Chanel 101: The Boy Bag – The Vault

History of the Boy Chanel Bag

Introduced in 2011 in Chanel’s Fall/Winter collection, the Boy Chanel bag made waves while paying homage to the love of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s life. With its release, Karl Lagerfeld stated, “Chanel used men’s underwear to make dresses; she had this boyish attitude, in fact, it is the very spirit of Chanel. She got it from Boy Capel, the great love of her life, which, incidentally, explains why the new bag is called the Boy Chanel.”

Arthur “Boy” Capel was a polo player with whom Chanel would have a passionate nine-year affair and who would inspire her to create many of the looks she would be famous for, and later inspire Karl Lagerfeld to create the Boy Chanel bag.

The Chanel Boy bag was an immediate success, flying off the shelves and becoming one of the most sought-after styles. To this day, classic combinations are few and far between and the Chanel Boy bag continues to remain in high demand.

Boy Chanel Bag Sizing Reference

The Chanel Boy bag has been a major success in part to its size availability. There have been six sizes available at various points in time; mini, small, old medium, new medium, large, and XL. While the sizing varies seasonally, below are the options that have been available over time.