Founded by Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel in 1909, Chanel the Paris fashion house was born. This company started with a humble beginning of selling women's headwear. However from this starting point in the capital of everything fashionable, Paris France, Chanel started to expand its business model beyond the scope of headwear to all things of ladies fashion.
It was the invention of the fragrance Chanel No. 5 and the little black dress that really put Chanel on the fashion map. By the 1920's Chanel's products were a favorite among the wealthy upper class, which catapulted Coco herself into the wealthy class.
Thus Chanel has become and is a standard for class, sophistication and quality in the fashion industry from almost the very beginning.
The overlapping double C logo, comes from Gabrielle's nick name "Coco Chanel". The main thing to remember when looking at the logo is that one C is facing forward and the other facing backward, causing the back ends of the letters to cross and overlap each other. There are many countries such as China and Thailand making counterfeit products with the use of the Chanel logo, especially on Chanel handbag knockoffs, so be careful and pay close attention! Chanel is currently dealing with this issue and hopefully can stop such actions. There is absolutely no substitute for a real Chanel handbag.
There are lots of people creating cheap knockoffs of Chanel handbags. You must be extra careful not to be fooled when purchasing a handbag with the Chanel logo. Chanel always includes an authenticity card, care booklet and serial number. Make sure you check such things before purchasing.