Chanel’s 2.55 Bag Turns 70: How Coco Chanel’s Vision Redefined Handbags Forever

Seventy years ago, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel introduced what would become one of her brand’s quintessential products: the 2.55 bag. Named after its birth month and year — February 1955 — the style is considered a landmark in fashion history for its innovative design. The 2.55 was regarded as pioneering for incorporating a shoulder strap, a practical feature inspired by soldiers’ bags that allowed women to carry a handbag on their shoulders, freeing their hands to do other things. A feature that is seen as standard nowadays was then unseen in women’s wear, with bags being primarily designed to be carried by hand or as clutches. Model Linda Evangelista in an advanced fitting for the Chanel Fall 1993 couture collection. Fairchild Archive/WWD “Tired of carrying my bags by hand and losing them, I slipped a strap over them and slipped them over my shoulder,” Chanel said of the bag’s creation, according to the brand’s website. Chanel is also credited for adding feminine touches to the shoulder bag, including compartments for a lipstick and compact, and an inner zippered pocket that she deemed perfect for love letters, as previously told by WWD in 2000. Jacqueline Kennedy greets alumni at the White House Tea Party for Miss Porter’s School,

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