Hermes fever
Recently it has become my holy grail to find an authentic Hermes Birkin or Kelly bag at a thrift store for $25. Seeing as how these bags sell for over $5000 even used, and the new ones have an 18-36 month waiting list, I think it would be an ultimate find.
I’ve asked hub for a replica Murakami designed Louis Vuitton bag for my birthday. The real ones are impossible to lay hands on and cost well into the four digits.
The thought of paying that much for a hunk of leather and some metal fills me with revulsion. When I was in junior high school it was the ‘in’ thing to have a Louis Vuitton monogram Speedy handbag. The Alma style was also acceptable. My mother understandably balked at shelling out $400+ for a handbag for a kid, but she did buy me the $40 knockoff at the store around the corner. You could tell it was fake because the “LV” monogram was right side up on both sides, and on the real ones it’s upside down on one side.
Now, however, the $465 for the Speedy 30 doesn’t seem like such a bad deal. I’ve been carrying my grandmother’s Dooney & Burke for 5 years or so and it’s held up spotlessly. Although it’s sheer insanity to pay $14,000 for a purse, there is something to be said about a well-made bag, and the famous designers generally make a better bag than most.
February 28th, 2005 at 4:31 am
I am also totally against fakes. If a Birkin is too much $$, there are other designers that have well made bags for a great deal less (try Tod’s). If designer bags are out of reach – one can find great Vintage no name bag (sometimes even a designer bag with a lost tag!), for a very good price – try an ebay search for “Vintage Italian Handbag”.
If you are ready to make the leap for an authentic Hermes I found this site: http://www.luxwear.com
It also has some some other authentic designer bags at great prices.
March 17th, 2005 at 4:04 am
Birkins kellys…etc.. You want to get the birkin that is the very best.. contact me.. I’m not charging huge prices.. There is not a minimum purchase.. If I dont have what you are wanting stand by I’ll make it.. The birkins do not have super powers and they are not authentic.. I do not twist words…I’m flexible.. I document the acutual products.. Clear and straight comunication… Look forward to hearing from you all. kamhout2@hotmail.com
March 17th, 2005 at 9:25 am
Ihave a chanel handbag, but do not know how to tell if it is fake . can you help me?
March 24th, 2005 at 8:16 am
about the birkins and how they are a “waste of money”
i just decided to add myself to the wait list for the red crocodile, so i went into the hermes boutique in paris while i was there. unfortunately, they didnt have my bag, but they did have the lavender ostrich.
to anyone who thinks that the quality of this bag is similar to a ten dollar vinyl piece of shit from walmart – you are sorely mistaken. even from a distance, this bag screams taste and class. up close, you truly see the quality. the leathers are in perfect condition, with uniform colour all over, no cracks or dry areas, and just wonderful to look at and touch.
the hardware is worth more than most of rings in cartier or tiffany’s because of the sheer amount of gold/silver/palladium, and when you add the diamonds, the hardware alone can make up the cost of the bag.
and when you consider that a single craftsman in france has spend about 18 hours making this bag to your exact specifications and that, if you ever have problems with your bag, it will be returned by your hermes boutique to the same craftsman, it should be noted that this bag will last you decades. and when you break the cost of a forty or fifty thousand dollar bag (how much mine is going to be) into twenty or thirty years, in can become a matter of cents a day, or even less then your daily cup of coffee.
while this bag is, indeed, an extravagance, what you get for your money is more than worth it.
