A recent jaunt to Palm Beach landed me at the Chanel boutique on Worth Avenue, the decadent palm lined shopping street akin to Fifth Avenue in New York or Maiden Lane in San Francisco. Being from Santa Cruz (not exactly a high-design Mecca), I always feel slightly intimidated when entering designer boutiques in chic metropolises. But Chanel is different.
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Everyone knows that when you spend money on vacation it doesn’t count. While I certainly don’t condone amassing large amounts of credit card debt, once I tried on the shoes I felt like Cinderella after she tried on the glass slipper. I whipped out my Mastercard and $495 later; they are the only shoes I ever wear. What can I say? I am obsessed. The sensationally coiffed sales people treat every guest courteously, as though you may be an heiress who is channeling her inner bag lady (can you say Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen?) After being offered a bottle of Evian, I browsed the store’s immaculate, French scented interior, drooling over tweed coats, suede booties and the supplest of supple calfskin bags I have ever felt. It was almost irreverent touching them, imagining them being tainted by the slightest of fingerprints. But calfskin bags aside, I was on a mission for a pair of the brand’s iconic beige ballet flats with a black cap toe imprinted with intersecting C’s. I had dreamed of these shoes for years, and finally decided that I would splurge.
The closest Chanel boutique can be found at 135 Maiden Lane, San Francisco.
