Chloe laughed. ‘You know what I mean: a Chanel expert.’
‘I did think about writing to them. If I can get the dress authenticated, then it could be worth a lot of money.’
‘I guess there’s nothing they can do, like demand you give them the dress back,’ said Chloe.
‘No, that’s right. It’s mine. I bought it fair and square. There was nothing dodgy about the sale at all.’
After Darcie had gone downstairs and made sure Lena was up, had taken her meds and was comfortable for the morning, she opened up the shop. Then she sat down to compose her email to the House of Chanel.
She kept it brief and to the point.
Hello
I recently purchased some items from a left-luggage auction in West Sussex, UK, which included a dress and a sketchbook.
After a little research, I believe the dress might have a connection with the House of Chanel and wondered if you could confirm this, please? There is a picture on the internet showing Coco Chanel wearing what looks like the same dress I purchased. I have attached the link for the said photograph and also a photo of the dress I have.
I believe the sketchbook belonged to a woman named Nathalie Leroux but, to date, I haven’t been able to find any further information. Do you have any records showing Nathalie Leroux worked at the Ritz for Coco Chanel during the war?
Are you able to confirm if the dress I have here is, in fact, the same dress that Coco Chanel is wearing and whether it is part of the Chanel collection?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
Darcie Marchant
Vintaged and Loved
Darcie wasn’t convinced they would even bother replying, but if they did, she was sure it wouldn’t just end with a confirmation email. They would have to see the garment in person for the dress to be authenticated. She wondered how much they would charge for an authentication certificate and whether they would try to price her out of obtaining one. She’d cross that bridge when she got to it.
The following week was spent relentlessly checking her emails. By the tenth day though Darcie was giving up hope of them ever replying to her.
‘They probably think I’m either crazy or a chancer,’ she said to Lena, as they sat down for their mid-morning cup of tea. Darcie had refrained from doing anything further with the dress until she heard from the fashion house. She wanted to be sure she knew what she was dealing with, and if it did belong to Chanel once upon a time, then preserving it in the state and condition in which she’d bought it would be a key component and add authenticity to the backstory if she wanted to sell it on. There were plenty of private collectors who would love this sort of thing. She still couldn’t get any leads on Nathalie Leroux, which was frustrating.
‘How long are you going to wait for a reply?’ asked Lena.
Darcie shrugged. ‘I might send them a chaser email at the end of the month.’
‘You should put a time limit on it,’ said Lena. ‘You might need to get some legal advice.’
‘Hmm, probably should, I guess.’ Darcie didn’t particularly want to go down that route because of the costs involved.
She pulled up her emails on her phone and nearly dropped it when the notifications popped up.
‘What is it?’ asked Lena as Darcie fumbled with her phone.
‘There’s a reply from the House of Chanel.’ Darcie stared at the phone.
‘Well, what does it say?’
She tapped the screen, and the email downloaded onto her phone. ‘OK, it says … “Dear Miss Marchant, thank you for getting in touch with us about the dress. We have looked at the photograph you sent and agree there does appear to be a remarkable similarity. However, in view of the circumstances in which you came by the dress, we feel it is highly unlikely to be a Chanel dress. Furthermore, the name Nathalie Leroux has no connection with the House of Chanel, either past or present.
‘“However, we would like the opportunity to have the garment viewed by one of our experts, so we can say with certainty whether this is, in fact, a genuine Chanel or not. Please could you contact us and arrange a convenient appointment at our Paris office to have the garment reviewed? Yours sincerely, Christophe Padgett, Senior Manager, Vintage Collections”.’ Darcie looked up at Lena. ‘They want me to go to Paris! With the dress.’
‘That’s amazing. How exciting.’ Lena smiled broadly at her daughter.
‘Well, yes, it is. I think,’ said Darcie.
