watching a watch

the last time i wore a watch was about 10 years ago. it was a cool fossils watch with a red face and you press a side button for the time to light up. if i dig around my bedroom, i might be able to find it, but i'm not going to so please use your awesome imagination instead. i thought i was so cool wearing that. so spy worthy.

then i got a cell phone and wrist watches became the thing of the past. it just didn't make sense to double time things. why strap on another accessory, pay double for another thang, when the cell phone just does it all....just does it all.

that is until about 2 years ago when i saw chanel's j12 white ceramic watch and fell head over heels in love with it. that was probably THE ONLY time that i ever thought i NEEDED a watch...that i couldn't live without one. my s.a. even brought it out for me to "try" it on, see how it fits, you know, have some fun. yeah right...she was banking on the fact that i was a weak chanel mofo.

anyways, i tried it on and indeed it is LOVELY, but the sometimes rational voice inside my head told me loudly, "YOU DON'T WEAR WATCHES! PUT IT DOWN! ARE YA NUTS?!" so i did and walked away, wimpering a little of course cuz it's just sooooooo pretty! of course, that doesn't mean i don't look at it fondly or stare like a pervert when i see one.

anyways, here's the chanel j12 with diamond markers....on another lucky chick's wrist.

and here is another version encrusted with diamonds. chanel loves to bring in different variations for this classic. this one i had to put on my sunnies when i saw it. dayaaaam my friends, dayam!

if i must say so myself, if i was to ever pick up a watch, the white ceramic chanel j12 will be the one. it just pops off your wrist. so dang hot!

oh ruby :)

a friend once asked me if i remembered THE moment in which i knew that my fiance was "the one." do you? i responded with, "it wasn't ONE moment per se, but a series of moments that made it clear for me that he is the guy for me." how ironic then that one of those moments involved a chanel.

so to give you some background, if you've read some of my past blog entries, you might be aware that i've lusted after chanels since 2007. i even made a mention that "i would want to buy a black one to be practical, BUT i would also want to buy a red one out of LOVE. *tisk, tisk*"

well, since christmas of LAST YEAR (talk about holding out! muhhahhahaha) i've had my red chanel...everybody, i'd like you to meet RUBY, my newest and LAST chanel (i promise!!!).

ruby, you're gorgeous!

at the time that it came out for the 2009 cruise collection, ruby's color was the first red to come out in a long time in caviar leather (any chanel experts out there can correct me if i'm wrong). this red came out with a lot of buzz and you had to make sure that you knew a s.a. somewhere so they could lay dibs for you. since i knew a few s.a.'s in different places, when it came out, one of them in vegas called me and my finace (boyfriend at the time) actually OFFERED to drive me to the chanel boutique there so i can see it for myself and pick it up. omg, i thought that was so nice of him! i think most men would have rolled their eyes and told me to shut up, especially after only 2 MONTHS of dating! what a keeper right?!

so he drove me there and i went through my uber picky process of picking the best ruby of the bunch and i did. i brought her home and have enjoyed her gorgeousness since then.

my ass shot cuz you know you like it.

so a year later, chanel came out with ANOTHER red in their 2010 collection which is a much truer red than my ruby which has a darker, burgundy undertone (i kinda think that was their way of increasing sales cuz the economy was tanking by then and red was always an elusive chanel color). the 2010 red is HOT and wasn't available at chanel boutiques. you had to procur one at neiman's or saks if you had a hook up there. but at that point i already had decided to STOP. i think you can ALWAYS try to find a bigger and better one to top what you have, but the whole point is to know when enough is enough. so what i'm saying is, i think ruby is the bestest and she will grow old with me like all my other bags. her red color is elegant and fits my wardrobe color to the tee and you'll probably fall in love with her just like how i fell in love with her when you see ruby.

folks, i'm finally DONE with chanel i think. come on now, look at what i've already amassed. besides, i have a newfound obsession for jewelry since getting my engagement ring...hahhaha. it never ends, does it? as always, to be continued......