April 8th, 2005 at 5:10 pm
Wow; after reading the informative post by LMJ, I can understand how buying fakes contributes to much greater societal-ills (putting it uber-mildly)…the thing is, however, that we’re all human; we all like to have nice things. I’m 30 yo, work in Social Services and count my blessings every day. Although I’m scraping by on my income, the media eventually has it’s way w/ me to an extent as well b/c I’m constantly bombarded by these damn ‘celebrities’ and other ‘high-societal’ folk who tout this stuff like it’s nickels and dimes and rub it in the masses’ faces. Of course, it’s like being back in high school again; who has what, who’s cooler, who’s etc., etc. My point is that I, too, fought this for quite some time and told myself that I’d never pay an assanine price for a purse or a scarf or a pair of sunglasses or whatever. Then I started to wonder what the hype was all about, after all, and Hell, I like good quality things (and damn well deserve them) so I figured maybe I could save up one day and buy a ‘real’ one, just to have one nice, classic accessory. Lo and behold: I saw how much these things retail for, and I realized, there’s no way I’d ever be able to pay for something like this in a timely manner (without taking out a small personal loan or strapping myself w/ a high credit card bill) and that if designers are going to make such high-and-mighty items, of COURSE there is going to be a market for people who are far less rich but desire and deserve the same style and quality that ‘celebs’ and trust-fund babies do. If at the Academy Awards and all those other worthless award ceremonies the ‘stars’ weren’t practically given BJ’s to wear a designer’s outfit b/c it would get ‘seen’ by the the upper crust then 15 year old girls wouldn’t be begging their parents to borrow more on their equity loan to keep up w/ the Paris and Jessica’s of the world…
I work hard for my money as I’m sure most of us do and I’m sick of the stakes being raised so high that I have to mortgage my life away to get something good. Maybe these designers should do some sort of survey and see what’s selling the most among who, then, if they don’t want their ideas being pirated, adjust the cost so middle and working-class income people can afford it. It could still be a quality product without having to gouge your bank account.
Peace:)
April 9th, 2005 at 5:15 pm
child labor in china********replicas create wealth for terrorists**********
this message is in response to me05:
first of all if the kids in china were not making lv bags they would be making something else for two cents an hour.
secondly terorists make money all sorts of ways they do not own the factories in china that produce lv bags, the chinese do and are willing to produce them for anyone who is willing to pay for them.
don’t feel bad, everyone has the right to appreciate a trend, howver they can afford to.
April 13th, 2005 at 3:11 pm
I saw a note about someone purchasing a bag from knockoffbag.com. Any comments about the service and quality of product from this site? Thank you.
April 16th, 2005 at 12:46 am
I can appreciate the craftsmanship to justify the costs of these bags but personally I can’t imagine carrying the same purse for 30 years?! How incredibly boring.
May 7th, 2005 at 2:04 pm
oh my gosh…this is my dream bag! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=63852&item=6766828670&rd=1
I think that the price is justified. This is the best of the best!
May 27th, 2005 at 7:10 pm
What an interesting site! Came across this whilst trying to work out the best way to sell an unused Hermes bag an ex bought me. Does anyone have any tips on how to get the best price considering that I’m not a pro, don’t have any seller ratings on e-bay and don;t even know what kind of bag it is!! We bought it from Hermes in London about 3/4 years agao and it’s a small blue navy leather bag with a wrinkled effect on the outside. It was about £1000 ($2500ish) new. Could anyone tell me what this bag is and how much I might get for it realistically? I don’t have the receipt but i’ve got the bag it came in (a suede Hermes drawstring bag). Unfortunatley my ex threw out the box. Any help appreciated!
May 30th, 2005 at 10:11 pm
I go to junk stores on a regular bases as well as Estate Sales and Auctions. I picked up three Herme Bags. It wasn’t until I showed them to my wife that she freaked and informed me what I had. I put one up on e-bay not knowing what I would receive. Numerous people questioned the handbag until I took it to Rodeo Drive for confirmation of being authentic. Numerous people that where knoweldgeable explained things to me stiching, marks etc. It’s a beautiful bag but I’m selling them college for my children is more important. If one day I do get rich I will buy another one for my wife. It’s like a piece of Art
Richard L. Fels
May 30th, 2005 at 10:18 pm
Wow Richard, that is AMAZING! Do you mind saying how much you paid for them originally?
May 31st, 2005 at 10:04 pm
So this is the first comment I’ve made on your blog – and first I MUST say hooray to seeing a designer bag discussion on a blog – I feel like I’m home.
