JOANNE Watkinson
TURNS OUT I’M NO MONEYBAGS
A friend of mine is a personal shopper in a high-end department store.
So, entirely in the name of research (nothing to do with my impending birthday), I paid it a visit. Off I went, through the hallowed beauty hall and up to the designer handbags.
It’s been quite a while since I have priced a new handbag.
I prefer to browse pre-loved websites such as Vestiaire and consider myself au fait with designer brands and their price points, having worked in the fashion industry for so long.
However, it appears I am a little out of touch because this visit felt like I had walked into another dimension.
They say if you have to ask the price, you probably can’t afford it. Given that nothing here had a price on, obviously I couldn’t afford any of them!
Not only were there no prices on the bags on display, this brand (Chanel) required I make an appointment to even speak to a sales assistant (or brand specialist as they are known).
Armed with my personal shopper friend, I got special treatment and one of the designs was carried out to me as if it were a precious artefact.
The ‘brand specialist’ wore cotton gloves so as not to scratch or damage the leather, and talked me through how the bag is made by hand in the Ateliers de Verneuil-enHalatte in Paris.
She informed me that only craft-persons with 10 years experience at the atelier are allowed to work on the most classic designs.
Stitched inside out so no seams are visible, each bag takes up to 18 hours of production, will involve 180 different procedures and be worked on by up to 15 different people.
Next, I was talked through the various internal pockets, perfectly sized to store lipstick, powder and blush; a rear pocket in which to keep tip money, should I happen to be living in the Ritz like Mademoiselle Chanel did, oh, and a pocket to store love letters which is a sweet throwback, given the bag was originally designed in 1955.
Needless to say, I left empty handed.
At £6,000, the price was not so much out of my league as on another planet. Blame inflation, but the story behind the bag is a beautiful one and I left feeling mesmerised.
Crazy prices? Absolutely, but also stunning craftsmanship and a lifelong investment.
One day, perhaps. Just not any day soon.