my secret ssshhhhhanel

muhahhahahhaahahhaha!

another woofy bag

don't know what's going on with some of the animal themes you see in bags. furry, hairy, jungly, farm woofing...STOP! why isn't PETA getting on your ass or at least some sort of fug award nomination to give you designers a reality check?! seriously, even a double c chanel label on a hairy animal bag is ooogly! check this monstrosity out. a chanel flap with fur and tweed. it's like a designer fart. ick.

then it dawned on me that i own something that looks very similar:

this is about as much animal fur as i'm willing to tote. and this furry bag carries only doo doo and treats. what a useless bag it is.

meet cocoa

thanks to my main squeeze, i can now add this beautiful metallic brown reissue to my bagwhore collection! it is a MOST GORGEOUS shimmery brown color with a beautiful ruthium chain. i've actually eyed this baby for a while now but could not bring myself to get it after owning a house and a dog while going back to school. let's just say that my frivolous spending has taken a step back with a really big reality check. besides, i've bought so many bags already for just two arms so goes my reasoning......but then steps in main squeeze and i get this beautiful chanel for my bday! yay! i've already named her cocoa :) i love you cocoa...i mean i love you main squeeze!

cocoa can be dressed up or down and adds that extra beat or two to my heart when i tote it. i am not a fashionista by any means, but i sure love my bags and all baglike things (somewhere, i guess my girl genes went kooky). anways, the metallic shimmer is somewhat muted but the brown is truly gorgeous!

a friend of mine once told me all my chanels look the same...i guess they sortta do with the same quilting and structure. but like a mommy of multiples, they all look different to me and i love them all individually. besides, i think this style of chanel drives me the most batty...the other styles do not grab my heart or my wallet quite as strongly as the classic flaps and reissues do.

welcome cocoa! ow!

a birthday chanel

true love is when your man gets you a chanel for your birthday....so says bagnatic. yippeee!! a new chanel baby for my collection!

reunited and it feels so good

back in august 2008, i was in las vegas to attend a friend's bachelorette party. during down time, i would go shopping (it is imprinted in my genes girls and i won't deny it). a harmless stroll through fashion show mall lead me to neiman marcus which lead me to their small chanel store which lead me to another unneccessary chanel crush. what a vicious cycle this is!

oh my god, what do i see?! good gawd it's a navy blue lambskin wallet on a chain! soft, supple leather, glossy sheen, thin leather woven chain that reminds me of a pretty necklace. the best part is being able to wear it messenger style, but ultimately you can use it as a cluch or a shoulder bag as well. in that moment, i felt i NEEDED it, that life would be incomplete without it. crazy devil at work that's what this is.

but i resisted.

it was around the same time that i closed escrow on my house and needed to take care of some bills. so keeping in theme with my good girl with good credit image, i bid adieu to this lovely woc even though i got the s.a's number and even told him to put it on hold for me JUST IN CASE. ah, the games i play on myself. ultimately i left las vegas without this pretty little chanel.

fast forward two months later and i find myself at saks in beverly hills. another harmless walk over to neimans led me to the chanel counter which lead me to the same woc!! woot? is this like fate or something? is it?! i demand an answer! i saw it's twin sitting in the display case begging for me to tote it. once toted, it was clearly over. my sa had a brand new one in stock and i purchased it during their gift card promotions and took my new baby chanel home. i think the lesson here is to stop taking those harmless walks!

the chanel woc is small and is meant to replace your wallet because there's card slots as well as an inner compartment for loose change. it can fit a thin cell phone and a thin camera but that's about it. it's not a super practical bag, but most chanels aren't super practical anyways. come on now! why are you paying so much for a bag right....*bagnatic thinks about it*....it was lovely and i wanted to own it and now i do. i've used it several times now and it's a great little purse. ahhh, i love me some chanel!

my shoalin monk pose as i try to steady the camera and give you my modeling shot. ow!

