Bag review: Vintage Chanel Mini Flap

I’m totally in love and her name is Chanel! I purchased this vintage Chanel Mini Flap bag from Ebay. I decided to purchase it pre-loved for a few reasons. Chanel is becoming RIDICULOUS with raising their prices by 10 percent every couple of months (plus the state of California charges close to a 9.5 percent state tax). And let’s face it; the bags aren’t cheap to start with. I buy pre-loved also because it fits the price range that I am willing to spend on a Chanel. I always make sure before I purchase, to get my items authenticated by Authenticate First. They are amazing and are great to deal with! They are pretty fast with authentication too (for a fee)!

I went for the mini flap because I either go for large handbags (i.e. Louis Vuitton Neverfull) or compact/small (i.e. Chanel Mini Flap or Gucci Disco Soho). No size in between for me. I’ve owned a Chanel jumbo flap before, but it didn’t suit my needs. It was just too big for me, so I sold it.

Look and Feel: The Chanel mini flap comes in the square shape or the rectangle shape. The square shape is no longer sold in Chanel stores. So if you like this shape, you’ll have to buy it pre-loved. My Chanel mini flap is made out of the classic lambskin leather and gold hardware. As soon as I got my bag, I moisturized it with Apple Guard Leather Conditioner and also lightly sprayed it with Apple Guard Rain and Stain Protectant spray. It’s the best to keep the leather moisturized and protected from rain or color transfer from dark denim. With Chanel, most buyers tend to go with the caviar leather because they say it’s more durable. All of my Chanel bags that I’ve owned have been in lambskin. You do have to be careful in some ways when you handle lambskin, but I tend to forget that. When I carry a bag, it has be tough and be able to handle any environment. I personally haven’t had any issues with lambskin leather.

I wanted my mini to be black with gold hardware because it exudes classic Chanel. Plus, it’s easy to match with an outfit and also extremely easy to carry. I love wearing it cross body with the bag toward the front.

Issues & Usability: ZERO issues with this bag. Even though, it’s small, you have to pare down and carry only the essentials. I tend to carry a credit card case, small makeup bag, tissues, my keys and my Iphone 6. With all of those things, the bag is full at this point.

Inside the bag is one slip pocket and one zip pocket. On the outside, the bag has the small back pocket. I tend to put parking receipts in this pocket because nothing else will fit in it.

The measurements of the bag are 6.7″ W X 5.2″ H X 3.1″ D. Since the bag is so small, you only can carry the essentials. Occasionally, I’ll wear it on my shoulders, but I love to wear it cross body. That allows for my hands to be free.

Value:  Fortunately, Chanel holds its value. So if you want to resell the bag later you can probably get most of what you paid for it. I plan on keeping this little baby in my collection for a while. I wear it all the time, casually and for nights out.

Buy or Skip: I totally would recommend buying a Chanel mini flap bag if you don’t carry a lot of things. I was looking at Chanel’s Wallet on a Chain (WOC) at the same time I was interested in buying. It’s also another great Chanel staple, but I carry a little bit more than cards and lip gloss (even when I pare down). So the mini flap was a great choice for me.