When I purchased the Chanel 25 earlier this year, I had no idea just how much I would gravitate towards this bag.
Released March of 2025, the Chanel 25 was one of the lasting designs from the Virginie Viard era, that received a lot of praise out the gate.
Not one to like to jump on trends, I initially wrote the 25 off as a passing fad like the Chanel 22 and the 19 (which I also later changed my mind on).
But something about seeing the 25 in the wash denim in person really intrigued me to give it a go.
I have now been using this handbag since March 2026 (7 months at the time of this posting) have traveled across the country and internationally with it, as well as used this as a daily bag multiple times and feel very comfortable giving a full review of it review.
So for today’s blog, I’m going to share with you everything there is to know about the Chanel 25, my full thoughts on its utility and why I think the small Chanel 25 is one of the best bags the brand currently has to offer.
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Shop fabric Chanel 25’s on Fashionphile here
Table of Content
Fashionphile
For years now I have been shopping with Fashionphile, choosing them to be my top shop for second hand Chanel and ultra luxury pieces.
This is why I’m so happy to be partnering with Fashionphile as an affiliate partner.
With 1000’s of options for pre luxury options as well as industry leading authentication processes, I feel safe when I send my money with Fashionphile.
Fashionphile also consistently has some of the biggest collection of ultra luxury item than any other brand out there.
If there is a rare piece that I’m looking for, chances are, Fashionphile has it.
In this blog, I have left some of my favorite Fashionphile pieces below. Feel free to shop the links below, or click here to make your own discovery.
Quick pros and cons
My blogs can get pretty long and I know that many of you just want the quick stats to help you with a quick decision.
So here’s my quick pro’s and con’s list for the Chanel 25 in the small size.
Pros
- -fits confortabliliy between your arm and body.
- -has a drawstring to help keep things more mature.
- -can carry a full size drink
- -great for plane travel
- -wonderful for car trips
- -mid range price for Chanel
Cons
- -Price (Can be more expensive on the secondary market)
- -Wear and tear ( denim can get messed up easily)
- -lack of useful organization
- -no feet
- -lack of security
Click bags above to shop mid range alternatives
About the Chanel 25
Released in March 2025, the Chanel 25 was Viard’s last major handbag release before leaving the House (though she had already departed Chanel almost 9 months ahead of it’s release).
A take on the classic hobo tote, some critics say that the Chanel 25 is too close in design to other bags that were on the market already.
Despite this criticism, the 25 became an over night hit with for Chanel with many falling in love with it straight away.
While not a Chanel classic piece, the 25 blends House classic codes such as the woven chain, interlocking CC and diamond quilting with a modern more relaxed structure.
A hefty price tag reflects its popularity, with the larger 25’s not too far behind in price from the Chanel Classics.
Structure
Structurally, the Chanel 25 is a hobo tote composed of one main large pocket with 2 flap exterior pockets and 3 interior slip pockets.
All sizes have a chain with interwoven leather with the medium and large sizes having a shoulder pad on the strap and a pochette that comes with the bag.
I find that the exterior pockets on the outside aren’t really useable on the mini and small sizes.
While purely for decoration on the mini size in my option, you can technically slip your phone or a wallet into the pockets on the small size Chanel 25. Though this feels like a squeeze and more trouble than it’s worth.
The pockets on the inside are much more user friendly. But I prefer to use a bag organizer that makes them a little difficult to get to. So I find myself just not really using these at all.
Shop my bag on Fashionphile here
The small Chanel 25
As mentioned perviously, the size I ended up going for was the small.
Proportion wise as a midsize girl at around 5’5 in height, I feel like the small looks best on my frame while also being very practical still.
The medium was actually my original choice, but I quickly changed my mind, as it just felt like it was too much bag for me and I might look like I ws being swallowed by it with daily use.
I also considered the mini as I’m a huge fan of many bags. But I have a lot of mini Chanel bags and wanted to get something both functionally and visually different from the House.
How the bag wears
Travel
Travel is where I think this bag really shines.
Because it’s essentially just one big cavity, things easily stuff into this bag, allowing you to carry a lot in one little space.
What has scared me most about this bag is its lack of security. It does draw closed, but not fully, leaving your items exposed.
But I have traveled by bus, train, plane, boat and car with this bag and have yet to have a spill–even when she was filled to the top.
One thing that I am mindful of is pick pockets. I’m a very vigilant person and ill generally keep my bg tucked under my arm when I’m traveling (something the Chanel 25 does very well btw), so this hasn’t been an issue for me yet.
But, with this bag not closing fully, this is something that is important to consider.
Pink and white Chanel 25’s available on Fashionphile here
Around town
This is normally not the bag that I’m grabbing for when I’m just going to be running errands around town, unless I have already been using it and its packed already.
That said, I don’t mind carrying this bag either. Even with its boxy shape, it sits pretty flush against my body so it doesn’t feel cumbersome at all. Though my choice to own this bag in denim may play a part in this.
One thing that I am very appreciative of is, even though this bag isn’t a crossbody, it sits well on my shoulders and doesn’t slip off, meaning I feel pretty hands free when I’m using it which is nice.
But I still find myself placing it in carts when I’m shopping subconsciously and I just wouldn’t do that with a cross body.
Mom life
I have entered the stage of mom life where I’m running around to extracurriculars about 5 days a week at this point and this IS a bag I love carrying for mom life.
I feel like I have transitioned out of my Neverfull GM as a mommy bag, into the Chanel 25 as a big kid mom bag.
While I don’t really carry much for my kids in here, I can carry a lot for myself as I sit and wait in between practices.
