Chanel Handbags & Purses

Aside from producing classic tweed jackets, ever-popular signature ballet flats, and Chanel No.5 perfume, Chanel is perhaps best known for crafting one of the world's most recognizable and desirable accessories: the quilted bag.

While the signature Chanel quilted bag is the brand's most popular handbag, Chanel bags come in a profusion of styles. They range from small understated velvet clutch purses to large patent-leather totes, each with its own unique mix of femininity, function, and form.

Signifiers of quiet luxury, Chanel handbag prices have soared in recent years. In fact, the cost of a quilted Chanel bag has increased an average of 70 percent over the past five-year period. But it's not only newer releases that command premium prices. Vintage Chanel handbags tend to hold their value remarkably well, with flap bags in particular a perennial favorite at auction.

Quick Facts

• In December 2007, Chanel released a limited-edition Diamond Forever alligator skin purse featuring a 3.5-carat diamond-studded white gold double “C” clasp with a retail price of $261,000
• In May 2015, Academy Award-nominated actor Leonardo DiCaprio outbid socialite Paris Hilton on a blue neoprene Chanel flap bag with an embroidered flower design for $13,600 at the Heart Fund Gala charity auction in Cannes
• A navy blue early 1990s Chanel classic flap purse in quilted lambskin leather with its original dust bag was sold by Auctionata in Europe for the equivalent of about $3,070