THE CHANEL BOY: A TOP BAG TO INVEST IN.

Dreaming a bout a "Boy"? 

Among the presents received last Christmas, my favourite and most unexpected was certainly a small  Chanel Boy Bag in black snakeskin, my life-partner put under the tree for me and bought in the Chanel flagship store in Milan.

Originally introduced in 2011 by Karl Lagerfeld as an interpretation of the boyish charm that Coco Chanel was known for, the Chanel Boy bag, named after Coco Chanel long-time love Boy Capel, has become one of their most covetable designs and best sellers.

The Chanel Boy, with a rectangular single flap style, thick and chunky chain strap with an extremely flexible and adjustable leather shoulder pad and an easy-to-open push-clasp, has a more casual feel than the classic feminine 2.55, and is released every season in several classic and trendy variations. This model came onto the market at exactly the right time: that is when young shoppers were finally able to buy Chanel bags on their own, but most of the brand's bags skewed towards timeless classic flap bags and grand shopping totes which were less appealing to these potential customers. So, the Boy bag was released and immediately flew off the shelves for its boxy design with straight lines, thick border, angular corners, and chunky, antiqued hardware, reflecting a bag that is both modern and sporty; perfect for the today's on-the-go woman who wants to wear it both as a shoulder bag and cross-body. 

It comes in several sizes:

Small: 8"L  x  3.2"W  x  5"H

Old medium: 10"L  x  2.5"W  x  5.5"H

New medium: 11"L  x  3.5"W  x  7"H

Large: 11.8"L  x  3.9"W  x  8.3"H

After the overwhelming success of the Boy Flap bag, Chanel created an entire lineage of bags with the same design details: CC "Boy", push-lock, chunky chain, but in different leather, metal, colours and design variations such as the triple-quilted border.

I'm hopelessly devoted to this Boy, and have also another favourite, more edgy version in new medium size, quilted black leather and polished silver chunky chain. If maybe you'd like to add another Boy style to your collection, I advise you to choose a model in snakeskin like mine, since the Parisian fashion house announced at the end of 2018 that it would stop manufacturing products made from snakes, crocodiles, lizards and more, citing difficulty obtaining responsibly sourced exotic skins. So I think it's now wise to invest on the last ones available, since with no more exotic skin bags on the horizon, their value in the resale market of pre-loved items is likely to soar, and certainly the brand's 2018 collection will be highly sought after from now on.