Chanel Keyboard

The other day I saw a photo of this pouch on Instagram, via Wisteria Voyage. Really cute, right? I have stayed far away from Chanel for quite some time now, mostly due to the fact that I have no place in my life or wallet currently for its clothing, and when it comes to the accessories, I generally like those plexiglass things they come out with every season and then go to the boutique and try them on, only to be terrified away by enormous four and five (!!) digit price tags, so I’ve been sitting out. So I thought that might be the same for this keyboard pouch, but then realized that it was leather, not plastic (don’t know how that logic works), and that it might be priced in friendlier territory. Then I found out that it was $950, which in Chanel world is basically a pair of embellished espadrilles, and my heart shouted hooray!

via Wisteria Voyage

And then I found out it was prior season.

Have you ever wanted something from a past season from Chanel? If its not a popular item, you might be lucky and find it’s still kicking around, in the back of a storeroom somewhere. Some salesperson will grudgingly dig it out for you, after all the super $$ paying customers have left, and then you’ll have to secretly inspect if it might have any flaws, and there’s a 50% chance that it’ll have a big scratch, and then the salesperson will treat you like a psycho if you ask if there’s possibly another one. If the item was in demand though? Get ready for an even bigger ordeal. Since I was at the mall a few days later anyway, I asked my local boutique concession about the keyboard pouch, only to have my question met with much chest clutching and eye rolling. The implication being  that even if I had managed to be on time with my desire for this clutch,  I still would have rated quite low on the priority list to getting one.

So, I sent a few more emails to sales associates. I posted on Purse Forum. I asked friends. And finally, someone referred me to a personal shopper. Have you ever used one of these? I never had, and had heard some horror stories (mostly involving Instagram) and was slightly frightened. But it actually went great! They were super responsive on text, found the clutch right away. I was charged directly from the department store (a legit one), the bag was shipped in perfect condition with the receipt, etc. The wrapping was much better than when I’ve bought items myself. The shopper only charged me once the bag arrived. AND the fees were really reasonable.

Yeah!

Please rest assured that this almost never happens – actually it might be one of the first times I ever found something like this from an earlier season and was able to find it so easily. So, I had to share with you all – my story of my favorite new keyboard pouch.

Have any of you used a personal shopping service?