CHANEL *sigh*

I'm going to tell you a little story. I love fashion I read about it, I watch about it, I study it, I study it, and breath it, I literally live for it. I know to look for stitching, construction, and value. If a pair a jeans costs more than $120 I can usually tell you if it's worth it or not. I believe this comes from some where early in my childhood and now as I build my home with my husband I am finding that there is just no room for his clothes.

Now in my opinion the highest quality for fashion is Chanel.

I can remember watching my first fashion show on the Style network when I was about 12 or 13, and the first Fall fashion wrap up show was on *sigh* Chanel. I fell in love. I began to be silently obsessed with the line. I love EVERYTHING that Chanel has ever done. The suits, the hats, the jewelery, and of course the handbags, even the perfume (I love Chanel No. 5). So I'm from a not so rich family, working class, and for a girl like me ever owning something from the coveted brand was just out of the picture. I can even remember when I had my first job saving 1/2 of my paychecks in hopes of one day purchasing something from Chanel. Well as like most high school kids I spent that money on food and American Eagle clothes and gas, and just hanging out with my friends thus never obtaining something from Chanel. Until now.

Okay well I still don't have anything "real" from Chanel, I do now own something fake. While we were in NY we went down to China town and hit the shops on Canal street. We had a blast! From the second you get off the subway on Canal street there are just all these huge African-American men trying to sell you stuff. All the store fronts are legit. businesses and on the side they sell knock offs. Now as a true fashion lover a knock off just won't do, but unless I get a billion dollar tip it's just not happening for me. So, Scott and I wandered up and down Canal Street for about half and hour being approached by these black men before we decided to give in and see what they had to offer. Now the man was trying to sell us a Rolex watch and Scott told him we wanted a hand bag. Well the man we'll call him... Jim. Jim pulls out his iphone and starts scrolling through all his "stuff" and told us to follow him. Scot and I looked at each other and said "okay." He took us down the street and around the corner and down another street and he waked about 8 feet in front of us looking over his shoulder every so often to check if we were still there. Well he stops and tells us to walk to the corner and meet a woman in a brown coat. We walk to the corner and there is this just tiny Asian woman. She asks "You want purse?" We nod and off we go again around corners and down alleys until we get to this parking lot. We follow her down a row of cars, until we get to this van. She open the van door and climbs in and tells us to sit down on the rubbermaid tote, and close the door. The van was covered with purses, and the windows were covered with black trash bags. Scott and I squeeze on to the tote ans she starts handing me Chanel bags.

"What you want back on black, white on black, black on white? How big?" She asks me I tell her I want white on black about medium size. and she hands me a bag. My heart stops. This is what I've been looking for! It's black with a white double C big enough to hold a book, but small enough to fit in between my car seats, with straps to put it over my shoulder but short enough to hold it comfortable at my side. I was in heaven. Well it was only $25 so we bought it, knowing that it was likely a fake. She takes out money puts the purse in a black bag and tells us we can go.

We wonder back onto Canal street and purchase some little things for Scotts siblings and head back to the hotel. Well like I said I know a bit a bout fashion and began to examine my new purse, and as I suspected it was a knock off. A real Chanel purse has a number stitched on the inside and mine I'm afraid does not. But I still feel cool carrying it.

Knowing it a fake I began to ask why the great lengths to obtain a purse with no real value? Well Chanel is a brand, a brand that sells for hundreds and thousands of dollars, to take the name and put it on another product is well illegal. So as much as I love my purse it is a fake and now that I'm a poor newlywed I'm unlikely to ever own anything authentic from Chanel I'm going to just enjoy my fake purse and dress myself up like a rich city gal and pretend I paid $1,ooo,ooo,ooo for my purse and enjoy life... but I'll continue to dream of my Chanel life.