So in yesterday’s entry I struck out with the Kusama bag, but around every defeat there is victory waiting to happen. This has always been one of my mottos in life, and in the fashion context it’s no different. Now I’ve blogged endlessly about my love of a certain company that makes quilted bags, but there’s one iconic Chanel flap bag that has yet to make it into my collection. Namely the black lambskin classic flap:

There’s nothing to not love about it…nice puffy quilts on a buttery lambskin leather that saturates color dyes like no other. Perfect in photography, gorgeous over the shoulder. But what’s not lovable about it is probably how prone it is to fingernail marks and squishy corners. A few careless uses and I’m not sure my OCD self can bear to live with that broken-in look. And yet…it’s always been on my wish list. Years go by and prices go up, now to a prohibitive point. So yes, I kick myself for not pulling the trigger when it was mildly affordable.

But sometimes options appear when things are bleak. In my case, I found a (more reasonably priced) clutch with chain that serves both daytime and nighttime purposes. I had actually come in for this bag in the “workhorse” caviar grain but it was not available in black. The khaki caviar just didn’t feel like love. The dark grey and navy lambskin were gorgeous but did not bode well with my wardrobe. Luckily, my trusty sales associate was able to finagle the black one in lambskin from somewhere. And there it was, all falling into place, making perfect sense on a cloudy afternoon at the Brussels boutique. So…shall we go through the same song and dance of opening the package together? Bien sûr!

Forgive me, sometimes the packaging is so lovely I want to linger a bit…

It never gets old, does it? Still feels like Christmas day every time I get to open one of these babies :D. So here it is, the Chanel clutch with chain in black lambskin and silver hardware…

People who swear by their lambskin bags tell me once the bag bears the sign of use, it’ll just look that much more iconic. And my sales associate was nice enough to give me a special glove to use to rub down any accidental scratch. I think I’ll just have to leave my OCD in the closet and wear the bag out…when there’s no rain cloud in the sky!

Anyway, back on the train for me. I think we’ll go back to look at all the Swedish food I’d mentioned a few entries ago next time.