Gabrielle Chanel presented her quilted shoulder bag in February 1955, and the date gave it its name. Chanel's own history describes it as a functional bag with a soft sliding chain that left the hands free. Before it, Chanel bags were mostly cloth pieces with kiss-lock frames carried in the hand, though Vogue photographed a cream leather Chanel bag on a gold chain at Bergdorf Goodman as early as 1933.
According to Vogue's history of the house's bags, the first exterior was quilted wool, a nod to the saddle blankets Chanel saw at the races. The burgundy lining is said to echo the convent uniforms of her childhood at Aubazine, and the chain to recall the key chains worn by the nuns. The rectangular front lock is now called the Mademoiselle by the house. Unlike the later Classic Flap, the 2.55 carries no interlocking-CC logo on the clasp.
Karl Lagerfeld reissued the 2.55 in 2005 for its fiftieth anniversary, and it returned to It-bag status. It remains in production alongside the Classic Flap (style code A01112), Lagerfeld's 1980s update with a leather-threaded chain and CC turn-lock.