A Chanel Period

My new Chanel cap-toe booties bloom on the Missoni carpet sample I’m pondering for the home.

While most people flee the City over long weekends, I stayed put, having errands to run and puttering to do.

Between visits to the Apple and Eyewear stores, I took a detour downtown to Chanel to check out the latest shoes.

Check turned into “code” for “buy.”

It’s not my fault. It’s just shopping torture in that skinny softly lit room up the elevator on two, each pair of shoes displayed like pieces of cake, delicious and too pretty to touch. Maybe it’s the rough weeks of work that made me believe I deserved a pair. Or my years of lusting after Chanel and settling on imitations. In any event, I buckled and bought.

First “new” Chanel purchase, lucite cuff, circa 2000.

Chanel just speaks to me, and now that it has my ear, it also has my heart (and now wallet). Everything about Chanel is timeless yet so modern, whether it’s Coco or Karl’s use of tweed (sometimes frayed, sometimes not), chains, lucite, cap-toes and the camellia flower, sometimes used in isolation, sometimes miraculously used in unison, always looking perfect.

I breathlessly send a photo to Jslow right away for approval, even though the deed was done, and nothing she could say would separate my feet from those boots.

Her response? A heart imoticon saying she loved them, and this: “having a Chanel moment, just bought a mini-backback and black tweed coat with frayed edges.”

Wow. Why am I not surprised? When some women become close friends, their periods sync up. With us, it’s Chanel. When we do our bi-annual ladies who lunch (lwl), we always stop in the Chanel boutique in Neiman Marcus to gape and gasp. We even use a photo from that hallowed spot as our official “head shots.” We hate having our pictures taken, but in that Chanel boutique, everything looks great, even us!

We are both having our Chanel “moment.” Thankfully, it lasts a lifetime.

I know, I know, this shit is steep. So start small like I did. My first purchase ever was a chain belt that I nabbed from ebay for roughly $150. I’ve had it almost 20 years, and wear it as not only a belt, but a necklace and bracelet too. It adds instant glamour and style to just about anything. My first “new” purchase was the cuff, and just clicking it on changes everything.

So if you are so inclined, after this long holiday weekend, take a short digital detour through ebay, and check out some Chanel. Right now, there are 24,401 listings. No need to panic, just start small with “rings” or “tweed” and take it from there.Let us know what you find!

Chanel vintage belt purchased on ebay 20 years ago, worn as bracelet. Rocket approves.