A Girl’s Best Friend

In its long, storied history, Chanel has built a reputation that few in the fashion industry can surpass. It continues to thrive in the saturated marketplace by keeping to certain motifs that its founder, Coco Chanel, instilled from the onset, reinventing them for modern times. These include boucle jackets, camellias and the ubiquitous little black dress. In the handbag category, quilted leather and chains are as common to the brand as sand is to the dessert. The size and silhouette may change throughout the years, but these characteristics are a mainstay.

During the 1920s, Coco Chanel, recognizing how women needed their hands free while performing rudimentary activities throughout the day, created a bag with a double-chain shoulder strap. By the ‘50s, she perfected the design with the now iconic 2.55—a handbag that is still in high demand, owing to its sleek, unfussy design. Chanel was a visionary that saw fashion as a tool for women, which is why she did away with the excesses (bows, lace, embroideries, etc.) that many of her male contemporaries showcased at the time. Under the helm of her successor, Karl Lagerfeld, the brand now offers a number of styles that still keeps to the minimalist codes of the maison—like the Boy, the Classic Flap, and the 2.55 Reissues.  And to accommodate the lifestyles for women on the go even further, Chanel has cast them as wallets with the signature metal chain.

Chanel’s Wallets on Chain (aka WOCs) are not only very Chanel in style, they are brilliantly engineered.  Its compact size packs a lot of punch.  Beneath the front flap is one slot, two compartments  (including one with six credit card slots ) and a zippered center coin purse.  With gusseted bottom and sides, the WOC expands to hold a cell phone, including the large iPhone 7plus. It has all the essentials for Saturday shopping, Sunday brunch or day-partying.  With its long crossbody chain, the WOC is the most fashionable, no-fuss way to gallivant around hands- and arms-free. Chic, reliable and adaptable: it really is a girl’s best friend.