It's Monday again pretty people and I am exhausted from a long weekend at work. Speaking of handbags whenever I see an Hermes Birkin bag a little part of me dies because I don't have one and want one really bad! So, I want to talk about them despite the fact that the Birkin alludes me.
Every other season trends say that bags are going smaller but women in real life cannot afford to downsize their bags to a cell phone sized clutch everyday no matter how hard they try. Small bags are ideal for special events, dinners out, or traveling but running errand, luncheons, or work does not permit losing any space. The reason the Birkin bag has transcended all of these different trends is because it's a classic, handmade, and wears with any occasion like a dream.
The bag is named for the actress Jane Birkin-in 1981 the chief executive of Hermes, Jean-Louis Dumas was seated next to the actress/singer on flight from Paris to London. She placed her straw bag in the overhead compartment and the contents fell out upon arrival, leaving Birkin to scramble to pick up all her belongings. It was from that moment Dumas decided to create a leather bag just for her. It wasn't until 3 years later that the bag finally came to fruition but after using it for sometime Birkin changed her mind about the style-but the public had already made up their mind about the bag, it became an icon.
The prices range from $9,000 to $150,000 depending on the material used but the key factor to the Birkin is elusiveness and exclusivity of the bag. They are handmade and shipped to stores on unpredictable schedules and in limited quantities so it makes it harder to find. Customers can order their bags in any material and color of their choosing but the bag has long been on a waiting list. The bag can be made in a number of different materials ranging from croc, ostrich, leather (obvi), lizard etc. The hardware is made of gold or palladium to prevent tarnishing the the signature lock can be covered in leather or diamonds (for a price). Another cool feature is you can send your Birkin bag in for a "spa treatment" where they recondition the leather for overly used bags. Another fun fact is Hermes owns their own font, so it helps to decipher real Birkins from fakes (yuck-fakes suck)
Most people scoff at the high price of the bag but working in leatherware I know the importance of a well made leather handbag and in the Birkin's classic design this bag will last forever to be passed down from mother to daughter and so on.
xoxo
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