#002
The story of my Chanel spring 2008 pants and other mispurchases
Thank you so much for the feedback regarding my first substack last week. I got few requests to share more outfits with vintage pieces, and the process behind finding them. So here we go. But first I’ll share the story of my vintage Chanel pants that I did not want to buy.
Knit The Row Sibem from Vestiaire Collective (Black S here and XS here), T-shirt Lemaire for Uniqlo, flare pant Chanel Spring 2008 (Flare Max Mara trouser S here and very Toteme-ish from Joseph size XS here)
I was still a student in Paris (read: tiny budget, big rent) and was killing time strolling in Le Marais, visiting every gallery and vintage shop I saw. I had just started to shift towards buying second-hand and didn’t really know yet the tips and tricks. I stepped into La Boutique de Cara at rue de Turenne and long story short, came out with a pair of Chanel pants I could barely afford and had yet another black pant I did not need. So what happened was the usual trap; I found something beautiful and luxurious, perfect condition, my size and unique, buy it now or you’ll never have the chance to buy it again - kind of piece, of course I couldn’t leave it. And if I remember correctly, I tried on something completely else when the owner Cara - who is absolutely lovely by the way - handed me the pants and told to try them on. I have a long history of working in retail so I should be immune to any kinds of sales efforts. But there I was with my first ever Chanel piece. And I was never even a Chanel girl.
Now years back I still own the pants and can happily say they are one of my most worn piece (I do say that about all of my clothes) and I have a teeny tiny crush on Chanel, but it hasn’t been the case with all of my vintage purchases. Once I bought a slightly futuristic coat from Balenciaga - Nicolas Ghesquière era - with huge shoulders. I looked ridiculous and re-sold it with a fraction of the price I paid. I’ve also bought a Fendi pullover with a fur figure in it, one of those great items to peacock in front of street style photographers ten years ago, only to remind myself I stand for animal rights and don’t wear fur. And I don’t wear colors either so I’m still wondering about this one. Last spring a “vintage leather trench” ordered through Vinted, arrived as a SHEIN plastic imitation of a coat.
Most mispurchases mentioned are mostly part of the journey of experimenting and finding my own style, combined with the adrenaline rush of finding a one of a kind -piece (the Fendi pullover, really?). The last one on the other hand was a quick purchase as a sleep deprived new mom and luckily managed to return it.
Vintage Max Mara cashmere coat from the early days of MIES when I sold only coats (similar here and a yummy brown here)
That being said, the rules of buying second-hand applies to any purchases in general. Know your style, plan ahead and avoid impulse purchases at all costs. If you are into manifesting and everything such, it’s the same process; create a vision board of what would my future self wear and be very clear about it, say it to the universe - or in this case create alerts on Vestiaire Collective, Vinted, The Real Real, you name it - and wait. That’s how my The Row Sibem pullover came into existence for 180€ and my most used Max Mara cashmere coat for only 50€ (not even kidding).
Obviously those rare runway pieces are a whole other story I’ll break down to you in the next newsletter (with plenty of Hermès by Margiela pieces, promise)!
xx Noora
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