After a few rounds of brokering by my new favorite sales associate with other Chanel boutiques in France, the bags I was searching for arrived at the Brussels boutique and I hopped a train ride there last Friday with my heart in my throat. That and a few lozenges to futilely ward off a cold. But it wasn’t until this Sunday morning that I got to open the boxes leisurely in my PJs after a long weekend packed with activities, including helping some friends move from their apartment to a new house.
But enough with the chatter, let’s get to the good stuff, shall we? Why don’t we rewind to Friday. The boutique couldn’t offer me anything stronger to fight my sniffles, but dark chocolate and sparkling water helped as I waited for them to bring out the bags…
and then they jokingly asked which one I wanted to see first, since it was starting to feel like Christmas in October. As I’d been waiting to find a nice red clutch for over two years now, it was an easy choice…
The price on this caviar timeless clutch has gone up 80 euros since I last inquired about it in September, but I can live with that. My camera’s flash makes the bag look a bit brighter than it is; a more muted, darker red in person. I’m still wishing it were the brighter red from the 10C season but I love this one quand même. Probably even more wearable since it’s a more subtle shade.
And then…and then…
Well, remember when I told you I felt instantly smitten by the olive 2.55 bag the last time I saw it? It was still there and I was no less out of love with it. But as you can figure out from today’s entry’s title, I looked at the harder-to-find distressed bag and was definitely bringin’ home the cowboy bag for my matching boots. On my ride back, I was still pondering about my decision–and of course all the RTW I also tried on. But this morning, after opening the new box and dust bag (which I love, love, love),
(btw that’s a catalog she put in my package along with a bunch of perfume samples–have to see what the catalog is for…more temptations most likely!)
and voilà, there are no doubts. It will be hard to find another 2.55 in this kind of leather finish for a while yet…
Can’t wait to reunite the bag with the boots when I get home in a few more weeks.
But I know you’re already in my head. Would a shopping soldier like me ever leave a fallen comrade behind? Let’s see what happens when my fever breaks and I can clear my thoughts a little 
…
Tags: 2.55 bag, Brussels, Chanel, France, timeless clutch
Have I just about disappeared on you in the last week? Yes, but I promise by this weekend my reveal will be worth the wait for those of you who have been on the bag hunt with me on this trip. Yes, Paris has been productive. But no, it’s not what we thought…more on that when I have photographic evidence!
Today I’ll share with you one of the best things you can do in London for free, and that’s going to any of their great museums. For a museum geek like me, London is right up there with Washington, DC; Paris; and Dallas in terms of the sheer choices and excellence in art education. I promise it won’t be painful.
First up is the Victoria and Albert Museum, dedicated to art and design and located in South Kensington:
It has one of my favorite entries, especially with the gorgeous Dale Chihuly chandelier in the rotunda,
The museum is not too huge/overwhelming, and on certain weeknights there are fun events planned for the public. There was live music (followed by karaoke singing I kid you not!) on the one night I went, and the rock band was set up right in front of this exhibit:
One of my favorite museums in the whole world, however, has to be the British Museum. I get goosebumps just entering its courtyard populated by massive Ionic columns:
Just how massive?
Even if you can’t find a single thing in here that interests you (which I find impossible), I think you’d enjoy just standing in its enormous space on a sunsoaked morning…
I have a confession. When I was still contemplating a study in archeology, I thought one day I’d become a Mrs. Indiana Jones if Billy Idol never came around. Those two were my types. Years later when types went out the window, I still wondered why I didn’t pursue a career in archeology, anthropology or even museum administration. But life often takes you far away from what you thought you wanted.
Anyway, the British Museum has an amazing section on ancient Egypt; I wasn’t kidding about the Indiana Jones thing … I could see myself going on a dig:
But after all, I am a girl, and it’s also about the bling…
History and cultures of the world are artfully represented here,
I’d say take a day to loiter through the building and enjoy the interesting facts included in each exhibit’s description. Did you know that based on the kind of damage to the teeth found in those mummies above, mostly likely caused by the hard grains they chewed on, scientists believed most Egyptians back in Ramesses II’s time lived with excruciating dental pain basically all their lives?
So today I’ll leave you with this one photo I snapped after leaving the museum:
Looks like someone else had a successful bag hunt!
Tags: British Museum, London, South Kensington, Victoria and Albert Museum
So just how productive was Paris? I called up one of my favorite Chanel boutiques and lucked into speaking with a lovely sales associate. She patiently researched their inventory for the bags I inquired about and promised she’d get back to me. The weekend passed and after a few missed calls I get the message that un sac has arrived for me! We don’t have to discuss how rough it was to fall asleep last night, do we, as I was anxious to time my call exactly at store opening this morning?
Well, turns out she’s not working today, but they assured me the bag, whichever it is, is safely on reserve until I can speak with her on Thursday. Good thing I have comfort food to settle my bag anxieties…did I already tell you how satisfying something as simple as a baguette and some favorite cheese (in my case it’s the Comté) can be?
