The Legendary Hermès Birkin Bag
The History of The World's Most Coveted Hermès Purse
Victoria Beckham owns a mind blowing 100 or so Hermes bags (over $2 million dollars worth, according to Purseblog.com) and proudly pairs them with her A-list designer outfits. Top of the list is her 10 Birkins, including her Hermès Ostrich, Crocodile, Rouge, White and Black Clemence Hermès Birkins, to name but a few. Ms Beckham is certainly not alone in her hankering for Hermès, as the designer label's extensive waiting list of high profile names lays testament to.
The Allure of the Birkin
Quite what it is that causes women to go bonkers over a Birkin, remains somewhat of a mystery. The bag’s practical size (standard size is 35cm), or tough but classic lines, or simply be what the bag represents. Owning a Birkin tells the world “Look-at-me, I’ve made it big.” It’s the ultimate elite status symbol, as Hermès is one of the world's top handbag brands, with its famous Birkin and Kelly.
With the price tag of a Birkin starting around $7,000, only the rich (and famous?) can afford to carry one on their arm. Even the wealthiest women must wait for an exquisitely stitched Hermès Birkin bag, so to own one screams exclusivity. Prices of the standard 35cm Birkin range from around $7.000 - $15,000, depending on the leather or exotic skin, with a price tag far higher for a special edition.
Hermes has stores all over the world but its hallowed HQ can be founding Paris. Its Paris workrooms produce only five Birkins per week, which explains the long waiting lists!
Forbes Most Extravagant Handbag List
On Forbes magazine’s Most Extravagant Handbags list , it comes to be no surprise that Hermès is one of the leaders in the field. The Hermès Birkin in Croc Porosus Lisse is no boring, standard issue 35cm Birkin. This limited bag boasts 9-carats of shiny diamonds, with 1.86-caratson the lock itself. With a price tag of nearly $150,000, the bag is made to special order. According to Forbes, there are only two currently in existence, a rare bag indeed!
The History of the Birkin Bag
Named after chanteuse Jane Birkin, the inception of the Birkin, in 1984, is the stuff legends are made of, as the truth is still shrouded in myth. According to author Stephanie Pendersen, in her book, Handbags, What Every Woman Should Know, the bag’s idea first came from a plane trip Birkin took, when she found herself sitting next to Hermès president Jean-Louis Dumas. Conflicting reports say she was carrying a Hermès Kelly at the time, or a straw bag; and complained to Dumas that the bag’s opening was difficult to get into. Pendersen also claims that some reports have songstress, Birkin being asked by Hermès to draw her dream bag, and then charged her $5,000 for the finished product! Whatever the truth, Jane Birkin admits to owning only one of her namesakes. Ironically, in 2006 she announced she was retiring her Birkin as “ I love my Birkin bag, but I lug so much stuff around in it I believe it is part of the reason I have tendonitis.”
Bringing Home the Birkin
One of the most entertaining “handbag” books around is Michel Tonello’s Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag. According to the publisher William Morrow (April 22, 2008), Bringing Home the Birkin is "a globe-trotting story of serendipity, blackmail, fraud, insatiable greed, bribery, heartbreak, romance, and the world’s most impossible-to-get handbag."
It is Tonello's amazing story of his quest for the elusive Birkin bag, taking him all over Europe to purchase Birkin bags from Hermès and then reselling them on E-Bay. It is part travel guide, part fascination of the world’s greatest bag. With his positive attitude (garnered from a long stay in hospital) Tonello never takes himself too seriously, and finally, after a family tragedy, decides to end his Birkin hunting days before he started to become like the people he was dealing with; those "who lacked for nothing, but who longed for more." This is a gem of a book and an enjoyable, lighthearted read.
Iconic Designer Bags
The Hermès Birkin is one of a long line of classic handbags which join the ranks of iconic purses such as the Fendi Baguette, Chanel 2.55 and the new-kid-on-the block, the Gucci Indy bag.