As I sit down to write this, one thing that I find interesting is that I use the Chanel 25 pretty much in the same way that I use my Louis Vuitton Neverfull PM, which has also become such a practical bag for me.
the main difference between the two for me is that I can pack my laptop into my PM, while only the iPad fits in my Chanel 25. But honestly, that is not a problem at all for me.
What fits inside
The list
- -Bag organizer ( I’m using this one here)
- -Insta 360 Luna Ultra camera and Sony ZV-1 camera
- -Mini Hydra water bottle
- -Eyedrops
- -Chanel Mirror
- -Chanel Travel perfumeccxvd
- -Chanel Hydro glosses
- -Chanel O case as a wallet
- -Portable power bank
- -Louis Vuitton PM agenda
- -Louis Vuitton Cles case
- -Louis Vuitton sunglasses case and sunnies
- -La Roche-Posay hand cream and eye cream
- -Coach pill case
- -Shark Chill Pill
- -Airpods
- -iPhone
- -iPod mini (Yes I still use one, I got it here for audiobooks)
- -iPad mini
How practical is it?
For a bag labeled as small, this version of the Chanel 25 holds a lot.
More importantly, despite lack of built in organization, it holds the items inside well.
As mentioned above, I have used this handbag on all modes of transportation and despite it not having the best security, I have gotten over my fear of everything in this bag just spilling out, as it hasn’t happened yet.
Now, just because this bag can fit everything plus the kitchen sink, doesn’t mean that’s how I use it all the time.
The basics that pretty much remain this this handbag for me are going to be my beauty products and small leather goods, as they carry what I need for any quick run.
Beyond that, I do try and keep bag as light as possible; it can start to get real heavy easily. And while it hasn’t gotten too messy for me yet, I do think over time with the minimal organization this bag has things might get harder to find.
Wear and Tear
As a consumer, knowing how a products wears overtime is something I care about.
With how expensive Chanel handbags are, I want something that’s going to hold up over time (or telecast know what I’m getting into when I make the purchase)
That said, even with all the trips and daily use I have gotten out of this bag so far, I don’t think I have had this bag long enough to give a good review on it’s durability yet, beyond saying that that it hasn’t broken down yet (which it shouldn’t because iy bought it in new condition and the bag was only a year old when I got it.
Denim quality
This Chanel 25 was made with faded black denim, so it was built to look somewhat distressed.
That said, the denim so far is holding up well. There is no piling on this bag at all and the denim feels very soft.
I haven’t felt with any color transfer from or on this bag either. Thought I did treat this bag with Carbon Pro before I started using it to help stop color transfer and to protect it from spills (as often happens when you have children lol).
Hardware
This bag lacks feet. With its size and the fact that I find myself wanting to set it down naturally when I shop or go to extracurriculars with kids, I wish it did have feet. But for me, having feet or not isn’t a major deal breaker–just something to consider.
The hardware on this bag is holding up nicely as well. So far nothing is fading and everything still looks very shiny.
One thing that I have noticed with some Louis Vuitton purchases lately is that the hardware quality has gone way down.
The gold finishing would start to ware off right away and that really rubbed me the wrong way as a consumer.
The last Chanel bag that I purchased new (er) also need up having major quality issues, so I was a bit scared with this one, especially since it gets used a lot. But I’m happy to see that Chanel appears to have its quality back under control.
Cost
Before I share my final thoughts, I want to talk about the cost because this is going to be the biggest factor for most people.
As of this blog posting, the Chanel 25 starts out at $7,000 for the small size and hits a ceiling of $8,700 for the large size.
I purchased my bag second hand on Fashionphile for $5,500 on sale which is generally my upper limit on what I want to be spending on a handbag purchase.
Most of the Chanel 25’s on Fashionphile tend to go for $7-$8K, thought some of the highly sought after ones like the pony hair version, I saw for around $10,000.
There is no world in which I can pretend that this price isn’t prohibitive or inconsequential.
Especially when most people understand that bags are not true investments but assets that may offer a small return if you’re lucky and buy the right type of bag–and I DON’T think the Chanel 25 is the right type of bag.
And with other brands like Tory Burch making handbags that look very similar to the Chanel 25, I can’t say in good conscious that this is a bag that any fashionista needs to feel pressure to own.
Mid Range Alternatives
Speaking of Tory Burch, if you’re looking for the look and feel for less, there are a lot of alternatives for the Chanel 25– many of which are made with the same care and attention to detail that the 25 is.
These styles start at around $150 and top out at $550, a fraction of the $6,500 starting price for the Chanel 25.
I wanted to be sure to add these because fun, functional fashion should be for everyone.
Click on the images below to learn more and shop the 25 alternative handbags.
Final thought
I really enjoy using this bag–more so than I thought I would!
I’m really happy with my choice to get it in denim as I think the fabric versions of the Chanel 25 looks better than the leather versions.
The Chanel 25 stands out as a mom bag and travel bag for me. Between the amount that it can hold and how it sits against my body, it makes it very easy to wear and use for my lifestyle.
I don’t think the Chanel 25 is unique in that I do own other bags that fill the same niche in my closet already and other brands have very similar designs–all for lesser price points.
But for those of us who are Chanel lovers and want a piece from the house that is different from the classic flap style bag, the Chanel 25 feel fresh and is useful in ways I feel the Chanel 22 just wasn’t.
Overall, the Chanel 25 is not a bag I feel that any one actually needs. But if you can afford it and love what it can add to your wardrobe, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in your purchase.