2008 was great

yes, i couldn't help myself. i never really could to be honest with you......

charmed i'm sure

if you are one of those lucky gals who has a beau or two for valentines, then LISTEN UP. coyly show this chanel valentines bag to your man and if he loves you, he will buy it for you :) kidding...not.

this bag definitely falls in the "young cute" look. not something i would recommend a 30 something to rock, but cute nevertheless. pretty color, cute charms, but definitely a trendy one. i can see it snagging on your clothes and it's a bit too small being that this particular bag is in the "east west" style. it probably holds a small wallet, keys, and a thin cell phone comfortably. also, carry it gingerly please lest you want your expensive double c charms to fall off.

purty. perfect for valentines eh?!

a few seasons ago, chanel had another valentines bag as well. this is the MUCH COVETED valentines chain bag because of the heart links that replaced the leather woven chain links. it commands a crazy ass bag price on ebay for all the bagwhores out there. are you in love with it?

is this chain drool worthy?

i never forgot you....

potsticker was right when she said:

"Don't tell me it's that wallet you returned at the Rodeo Drive Chanel Boutique."

she is partly right anyways...that's how she rolls..always being partly right. oh snap!

i did go to the chanel boutique looking for something but not specifically for the blue camellia wallet that i had returned in the past and which potsticker had guessed. but while i was waiting for the sa to get that "something else" for me to look at, she opened a drawer that housed the blue/grey camellia wallet. YES, i was lured again. it is such a BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL color with a super feminine pattern. the kind that makes you swoon a bit and you start thinking to yourself (well myself anyways), "ahhh, it is too pretty to pass up this time right?" i needed to re-evaluate my past decision especially since i know it's been sold out in most places.

so i asked to see if they had a virginal blue/grey camellia wallet in their stockroom and they did. but upon further inspection, i found a little white spot on the inside of the wallet (no bueno!)...and sadly, i still found the same issues with it. the lambskin is too delicate (i think i would baby it too much and it will still get all scratched up), there's not enough credit card slots, AND the bills don't lie flat in the bill slot. i feel this style wallet was not made for the american dollar. anyways, i already have my red prada and my orange colored chanel one...and my wee house for that matter. i guess TECHNICALLY, i don't need another wallet so i decided to pass. still regrettable, but i don't think i would have put it to good use.

however, because i LOVE this color and pattern so much, i decided to pick up a credit card holder in this design. it has 3 credit card slots and a slot in the middle to hold any folded up bills. it's a tad bigger than a regular credit card and i think it will make a great alternative to using a real sized wallet for golden deliciousness since she's a tad small herself. besides, i'm just going to fess up right now. i wanted to own a piece of this gorgeousness and buying a cc holder seems a lot more reasonable than a wallet that i would not use often.

isn't it gorgeous?!

OBAMA made me do it!

this past weekend i went to nevada to do some canvassing work for the obama campaign. we stayed for 2 nights and a day, which meant NO GAMBLING (boo) but i did manage to carve out some teeny weeny time to pick up a piece of chanel. BUT OF COURSE RIGHT? there's totally a correlation between obama, nevada, and chanel. don't you see it?!

it is a teeny tiny chanel, but there's some nostalgia value mixed in it as well as practicality. if you've followed bagnatic from the beginning, it will look somewhat familiar to you. stay tuned for the reveal!

why are you so hot?!

chanels have increased in retail price at a monstrous rate. the classic chanel styles you buy now are hiked up sometimes 3-9% in comparison to the previous year's cost! outrageous! i suspect one of the reasons for these price hikes is to maintain "exclusivity." young hollywood has been rocking them hard and the lemmings always follows. i wouldn't call myself a lemming, but unfortunately, i do heart chanel so much. let's look at some young hollywood rocking their chanels.

here's lauren conrad from mtv's "the hills" (omg i love that show). she's rocking a jumbo caviar flap. to no one's suprise, there is a suspected price hike on jumbos in november.

