A woman bought a pair of Chanel shoes at Harrods, a British department store. After only a year of using the shoes, she noticed that they were nearly unwearable due to a defect in one of the shoes.
The worst part? TikTok user Natalia Zabova (@badwifey_) took the shoes back to Harrods, and the store offered her little compensation for the defective shoe.
“The service [told me] that it’s [my] fault, and [they] refused to do anything,” Zabova said. So, she took to TikTok, posting a video describing her experience, which has over 283,000 views.
How badly damaged were the shoes?
Zabova noticed a defect in one of her Chanel shoes, but it was too late when she brought it to Harrods again. By the time she arrived in-store, one of the shoes was clearly falling apart, with the top half of the shoe separating from the sole.
Sole separation often happens when the sole of the shoe is not properly attached to the bottom.
Generally, many brands rely on a construction method called “cemented construction.” They glue the shoes together and “cement” them in place rather than stitching them.
Cemented construction is a fast way to create clean-looking shoes without putting in extra effort to create clean stitches. For that reason, many luxury brands rely on cementation. When shoes are glued together, though, it usually means that they’re more at risk for sole separation.
Usually, after a few years, shoes like the ones Zabova has may have some obvious sole separation. But, it’s not necessarily common for the sole to completely detach after only a year of regular or non-regular use. It depends on what Zabova did with her shoes beforehand, although it seems likely that her shoe actually had a defect based on her video.
@badwifey_ And despite the fact that I live in England and could not carry them to such an extent, and only one shoe with a defect What to do in that case ? #luxury #lifestyle #creatorsearchinsights #chanel #foru @Harrods @ChanelOfficial @ChanelService ♬ take my breath away by berlin – ?ᥫ᭡?
Luxury brands—worth purchasing or a waste of money?
Many commenters shared their thoughts on luxury brands. Namely, that it’s a mistake to purchase any items from luxury stores.
One viewer added, “In my experience the more luxury you shop the worse the customer service.”
Another commented, “First mistake buying a fancy brand name instead of quality.” Zabova replied, saying, “I thought Chanel is quality.”
Chanel’s Better Business Bureau page argues otherwise. Many people have apparently experienced Chanel products “falling apart” in their hands.
“Chanel sunglasses fell apart twice. [The] first issue appeared right after the purchase. Second few months after. [It] took over a month to get them fixed. They are falling apart again,” one complaint read.
Chanel buyers also had issues with the company’s leather, stating, “Purchased Chanel eyewear in a case represented as leather. [redacted] product could not have been leather. It’s all stripped and sticky.”
@badwifey_ And despite the fact that I live in England and could not carry them to such an extent, and only one shoe with a defect What to do in that case ? #luxury #lifestyle #creatorsearchinsights #chanel #foru @Harrods @ChanelOfficial @ChanelService ♬ take my breath away by berlin – ?ᥫ᭡?
The Mary Sue reached out to Zabova via TikTok direct message. We’ve also reached out to Harrods and Chanel via email.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
