like everyone said,
DEFINITELY
CHANEL.
nothing beats chanel, i havent seen a single female being who doesnt like chanel.
a 2.55 in red or black sounds the best, but she may already have a similar chanel bag if shes into purses...... but then again, she can always exchange it to something else if she doesnt like it.. and chanel always has tons of other bags she can choose from no matter what her style is...
if shes into hip / younger bags, chanel has another line (check the 2005 chanel bag thread) with large CC logos thats more "hip" and "young".
another choice would be a celine boogie or a bottega hobo... but they just dont have the same "wow" factor like a chanel bag.... why dont you ask the daughter about what her mom is like and get some suggestions?