Vintage Chanel Red Patent 2way Lunch Box Cross Body Bag Rare
View Similar Items
Vintage Chanel Red Patent 2way Lunch Box Cross Body Bag Rare
About the Item
Chanel
In the years following the opening of her modest millinery shop, Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel became a pivotal designer of both fashionable casual wear and Paris haute couture as well as an icon and arbiter of 20th-century style with her bob haircut and pearls. Today vintage Chanel handbags, jackets and evening dresses are among the most sought-after clothing and accessories for fashion lovers all over the world.
The first Chanel shop was established in 1910 in Paris on rue Cambon by the young milliner Gabrielle Chanel (1883–1971), who had picked up the nickname “Coco” while working as a club singer. The boutique drew the attention of the Parisian fashion elite who popularized her wide-brimmed Chanel Modes hats. Soon she added a sportswear store in the Normandy resort town of Deauville, where Coco set the tone for her defining sense of style — traditionally masculine garments reimagined for feminine shapes, made from simple jersey fabric.
Effortless and elegant, Chanel's designs promoted comfort and grace in women’s wear that had been dominated in the previous century by complicated layers of fabric and cumbersome corsets. She followed this success with a couture house, opened in 1915 in Biarritz.
But Chanel was not born into a life of glamour. Following the death of her mother, her father left her in an orphanage where she lived until the age of 18. It was there that she learned to sew as well as appreciate the classic pairing of black and white as worn by the nuns.
In 1926, Chanel introduced her first little black dress, reclaiming a color that had once been reserved for mourning and working-class women. That same decade, she debuted her perfume, Chanel No. 5, as well as the Chanel suit with a fitted skirt, inspired by the boxy lines of men’s clothing and employing a sporty tweed.
Chanel closed her fashion operations during World War II, then returned to the industry in 1954 to design for the functional needs of modern women.
Structure and wearability endured in all of Chanel’s clothing and accessories, like the quilted leather 2.55 handbag — a 1955 update of a 1920s-era design — with its gold-chain shoulder strap that freed up a woman’s hands. The 1957 two-tone slingback pumps had a practical heel height while offering a bold statement in the black tip of the shoes. Her collarless jacket reacted against the constricting styles of Christian Dior's New Look, replacing them with a design that was timeless, an instant classic.
After Coco Chanel died in 1971, the brand underwent several changes in leadership, including fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, who took over as artistic director in 1983. His collections for Chanel displayed his knack for synthesizing old and new, high and low. Lagerfeld revived Chanel ballet flats and thoroughly embraced the classic logo's interlocking CCs, which took the form of a clasp featured on so many of the rare Chanel bags that are much sought after today.
Vintage Karl Lagerfeld designs for Chanel dresses, coats and other clothing of the 1980s, '90s and 2000s riffed on its iconography, accenting a lexicon of Chanel-isms with tastes of the moment. And as the 1990s have become associated with styles adopted by today’s supermodels and influencers, vintage Chanel bags of the 1990s are among the most prized of the brand’s offerings.
Over the years, the company has continued to innovate, such as expanding into ready-to-wear fashion in 1978 and, in 2002, establishing a subsidiary company — Paraffection — dedicated to preserving the heritage skills of fashion artisan workshops. The House of Chanel still operates its flagship on rue Cambon in Paris, where it all began.
Browse vintage Chanel bags, evening dresses, shoes, jewelry and other clothing and accessories on 1stDibs.
- Hermes Kelly Retourne 35 Sanguine Matte Alligator Bag Palladium HardwareBy HermèsLocated in Miami, FLMightychic offers an Hermes Retourne 35 Kelly bag featured in Sanguine Matte Alligator. Warm clay red with orange undertone makes this a fabulous ne...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Top Handle Bags
- HERMÈS Rouge Casaque Epsom Leather Kelly 25cm SellierBy HermèsLocated in Bishop's Stortford, HertfordshireHERMÈS Rouge Casaque Epsom Leather Kelly 25cm Sellier Xupes Reference: CB868 Serial Number: [N] Age (Circa): 2010 Accompanied By: Hermès Dust Bag, Box, Pad...Category
2010s French Top Handle Bags
- HERMÈS Bolide 1995 Tan Leather Bag GHW VintageBy HermèsLocated in London, GBHERMÈS Bolide 1995 Tan Leather Bag GHW Vintage A timeless classic vintage 1995 Hermès Bolide bag in cavalerie tan-gold colour in Courchevel leather wit...Category
1990s French Shoulder Bags
- Hermès Clemence Leather 34cm LindyBy HermèsLocated in London, GBThis Hermès 34cm Lindy bag, first released in Spring/Summer 2007 show, features two different versions of shoulder straps and two exterior slip pockets. It o...Category
2010s Top Handle Bags
- LOUIS VUITTON Red Monogram Canvas and Burgundy Calfskin Leather Mini Lin SpeedyBy Louis VuittonLocated in Bishop's Stortford, HertfordshireLOUIS VUITTON Red Monogram Canvas and Burgundy Calfskin Leather Mini Lin Speedy 30cm Bandoulière Serial Number: MB5009 Age (Circa): 2009 Accompanied By: Shoulder Strap Authenticity...Category
Early 2000s French Top Handle Bags
- Hermès Rouge Vif Couchevel Leather Kelly 20cm SellierBy HermèsLocated in Bishop's Stortford, HertfordshireHermès Rouge Vif Couchevel Leather Kelly 20cm Sellier CONDITION NOTES The exterior is in excellent condition with light signs of use. The interior is...Category
1990s French Structured Shoulder Bags
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
From the Runway to Rihanna, These Chanel Pearl Sunglasses Are the Peak of ’90s Chic
This cheeky accessory is seriously fun.
With a Wink, Karl Lagerfeld Sent This Egg-Carton-Shaped Chanel Bag Down the Runway
For the brand’s 2014–15 ready-to-wear show in Paris, the designer was inspired by a most unexpected place: the supermarket.