As much as I hate to admit this, actress Mischa Barton had a part to play in my obsession with the Chanel 2.55.

She played Marissa Cooper in one of my favourite TV shows, The O.C. In it, she nonchalantly passes off her Chanel handbags as schoolbags. What nerve.

I hated her poor little rich girl portrayal, but I thought her bags were tres chic.

That show may have ended, but my love of the Chanel 2.55 has not.

Over the years, my habit of perusing celebrity gossip blogs has served only to fuel my Chanel 2.55 obsession, what with every Hollywood star seemingly owning at least one variation of the coveted carrier.

Barton, Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Garner and Kirsten Dunst have banded together to send a single unintentional message: No matter your age or style, one simply cannot go wrong with the 2.55.

Two weeks ago, my lifelong dream of owning one became a step closer to reality. This bag hag of a family friend offered my mother her black Timeless Classic (a 1980s re-interpretation of the 2.55) with gold hardware at $1,500, a quarter of the market price. Used fewer than 10 times, it's still in an immaculate condition.

So you can imagine how scandalised I felt when my mother pondered between that and a brand new, albeit much less impressive, bag from another designer label.

Exasperatedly, I began explaining how the 2.55 was designed by Coco Chanel for her own use (if it's good enough for her, it's more than good enough for me), and how it's probably one of the few surviving timeless classics, which places it in a league beyond the throngs of It bags that hit us every season.

At least that's what I meant to say, although it came out more along the lines of: 'I don't care, just buy it so I can use it, too.'

Hey, I was at work when she called.

And then came my mother's indecently awesome proposal: 'Why don't you buy it for yourself? I'll pay half for you.'

To which I said: 'Hmm, okay. But then you cannot use it.'

'Fine,' she huffed.

That word marked my victory, and soon, I'll have a 2.55 to call my very own. So thanks, Mum. And move over, Mischa.

This article was first published in Urban, The Straits Times on Apr 17, 2008.