Bag Lady : PopKors Quilted Classic in Burgundy

Oooh, new bag alert. I had to share my latest purchase because its just oh-so-delicious!

Look at the glossy, burgundy leather, the gorgeous pewter hardware....I'm in love. You're either a bag lady or a shoe lady I think, and bags are definitely my poison!



You may think this looks familiar and you’d be right. It’s clearly ‘inspired’ by a Chanel design – the ‘2.55 Reissue Quilted Classic Jumbo’ to name the puppy. Part of me is a bit shy about owning an ‘homage bag’- of course I’d much rather have the real thing.

Of course, when the real deal is in the £3,000 region, its on my bucket list to save up for one, but at the moment I have too many other savings goals (an iPad, a new house, a holiday to Cuba…) to be able to set aside the money for it, so this really is the next best thing.

The 2.55 is a classic bag that it feels like every girl should own – it suits so many styles, outfits, occaisions -  you name it. Coco Chanel originally never believed in bags (she was big on pockets!) but in 1955 she finally launched the ultimate bag – one useful enough for day, and pretty enough for evening.

It’s the bag I’d buy with my first big paycheque if I made it rich (a lot of stars have the same idea it seems). For now the ‘homage’ version will have to do! Practically every high street store you could name has done a ‘version’ of the style at some point, from Toppers to Jaegar.

This version is from PopKors, an online bag boutique that I’ve raved about before (see my ‘Is this the perfect party bag?’ and ‘What’s in my Bag?’ posts for more examples of their fabulousness). They ship from Korea, but the bags are made of beautiful quality leather and are very well made indeed. They aren’t sponsoring me (I wish they would!), I just love their products because I know how well constructed they are.

This bag is beautiful leather and I went for a deep burgundy colour (its available in black and navy blue as well).

Part of me wanted to get the usual black. Its funny as I’m not much of a ‘red’ person, it’s a colour I never wear (apart from lipstick!). But there’s something so elegant and special about this deep crimson hue that appealed to me.

This design a features the ‘Mademoiselle’ lock style – did you know the interlinked double-C lock was only introduced in the 1980s by Kaiser Karl? Well, before that the 2.55 always had this sort of lock, and they put them back on for the reissue (which was released in February 2005 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 2.55 as an exactly replica of the originals). Bit of history there!

All the details mimic the 2.55 reissue exactly (I don’t want to use that nasty word ‘fake’, but you get the idea…)

The hardware is pewter and in addition to the lock, the chain is in the style of the ‘original’ and ‘reissue’ 2.55s (the mixed chain and leather strap is another 80’s change by Largerfeld).

Apparently this style of chain was inspired by the chains the staff wore to hold keys at the orphanage where Coco Chanel grew up – which is fascinating, if a little sad. All the elements of the design are highly personal to that inspiring lady, such a mould-breaker in her time. When she gave in and designed a bag, she wanted it to be something hands-free that wouldn’t weigh women down, and something that would look like an ornament at night.

This design follows the ‘double flap’ formula of the Chanel bag – the first flap lifts up to reveal a small zip pocket (where Coco used to stash her love letters!) and an inner flap, which is red in colour (the same colour as her uniform at the orphanage). Ordinarily this inner flap would have the Chanel logo stamped on the underside, but obviously this one doesn’t!

Below is an example of the real deal in black - you can see its pretty much identical. Oh how I wish I could own the one below as well!

Within the ‘inner compartment’ there are two pockets and a lipstick pocket sewn to the wall of the bag, and on the back is the piped, curved pocket Coco used to shove her cash in.

The bag is such a gorgeous quality- obviously not a patch on the real thing, which I would still love to own, but for now, it can fill the Chanel shaped hole in my life! Just like the original, it’s the perfect size to work day to night. Its not big enough to allow you to store too much crap, but its big enough for all the essentials.

Its elegant, practical and stylish – I’m in love! at £39.99, this version is nice quality but won’t break the bank. Check out PopKors for more amazing bags. I know I’ll be visiting there soon – its my favourite budget bag destination if you want a quality bag but can't quite stretch to the real thing at the moment!