HERMES BIRKIN BAG
Size: 30 CM
Color: Pearl Grey
Leather: Togo
Hardware: Palladium
Year: 2011 (O Stamp)
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
What do people Tweet about HERMES Birkin Bags?
MissRisaMarie C. Marie
You will not be in Wal-Mart with a Hermes Birkin bag and expect me to think its real. Sit down and #tryagain please. Thanks.
What do people Tweet about HERMES Birkin Bags?
ClassnFab Monica
Someone listed a pink crocodile-skin Hermès Birkin bag on luxury resale site Portero for $124,750.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Luxury's 'Freak Category'
Wall Street Journal
Among the many things for which I'm grateful to my wife is that she's never asked for a $10,000 Hermès Birkin or Kelly handbag for Christmas, let alone attempted to assemble a collection of them. But if that happened to be her addiction, then the Ukrainian Institute of America, across the street from the mayor's home on East 79th Street, would have been the place to shop last week. That's where Heritage Auctions was holding a "Holiday Luxury Auction" preview of items for individuals whose net worth is robust enough that a Hermès 40-centimeter Matte Vert Veronese Alligator Birkin Bag with Palladium Hardware in pristine condition might constitute a bargain with an auction estimate in the $55,000 to $65,000 range. The sale will be held in Dallas on Dec. 6.
"Either your collectors who bought a bag and never used it or used it one time and moved on," explained Matt Rubinger, Heritage's director of luxury accessories.I can't say I spend a lot of time thinking about handbags, though I'm aware that a certain caliber of lady who lunches would feel naked without the correct designer bag. Nonetheless, I was startled to discover that none of these bags came from the manufacturers themselves; most were returning to the market directly from their owners.
It takes a lot to appall me. But it required a moment to absorb this concept: that there are people out there so wealthy they can afford to spend the equivalent of full-fee freshman-year tuition at Princeton on a handbag—and then never remove its wrapping. I just wanted to make sure I was hearing right.
"Is it somebody who has lost their money in the stock market; is it a divorce?" Mr. Rubinger asked rhetorically. "In this category, it's almost never that. They're trading up. They have a leather Kelly. They sell the leather version and buy a crocodile."
Indeed, Mr. Rubinger and his colleague Kathleen Guzman, the managing director of Heritage's New York offices, pointed out bags in the vitrines that still had the protective plastic film over their hardware. And apparently such is the passion they evoke that unlike other things you buy at auction instead of at a store in the hope of getting a steal—art, furniture, etc.—people are actually prepared to spend more for the bags than they originally cost only a few years ago, apparently because of their relative rarity.
"How many luxury goods can you think of you can buy on Madison Avenue that you'll get your money back?" Ms. Guzman said. "And possibly make money. This is a freak category."
"It's partly supply and demand," Mr. Rubinger added. "If you walk into Hermès right now, you can't get these even if you were Oprah Winfrey."
"It's the exclusivity that drives the market," Ms. Guzman said.
We happened to be standing before a case that included a Hermès Exceptional Collection Shiny Rouge H Porosus Crocodile 30-centimeter Birkin Bag with Solid 18K White Gold and Diamond Hardware in pristine condition. (Forgive me, but I take perverse pleasure in repeating the catalog copy.) It looked like a flashy red handbag to me.
I wondered about the provenance of the bag—described to me as the most valuable ever at auction, carrying an estimate of $80,000 to $90,000. Mr. Rubinger and Ms. Guzman explained that this may be one of the few corners of the auction world where provenance doesn't matter, or at least is kept tightly under wraps.
"She bought it in 2006 and had it as the trophy of her collection," Ms. Guzman said of the seller. "Very recently Hermès offered her the same bag in black. She decided she might actually use it in black."
I felt like a rubbernecker, but was compelled to know more about this lady. I mean, who spends close to $100,000 on a handbag and then says, "Oops! I don't really love it."
"She's from Florida," Ms. Guzman said. "A very well-known person. If I said the name, you would know it."
"In the entertainment industry?" I asked.
No. "But in an industry that hasn't that many well-known people in it."
"In other auction categories, provenance adds to value," she went on. "Here, it's all about confidentiality. Even if somebody is willing to give their name out, we wouldn't. The product stands on its own."
