market. What about you?
Go Shopping!
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Thank you so much for reading, if you have any questions, please do let me know if you have any questions. Also this post contains affiliate links.