here's heidi (also from "the hills") rocking her white chanel accordian flap.

and here's audrina (also from "the hills") rocking her chanel diamond stitch tote. that sucker went up in price real quick and became a hot ebay number.

lindsay lohan and her super cute mini red lambskin flap. this bag is slightly bigger than a wallet on a chain. LOVE the red.

not to mention the countless other young celebrities that love them as well: mischa barton, nicole richie, paris hilton, olsen twins, christina aguilara, etc (hahaha, i didn't want to spend too much time downloading all their pics). anyways, a good bag is loved by all. too bad this love drives up the prices so damn high, hence, another suspected price hike in november.

*btw, why my homage to "the hills" girls? they brought teen attention to chanels. talk about the power of media.

so shady

here's what's in the box. whoo hoo! i know right? wtf did it take me so long to post? it wasn't a tease. i promise!! just been uber busy and tired out with some other time consuming obligations.

anyways, i saw these pair of sunglasses when i had bought my gold metallic reissue. i really thought they were great looking for my face (though my sis and a friend just thought they were OK). obviously, i tried on EVERY pair they had and these sunglasses truly fitted my asian face the best. it sat comfortably on my nose and it covered my eyebrows. i liked that a lot. i also liked the way the cc's looked on the side. pretentious? perhaps. i just thought it was a cute detail with a good fit. but after some pondering, i decided i couldn't buy it then and there. i WAS NOT about to walk away with a new bag AND some sunglasses. i thought that would be horrific for my wallet so i restrained myself....barely.

well, a few weeks went by and i returned. that's usually how long it takes for an idea to sit in and germinate. i immediately went to chanel to look for those sunnies. eh?! ALL GONE?! no way really? so from that period onwards, i looked at all the department stores, etc...that sold chanel sunnies and all the sales folks told me that the particular style i was looking for SOLD OUT and was DISCONTINUED. apparently, they fitted A LOT of faces, especially asian ones so they were one of the firsts to go. awww....

that was a few months ago. recently during a stroll through scp with my boiling crab splattered t-shirt, i dropped by the bloomies chanel to say "hi" to kazue. kazue wasn't there, but LOW and BEHOLD, what do i see there?! one pair of these sunnies left!!! i bet it was either a returned item or it was forgotten in the stock room. anyways, no pondering this time. i immediately bought them and have been rocking them since.

here's some modeling pics courtesy of afro ken. isn't he adorable?! the sunnies totally fit him as well.

and a profile shot. cute!

it never ends

yes please. give me.

it takes a village to celebrate a marriage

if you haven't heard me mention this before, i am slated to attend MANY weddings this year. last night, was another one. the person getting married is the son of a family that lived in the same village as my parents back in our mother land. that's right. keeping the village relations tight. being the somewhat filial daughters that we are, my sis and i became the taxi service for the fam, driving two uncles and our parents all the way to claremont in friday rush hour traffic....effin' friday traffic. you might wonder why they did not just get married during the weekend to make it easier on their guests? that's because asians love their superstitions (though i must admit, i fobbily ascribe to them too for different things), and yesterday was 08-08-08. it was a lucky day to be married...i guess you can't discount the billions of chinese who think they are in the right.

the wedding was quaint. it was held at one of the claremont college campuses so we got slightly lost. we missed the wedding ceremony itself, but came just in time for their open bar (score!) and appetizers. i chatted with some fam, but my sis and i mostly amused ourselves by taking pictures and by drinking. i discovered a great drink that night! amaretto with milk. sooooo tasty and dessertish. by the time we got seated, i alreay had 3 drinks. by the end of the night, i had 5. yum. they must be weak or my tolerance has grown. oh my! hahahaha.

as always, i carried golden deliciousness. she is my evening bag of choice. at the wedding, i also noticed a chanel sister carrying her white caviar flap with silver hardware. she sat at the next table directly behind me so i was able to steal some shots. white bags are really pretty, but alas, i can imagine they are hard to take care of. it would be hard for me to spend that kind of money on a white bag. anyways, another wedding attended. so far, the count is three.