I also wondered whether embarrassment might play a role, especially at a moment when the chasm between the superrich and everybody else is growing by the day. That may have something to do with it, but family politics seems more a factor. This handbag, with its diamond encrusted latch and matching lock and keys, was a gift to the woman from her husband.
"Sometimes the wife doesn't want the husband to know they don't love the gift," Ms. Guzman explained.
And then there are storage issues. There are only so many shoes and handbags the average $25 million Manhattan apartment can hold. "Even if you have a full floor on Park Avenue, your closet isn't endless," Mr. Rubinger observed.
"It may be in California," Ms. Guzman said.
"And Texas," Mr. Rubinger added.
If there's any cause for comfort among those of us in the remaining 99.9%, it's only that rich New Yorkers seem subtly more self-conscious than their Southwest and West Coast handbag brethren. "New York is a little more subdued—browns and blacks," Mr. Rubinger said. "Whereas in Beverly Hills there's a slight preference for bright oranges, bright pinks."
"In Dallas," Ms. Guzman added, "they tend to collect more multiples. Everyone down there has a closet full. They don't just use them; they decorate with them."
Mr. Rubinger recalled the case of the Judith Leiber collector in Dallas. "The client had a dinner party," he recalled. "Instead of flowers as the centerpieces, she had Leibers."
What do people Tweet about HERMES Birkin Bags?
TheIdeaIsIn Jo Peswani
Absolutely in love with the Hermes website: hermes.com but truly surprised not to see the Birkin bag story on it?
What do people Tweet about HERMES Birkin Bags?
Rheingela アンジェラ
Hermes Birkin Baby Croco Vertum Mini Bag .. please be mine .. I want you babyyyy
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
What do people Tweet about HERMES Birkin Bags?
routetorecovery HakunaMatata
Why is Hermes birkin such an awesome bag?
What do people Tweet about HERMES Birkin Bags?
Lusci0usD0ll Mina Amours Dior
I'll one day own a Hermes Birkin bag..!!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Johnny Weir: What's in My Bag?
US Magazine
The contents of Johnny Weir's Hermes Birkin Bag may have their own brightly colored luxury cases, but looking good comes at a weighty price.
"My bag feels like it weighs 20 pounds," the New Jersey-based figure skater tells Us Weekly. "But [the cases] make everything feel fancy -- I even have a Louis Vuitton pouchette for gum! I just hate for things to be floating around on their own -- it looks disorganized."
Below, Weir lists his look-good essentials he keeps close.
"A Birkin bag (hermes.com) is the bag to end all bags," says Weir of his luxe satchel, which he owns in yellow, black and hunter green. "I worked hard for them!"
"My best friend gave me a classic monogrammed Louis Vuitton photo holder (louisvuitton.com) that I carry with me everywhere I go. I put photos in there of our trips together and nothing makes me happier."
To round up his cosmetics, he stashes them in a bright pink Hermes pouchette. Inside: Chanel Oil Blotting Papers, Burt's Bees Chapstick ($2.99, walgreens.com) and an acne treatment pen from his dermatologist, Paul Frank, MD. "I also have a MAC Concealer ($17,maccosmetics.com)-- it's just the best and doesn't upset my skin," the MAC spokesperson tells Us.
"I use Bath and Body Works' Japanese Cherry Blossom Hand Santizing Gel ($1.99, bathandbodyworks.com) religiously because I'm really scared of being sick."
"When it gets chilly I like to carry a Louis Vuitton silk-blend pashmina in silver (louisvuitton.com). It's a great go-to piece and it's cozy."
"I keep my favorite scent, Tom Ford's White Suede ($195,neimanmarcus.com), in a bright lime green Balenciaga Motorcycle Case (barneys.com). I often feel like my bag is just a big black hole so the brighter the bags I keep inside, the easier it is to spot them."
"I'm a bit weird with underwear. If I've gone more than about six hours in the same pair, I need to change them. It just makes me feel cleaner and fresher. I always always have a pair of black or white Dolce & Gabbana briefs ($29.99, bluefly.com) in my bag just in case."
Being he spends most of his time at the ice rink, Weir relies on a dynamic duo that helps keep his skin hydrated: L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream ($10, sephora.com) and Dermalogica Skin Smoothing Cream ($58, dermalogica.com).
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