Chanel new style Although Coco began with hats and clothing, designer handbags were a natural progression. A purse is an extension of a woman’s wardrobe, along with her shoes and perfume. Chanel handbags are an expansion of the Chanel fashions, with the same traditions being incorporated into the bags’ designs.

With matching fabrics, trims and fine details, the first Chanel handbags were a classic fit to the rest of the brand. When a woman in the early 1900s would dress, she could easily create a matched outfit complete with her Chanel clothes and accessories.

Along with her liberation of women through clothing, Coco also incorporated this mission within her handbag collection. In the 1930s, she created the first handbag that could hang on a woman’s shoulder. With the idea that freeing a woman’s hand movements would free her personality, the first shoulder bag was born. The Chanel shoulder bag had a slow beginning, but really took off in the 1950s.
At this time, Chanel re-released a slimmed down, squared and quilted shoulder bag version, which became an instant status symbol for the next fifty years.

In many ways, today’s Chanel handbags have changed very little. The timeless fashion of a Chanel bag highlights the collection of many purse enthusiasts. Aspects of the original bags that have been maintained are:

    * The original quilted leather.
    * The textured fabrics.
    * The chains.
    * The signature symbol of two CC's.

With a classic and ageless appearance, the Chanel collection for fall 2006 still offers similar trends to history, from tweeds to chains, -- and always a “little black bag.” The product line is limited and only varies slightly with each new season.