Here is a piece of fashion history for you! A piece that’s worth the highest appraisal possible which is PRICELESS!

I introduce to you the original flap from the first line of production in 1955… THE 2.55

For a long time, I tried to find close-up pictures of one but was always unsuccessful. There would always be some upgraded details that make the 2.55 not original and from later productions.

Finally, I was able to find one for you!

Here are the details of the original 2.55, and every part of the bag is there to tell a story.

-The outer material was wool jersey, not tweed or leather — one of her favorite fabrics that she used in the 20s.

She used this material for its low cost and durability, a material that was only used for men’s underwear at the time (perhaps because she spent quite some time with many male lovers? Lol)

The original quilting was the diamond quilts pattern, not Chevron, which later came. All quilting was done by hand.

• The interior was bright red grosgrain. She didn’t use satin or silk, which was also new for bag lining in that era. She picked red for the lining, not black, to make it easy to find things inside. Red is also one of her favorite colors; as Coco Chanel said, “red is the color of life, of blood.”

• The chain was made of tiny cable links. This detail is essential to me as that was the most challenging part to find on all vintage 2.55s. The original chain was made of one golden cable links chain strap, a part of the design upgraded to the woven chain in 1956–57. The woven chain to this day represents the original style of chain links, the cable links. I explained before that Coco had to alter the look of the full Bijoux cable chain because of the shortage of hardware. The chain’s new look was amazingly gorgeous, so she never discontinued it. She chose the Bijoux chain, not leather or any materials. The chain was inspired by the key chains that the nuns used at the Abbey of Aubazine orphanage, where she grew up.

• The Hardwares are made of polished gold plated, not brushed or Aged. She loved gold; it reminded her of the gifts of gold given to her by the Duke of Westminster. From poverty to the wealthiest woman in France, she knew the true value of gold, and it is only made for the richest. Adding the gold hardware and costume jewelry meant that women could still look elegant even with faux gold.

• A zipper compartment inside the top part (back of the flap) or the secret pocket was for her love letters.

• No heat stamps of Chanel markings anywhere.

• A thin reversed CC back-to-back interlocking logo is stitched on the inner flap. This detail needs a separate post on its own! But I can tell you that it was stitched by hand.

• The Mademoiselle lock is smaller than the current one with no CHANEL engraving. There is also no hallmark engraving for gold plating on the side of the lock on this version; later on, that was added but then removed.

• The zipper and the snap button are made of steel, not gold, the newer vintage versions have a golden zipper.

• four grommets (that detail never changed.), FYI 4 grommets on any flap mean that it can be worn double or single chain; 2 grommets are for crossbody or one chain strap.

• The number of pockets/compartments also never changed. The Mona Lisa pocket on the outside (the artisans gave it its name at the shop.), the frontal pocket (showing when the bag is opened), the zipper top pocket, three pockets in the middle interior (two larger ones on each side for her mirror and powder compacts and the middle one for her lipstick), and the main compartment total of 7. We can add the slip pocket in the back of the inner flap, making it 8 compartments.

pictures credit to SwankVintage.

So now you know how it all began❤️

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