side view. so preeettyyy.....

full frontal. it looked like the medium size to me.

woot woot!

tee hee. today is my berfday! i really want to see a bagnatic entry with a july 27 stamp on it. if you are use to my dorkiness, then this quirk may come as no suprise to you.

my berfday festivities started on friday with great friends and good eats at "the park" (i yelped it in case your stomach is curious). i thought it was a pretty scrump-de-li-lumptious meal and happily knew that this meal signified a fat ass weekend for moi. what a great way to start it up! holla! and a fat ass weekend it has become!

yesterday, saturday, was just as fantastic. a few friends took me to crustaceans because i rave about the garlic noodles all the time so they delivered me right to their koi doors. yummy! they are my social activist friends from way back. seriously, back in the days, i used to march in rallies, participate in protests, helped with some community organizing, etc... can you hear me scream this?

"hey, hey, ho, ho (insert cause) has got to go"

or

"the people, united, will never be defeated!"

well ask me next time. i can demonstrate :) picture me squatting with a bunch of ucla folks at bunche hall during the affirmative action protests or marching in downtown during all those immigration props. i did a bunch of activist stuff before i settled down and became a cranky teacher with a penchant for chanel that you now know. oh those were the days!

anyways, i carried golden deliciousness to dinner (my chanel metallic gold reissue) since i wanted to max her out. throughout dinner, i must admit that i tried to hide her a bit or i would put my hand over the tiny chanel inscription on the clasp. i felt a bit embarrassed to carry her amongst my activist friends...i can't explain it other than the fact that i had a very different persona back then and if they ever found out about my fondness for chanel, i would NEVER hear the end of it. they truly would not understand my newfound materialism and although my politics remains the same, the chanel twist would have knocked their social justice socks off. hence, no one from that particular circle of friends knows about bagnatic. shhhhh..... ;)

she is purty even though i wore her uneasily that night. here's another outfit combo. i wore this to crustaceans and golden deliciousness works just as well. she is much more versatile than i thought!

my office is still messy. i protest cleaning...come on, join my protest!

tonight will be dinner and i will FINALLY get to see the musical "wicked." i am so excited!!! it has been a wonderful birthday indeed. i am blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people and so many pretty little things.

i'm not a playa, i just crush a lot

in 2007, when i first entered the bag world, i was already 9 months too late to procur this beauty. this is a chanel blush patent jumbo and it got released sometime in february. i've never seen it in real life, but based on the pics i've stumbled upon, or more correctly, madly searched for via the web, the patent blush is a real gem. a nice feminine piece without being too pukey pink. that is what i think ok. anyways, it's an anomaly to me because i normally disagree with patent leather very much. i think patent looks like plastic and i don't want a plastic bag...i get a ton of those already when i go grocery shopping. i also disagree with too much pink. but alas, this blush is both pink and patent...i see broken rules all over the place for this bag geek.

one of the "dangerous" things about chanel is that they never repeat the same color. ok, black will always be black, white will always be white (though there have been variations in these also), and beige will always be beige (three signature chanel colors), but everything else always varies in shade. for instance, a red can have brown undertones or blue ones, etc....if you ever liked mixing paints, you know color combinations are endless and shades in color are truly diverse too. so given the gazillions of color mixing that could be had, chanel does not reproduce the same color on the same bags. once it's gone, it's gone.

nowadays, you may be able to find this patent blush on ebay once in a while. the bidding wars on them are pretty ridiculous too. and honestly, i haven't seen it in real life so i don't ultimately know. oh wells, it's a bag to crush on, but not one to procur. i think it's pretty darling though. *sigh*

on a hot summer day

i wonder how an ice cold chanel tastes like?

and it shines...twice

i went to wedding number 2 yesterday and was able to debut my golden deliciousness, the chanel gold metallic reissue. whoo hoo! twice i might add in the day. once for the church ceremony and then for the reception..whoo hoo, whoo hoo!

