Chanel Classic 2.55

Coco Chanel with black classic flap

In the 1920s, Coco Chanel became tired of having to carry her handbags in her arms and decided to design a handbag that freed up her hands. Inspired by the straps found on soldiers’ bags, she added thin straps and introduced the resulting design to the market in 1929. After her successful comeback to the fashion industry in 1954, Chanel decided to update her handbag for the modern woman. The resulting design was called 2.55 after the date of creation, February 1955. The Chanel 2.55 bag is iconic to the Chanel brand and it is made from silk, fur, calfskin or lambskin. The iconic quilting on the bag was inspired by the jackets that jockeys wore.

In February 2005, Karl Lagerfeld re-made the 2.55 – exactly as Coco Chanel had made in 1955, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the 2.55. It came to be known as the Reissue. Technically the term Reissue should only be used for the bags that were made to commemorate the original – so only those in 2005. However, it has become convenient to call all 2.55s that resemble the original 2.55 Reissue.

During the years, there have many many variations to the 2.55 design, including the material of the bag and the chain. Over the years, the bag has come with an entirely metal chain and an interwoven leather chain. The bag also comes in a single and double flap and the closure of the bag varies between the original mademoiselle lock and the interlocking cc. The bag commonly referred to as the classic flap is association with the flap with the interlocking CC closure and leather interwoven chain.