An Exclusive Look Inside Chanel's New Hamptons Popup Boutique

One of our readers (who would like to remain anonymous) recently visited Chanel’s highly anticipated ephemeral boutique in the Hamptons. She recounts her experience here…
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It’s official! The Hamptons is the hottest place to be this summer. From amazing new restaurants and spas to luxury brands like Cartier opening their doors, the Hamptons is proving to be the ultimate adult playground this summer. And the latest to open is the newest Chanel pop-up, that combines the beauty of Paris with the relaxing ease of the Hamptons.

Located off Main Street, on Newtown Lane, in chic East Hampton, this new boutique spans two floors. The outside follows the iconic aesthetic of the neighborhood’s shingle-style homes. Approaching the entrance, you feel like you’re returning home, albeit to a very chic home, impeccably curated, and ready to party.

One Saturday afternoon, my 5 year old son and I paid homage to my mecca – aka the Chanel pop-up. Upon entering, I was immediately greeted by friendly staff. As expected, the boutique was bustling with shopping activity. Primary shopping is on the first floor. In fact, the second floor was cordoned off to customers as it is reserved for private appointments.

The store’s first floor features a special edit of handbags, SLGs, accessories, watches and fine jewelry, and summer RTW. For example, on display were both the 22S emerald green and the navy classic flap in caviar with gold tone hardware. Additionally, clothing items were from the Coco Beach collection, along with plenty of sandal options, perfect for the pool or beach.

After perusing the shoes, the SA assisting me asked if I was looking for anything in particular. Being a classic flap collector, I am always eager to add colors to my classic flap collection. She immediately opened the white console to reveal multiple shades of classic flaps. Among the selection were classic black caviar with gold tone hardware and the latest colors of dark gray lambskin with silver hardware and dark beige caviar with gold tone hardware. All beautiful, all drool worthy. It was the broadest range of classic flap colors I’ve seen in any one store.

While all lovely, I was looking for a particular pink so we moved on to RTW. I asked for swimwear for an upcoming mediterranean summer vacation. My SA brought forth a wide selection of swimwear and suggested we go upstairs to try. The second floor was stunning and to my surprise, empty. We had the entire level to ourselves. Beautifully decorated in neutral tones and blacks with splashes of gold, with large creamy linen couches, I sipped on some bubbles while she prepared the dressing room.

The SA led me to the huge dressing room, which also had multiple classic flaps on display as well as a range of perfumes. My SA brought in some RTW dresses and swimsuits. She smiled cheekily smiled as she laid out a couple of Chanel bags including classic flaps and the slouchy 22 bags, just in case. After falling in love with some RTW and one of the bags, we all headed downstairs.

That’s when things went from amazing to mortifying. My son, tired, hungry and fed up with shopping, proceeded to have a very loud tantrum in the middle of this beautiful Chanel store and started crying in front of the busy shoppers. It went a little something like this: “I want a Chanel bag too. Why can’t I get a Chanel bag?” Imagine that, at a loud decibel level, repeated 10 times. I might have died a little inside.

The crowd around me started laughing and one shopper empathetically said to him, “Don’t we all, honey, don’t we all…” Our SA quickly wrapped up our transactions and brought over my son his very own Chanel bag – a paper Chanel bag with the iconic camelia sticker to appease his tantrum. Through his tears, he thanked her and felt the joy of his first Chanel “bag”.

And through my flustered apologies for causing a scene, my SA kindly gave me a hug and a wink, saying this was the funniest thing that had happened so far in this store to her.

And so we walked out of that beautiful Chanel boutique that day in the Hamptons, with our new loot – my son with his new paper Chanel bag that he still proudly displays in his room. And me with my new 22 bag in a yummy caramel color, a few pieces of new clothes and a new level of respect for all the wonderful SAs out there with big hearts and a lot of patience for all kinds of clients, big and small, that walk through their doors…