Second I sympathise completely with you – I have this need to get my hands on a particular Gucci Tote that I can NOT afford, and I think is out of season (possibly last season or season before that) – anyway, I don’t know what it’s called, but I know what it looks like and that it’s a few thousand USD.
Luckily my partner went to Malaysia on a business trip earlier this year…. 😀
I quite liked the LV monogram Speedy bags, but they go for approx $3.5k NZD (which is like 2.5k usd) here, authentic, and I just cannot justify spending that much.
And screw the naysayers – you carry whatever bag you want! (oh and a tip – if you get a fragrance gift set – like D&G do – and you get a free bag? Flip that on Ebay and watch your ‘purse fund’ soar – people eat those bags up!
May 31st, 2005 at 10:12 pm
I’ll also add (because I can’t see an edit function) – I like the designs, not the labels. I love the multi-color Murakami’s because they’re so bright – but I also love the Cherry Blossom Murakami’s because the pink contrasting against the brown and bronze looks really lovely. The reason I love this particular Gucci tote is the Beige / Brown / Pink combination and I DO own authentic bags (and plenty of serial numbers / authenticity cards to go with them) also – but when you can’t get the one you want because it’s out of season, what else can you do?
Is there a possibility of this discussion stretching to shoes aswell? 🙂
June 4th, 2005 at 9:25 pm
Fascinating discussion of Hermes Fever! One or two of the postings on this list mention Todsbags (now http://www.chekas.com, Designer Handbags). Should you decide that you can make do with a replica handbag, this is *not,* a good place to buy them. The prices resemble those on e-bay for all-leather copies, but these bags are plastic. Many places, a “AAA” quality replica means one made of leather. Even if it isn’t mirror-image, it’s a good-quality handbag that will last a long time. Not at Chekas.com. Cheap looking, but not cheap.
June 14th, 2005 at 3:13 am
Hi — I was doing a search on Hermes bags and found this page, so I decided to put in my two cents’ worth. Ordinarily I don’t really buy fabulously expensive bags, but in the past two weeks, I found myself buying a Kelly bag and a Birkin bag. Yesterday I walked into the Hermes store in Tokyo on a whim and there was one Ostrich Birkin calling out to me. Now that I think about it more carefully, it was such a lot of money (think of how much Samantha in S&TC paid for that red Birkin and you’ll get an idea), but I must say — they are perfect, they look good with almost everything, and it’s such a joy to carry them. The Birkin I bought yesterday arrived today and I spent the whole afternoon trying out outfits to go with it. Interestingly, the Kelly seemed to be more versatile and more usable, although of course Birkins are the most desired bags in the world. Now that I have both, though, I think the Kelly is vastly under-rated vs the Birkin.
Some people wanted to know how to get on waiting lists — I suggest visiting the store first thing in the morning in case a bag has arrived before opening. On the three days I visited the Hermes store near me, there was a Kelly on display (just one!) each time. And yesterday, I walked in at exactly 11 am (opening time) and got my coveted Birkin. So I think this waiting list thing is not the end of the world. The Hermes saleswoman told me that one or two bags are regularly delivered to major stores and whoever seesit first gets to buy it. The waiting lists just up the value of the bags — great marketing tool by hermes, if you ask me.
September 26th, 2006 at 6:04 pm
Hi everyone, I am searching for a good copy of the Birkin. I understand there are lots of bad and expensive copies out there so I’m extra wary. Please can anyone tell me what they know or have heard of about sweetpurse.com? They claim to be excellent fakes and they are from Korea. The Birkins are around USD470. Would appreciate any information. Thanks!
August 17th, 2007 at 1:11 am
hi, i’ve heard of it too, seems they do sell quite nice birkin bags. still consider if buy one birkin for myself, but there are so many copies out there, all claim they sell very good one, a little worry for quality leh. too nasty quality really embarassed. is there any one bought from BEAUSAC before ? i love their website and all bags there, but not very sure it’s quality if as good as the pictures anyone can give any clue ? thanks!
http://groups.msn.com/BEAUSACINC