Nineteen more hours till I find out which bag next makes the adoption list. Good thing there’s a whole lot of “comfort” food around here…a girl could die happily from a sugar high!
So many pastries and only one stomach…
So I did manage to block off all of last Friday for some R&R. And by rest and recuperation I mean a hunt for a few things on my wish list. Now I should preface by saying I’d already been calling around for stock check at the various Chanel boutiques in Europe. It’s hit or miss, and some boutiques will hold things while most others do not. It’s almost impossible to time the visit to the boutiques, while they supposedly have what I want on hand, with my own schedule and the ebb and flow of tourists, so I’ve told myself to dump the OCD gal at home and just leave a lot of this to chance. Isn’t that part of the fun of the chase anyway? And worst case scenario I can always get them when I come back to the States. So off to the train station…
with my new favorite jacket and very handy Bal bag (isn’t the anthra color just TDF?!) (and yes, those are M&Ms and not some horse pills for my A.D.D.)…
I barely finish reading a white paper related to the project I’m working on, and I’ve already arrived.
Trains are just the best way to commute for multi-taskers like me!
Let’s see what we can find at our boutique no. 1 in Brussels today. I’m here first because they supposedly have the red timeless clutch in stock.
I’m giddy when i pop out of the Louise metro stop. There are already five outfits dancing in my head with that aforementioned clutch.
But now, now, let’s not do any cartwheels through the front door just yet. We’ll save that for when the clutch is in my hot little hands!
I think I’d mentioned before that this is a very compact boutique, with a proportionally small inventory. But I’d found a few goodies here before so you just never know. I’m greeted by a ton of clutches! Green patent, beige caviar, red lambskin. Tons of Just Mademoiselle bags in the perfect shade of apple red. But alas, the red caviar clutch is nowhere to be found.
But they do have this in all its gorgeous 3D self, which looks tons better than this stock photo from my list:
Egad, what was I here for again?!? So I flip out my phone and do some number crunching for this bag and a stunning tweed jacket I hadn’t yet seen in the US.
My head is spinning at this point, because the lovely monsieur also shows me a patent 2.55 bag in a beguiling shade of bronzy olive. So swoonworthy. Must. Get. Air.
So I take their business card and leave them my info in case they can locate the jacket in my size. They tell me if the jacket can’t be found, one of the two olive bags would make a perfect consolation prize. Love that Belgian logic!
Still no red clutch, but now I’m flummoxed. Which makes more sense, the brown 2.55 that matches the boots or the olive one that probably won’t match much but is a huge crush on my part? I’m still debating back and forth while I walk down to the Hermes boutique…God help me if they have a grey ostrich Birkin there!
It’s a lovely boutique but, as with my usual luck at the H stores, nothing from my list. While I’m looking around, I overhear the saleslady speaking in English to a phone customer looking for bags…please leave your contact info, but there’s no Birkin or Kelly available right now. We’re all in the same boat.
I walk around this fashionable shopping area for a few more hours. Found some books at a cool bookstore nearby and worked out my legs some more by skipping over to one of the best lookout points in Brussels:
I need to digest what I’ve seen today and see what else is out there at the next few boutiques before committing. The elusive clutch is still a priority find for me, so I’m trying to not get too sidetracked.
Let’s see if Paris will be more productive…
Tags: 2.55 bag, Brussels, Chanel, timeless clutch
What have I learned so far here, two weeks in, on this trip?
1. There actually are four seasons outside of Los Angeles. No matter what the Angelenos tell you, you can’t really melt under rain. And chilly weather is the best climate for Chanel RTW. I may have to turn up the air con to wear the tweed jackets in California, but here, it’s perfect for layering! This is what I wore to dinner the other night: Josie Natori black knit dress, JCrew scarf, Fendi heels, and Chanel leather/tweed jacket:
OK, a bit dressed up to see some old friends (they wore jeans!), but I wanted to represent! Of course after a huge dinner I wished I had on some stretch jeans myself…
2. I should have studied Mandarin instead of Spanish in college. Sure, I can order beer in South America like there’s no tomorrow, but for once I’m really out of my element trying to break into China from Europe. Something’s always lost in the translation. And just because my last name could be mistaken for Chinese, they seem to expect me to speak the language. I can barely order food in Chinese, people…even with a photo menu!
3. And finally, time really does not stop while I’m on the road. Life back home goes on sans moi. A dear friend had posted here that she’d found the Missoni for Target carry on suitcase for me and took the time drop it off yesterday. So because of her act of kindness, I can now stop trolling ebay for it at 3am and look forward to coming home to a new zigzag suitcase! Gals, say Amen if you agree that it really does take a village to make our shopping wishes come true sometimes.
Speaking of shopping…the sun is supposed to come out this Friday and I’ve a date at one of the Chanel boutiques. Let’s see what report I bring back for you in the next entry!
Tags: Chanel, Fendi, JCrew, Josie Natori, Los Angeles, Missoni