this is my outfit when i went to the church ceremony. i don't think it's hard to pair golden deliciousness up with an outfit as long as the outfit isn't too busy looking. i think this bag looks best against a solid colored background....or as solid as you can make it. the dress i'm wearing has tiny white polka dots (and yes, i love polka dots too. thanks for wondering). i think it looks great! :) *crickets*

here's a few things i noticed about the bag. it's "soft" in the sense that it lacks the stiff structure of a caviar bag and of course with this size, it holds a lot less. i had to squeeze a ton of stuff in and the bag "gave in" a little but still maintained it's shape. definitely can't carry as much as jumbolicious. it's also a head turner. whoo hoo! i saw you checking out my bag lady! kidding!

at the reception, i saw two other chanel sisters. both were older ladies (mid 40's and 50?). one carried a white gst with gold hardware and another rocked a small vintage lambskin flap. seriously, i thought this shallow thought: it is nice to be able to enjoy some nice things at this young age. ow! i continue to stick by my philosophy that some things in life, you shouldn't wait till later to enjoy. do it now! hahahaha....

please excuse the mess in the back. this is my "office" and i barely go in there except to take modeling pics. :) note to self: suck in stomache for future modeling debuts.

my golden ticket

ahhh…my golden bag. my bright, shiny golden bag! it must have been amazing when charlie bucket found his golden ticket wrapped up in his willy wonka chocolate bar. and for moi, it was just as amazing when my eyes landed on this metallic gold chanel reissue (the difference between a regular chanel flap and the reissue is the clasp and the chain strap. check out my previous post for more info. http://bagnatic.blogspot.com/2007/11/which-clasp-would-you-choose.html). oh my, what have i stumbled upon was my thought?! and why is it so damn shiny?! it was like god shone a bright light on this purse and i knew i had to have it. hahaha.

i had originally visited kazue over at scp bloomies because of this bag, the black caviar gst (grand shopping tote).

i liked totes and thought this would be a great chanel for everyday use. since kazue is super awesome, she had a lot of clients to deal with that day so as i patiently waited my turn to purchase the gst, i walked around the boutique and modeled some bags…alas, i modeled this gold reissue and a seed of “want” was sown. oh my gawd how it SHINED off my black shirt that day. it looks amazing against a solid colored outfit because the gold really pops! i really wanted the bag, but it seemed SO impractical and really expensive at the time. come on now, i should be practical and pick up the, well, practical black bag so i did. i went home that day with the black gst. it sat in my closet for a few weeks new and unused as i drooled over the gold reissue and decided what to do. oh, what to do, what to do *fingers tapping.*

now you know what i finally decided to do. the black gst was cute, but i thought it looked similar to jumbolicious, my jumbo flap. besides, it didn’t take my breath away quite the same way that the gold reissue did. not too long afterwards, i called kazue and asked her to hold the gold reissue for me. i went back to scp to return the gst and to purchase this golden bag. done deal.

my “golden ticket” still sits in my closet looking as golden and as lovely as ever. since i have 5 weddings coming up, there will definitely be 5 occasions to bring this golden beauty out for a spin. watch out for this bag as it makes an appearance at a wedding near you. i know my tastes may not run along the same path as yours, but goodness gracious, we all know when we love something and boy do i love this bag so very much. it is my lucky golden bag indeed.

as i delude myself into thinking my chanel collection is complete with one caviar flap bag, a gold reissue (2 super signature pieces. must have classics in ANY chanel bagdrobe), and my chanel wallet…might i say that bagnatic will be on a hiatus from procuring more bags? for the moment anyways, since i still need money to fund my drug habit (j/k).

hahhaha…i was shopping at target with my friend “j” and i saw a lovely silver piggy bank. i told her i should buy it so i can put money in there for my chanel fund. ahahhaha…sad :)

stay tuned for more covetous bag posts, but no purchases UNLESS there's an awesome sale ;)