ARE YOU ON THE LIST?

The other day I was talking about designer bags with a colleague. She had plans to buy a Chanel WOC short for wallet on chain. Just like the one I bought in Paris not too long ago. ‘Don’t you always feel super judged when you go to a high end boutique like that?’ ‘Eh, yeah big time! One of the reasons I went to all the way to Paris’, I answered. In other countries, not so much, I go in and try all the styles available but somehow in Holland I always let those judging stares get to me. When I finally went to the boutique to get my first Chanel bag I returned back home a very disappointed girl. I thought I’d went in, pick out the bag, put down an arm and a leg ($$$) and walk out a happy camper. I couldn’t be more wrong. The bag wasn’t available and I was waitlisted. Which was nothing more than a scratch of paper. I thought, I’ll probably never get called back. Something to do with ‘goodwill’. But I did manage to skip the waitlist. Even though I missed my first Chanel moment. Want to know how, read on my dear.

About four years ago the time had finally arrived, I was ready to get my first Chanel bag. Every fashionistas dream! I didn’t want wait very long because today, buying a Chanel bag is a better investment than buying property. Twice a year they will increase the price and in a couple of years it might be impossible to buy a Chanello. After doing some extensive research I knew that the bag had to be a classic, because it needs to last a lifetime, needed to go with just about everything, and certainly not too small.

Anyhoo, it was half way through december and off the boutique I went. The judging stares started at the door when the doorman opened. There weren’t many customers (didn’t need to get in line like I did in  Paris) so I approached the first sales associate I saw. The lady, a Coco Chanel look-a-like (including RBF* and a black bob) scanned me from top to bottom with her reading glassed dangling on the tip of her nose. I thought:’We’re so going to besties’. (Not). I told Coco’s clone exactly what I came for, a jumbo flap bag, in caviar leather with gold hardware. ‘We don’t have it’, she replied without looking at me. ‘Ok, are you sure? Not even in the back? The only option I had was to be placed on a waiting list. So I chose to do just that. ‘Coco’ took a piece of paper from her pocket (wait, no Chanel notebook?) and scribbled my information on it. But she ‘forgot’ to write down the type of bag. When I addressed her she told me that it wasn’t necessary, she would remember. I went home very disappointed and felt really put down. But, plan B was already in the making. When I came home I immediately called a Chanel (shop in shop)in Belgium. The bag was going to be mine, with or without Coco’s evil twin. But the bag was in back order over there as well.

Fast forward, two weeks later. I was doing my daily round of Instagram when I stumbled up on a post of a Dutch follower. The announced the ‘birth’ of her Chanel bag . My heart started racing and needed to get to the bottom of this. I asked her where she got it and how long she had to be on the waiting list #obsessed. She told me she was on the list for quite some time so there was nothing left for me to do than to sit and wait. Or didn’t I? I texted my bestie D (she’s Asian, I’ll explain why I’m addressing this later) who just happen to work near the Chanel boutique in Amsterdam. I asked her if she could stop by after work to see if they received any bags that day. I was in the UK at the time and couldn’t go myself. I did go to Selfridges but because of the strong pound sterling the bag was even more expensive. Finally, a text. It read: ‘Dude, they have the bag’.’Wait, what?? Are you sure??’ I answered. ‘Jumbo flap, caviar leather with golden hardware, right? Yeah, it’s right here in front of me, you want it? I’ll have them keep it for you.’ Do I?? Oh yes! And I made multiple happy dances that day. I could just picture myself with my Chanel baby. Or did I get ahead of myself..?

It was the second of January and holiday season was coming to an end. My bestie and I were going to get my Chanel baby and celebrate that happy occasion with champagne afterwards. We went to the boutique, all dressed up, so busy talking that we almost missed the boutique. But where the doorman usually opened the door (with a judging stare), the door stayed closed as a clam! Eh, hello? Customers..? When the door finally opened the doorman told us that the boutique was closed for the day because ‘THERE HAS BEEN A ROBBERY LAST NIGHT’… Are.you.freaking.kidding.me? This sounded like a bad joke and I was sure I was being PUNK’D. ‘But my bag, reservation, waitlist!’. The doorman told me not to worry because all the reserved bags were in a different part of the store. But the police were going to busy tracing evidence all day.

I had to go back to work the next day #girlboss so I couldn’t get the bag. My bestie went and got it for me. And when I got home there was a nice little package waiting for me. Turned out a few people who were called back declined the bag. So my friend came in at the right time. And it has been said that high end boutiques keep a secret stash of the most wanted bags for Asian and Russian customers. Often they will pass by in big groups, spend lots of money and they don’t want to turn certain customers away. Call it luck, a coincidence or goodwill but after being on a imaginary waiting list I did get my baby anyway.

Did I ever get called back? Well..

xx Mishanou

*RBF= resting bitch face