Birkin or a Kelly? The saga continues….

I am so sorry but I have to, this is one post that I have to write or should I say that it wants itself to be written. So there it goes, second part of the Kelly Birkin series.

I became very curious about Hermès and the history of these bags. And most importantly why these bags have such an iconic status in fashion, so much so that even if you are able to pay ­$10,000 to $80,000 or even higher for this popular fashion item, it was reputed for having a waiting list of up to six years, the longest wait for any bag in history. In April 2010, Hermès announced that the waiting list would no longer exist, implying that it is potentially available to all.

Hermès was established by a leather worker, Thierry Hermès who opened his shop in Paris in 1837. Thierry Hermès specialized in exquisite, finely crafted horse harnesses for carriages. In the early 20th century, as the company started to grow it introduced other fine leather goods like trunks and suitcases, saddles, harnesses, and luggage.

The company produced its first handbags in 1922 and in 1930’s, Hermès introduced the Kelly Bag.

The story behind the phenomenal Kelly bag is, Grace Kelly a mega Hollywood star, who was just like today’s celebrities, was frequently photographed by the paparazzi without her permission.  So, when she was expecting her daughter Caroline in 1956 she used a particular kind of leather bag to shield her pregnancy from being exposed to the prying eyes of the paparazzi.

Coincidently this particular leather bag was manufactured by Hermès and the photographs of Grace Kelly carrying the purse, popularized it so much that the purse would thereafter was recognized as the Kelly Bag.

Although Grace Kelly (Princess Grace) was married to the Prince of Monaco but she was a thrifty person, she carried the same Kelly purse for many years and cherished her Hermes bag to the end.

Grace Kelly (in later years) with her Husband

The Kelly Bag was finally succeeded in the '80’s by a Birkin Bag named after the French actress Jane Birkin. 

Jane's basket that gave birth to the Birkin Bag

In 1981, Jane Birkin was upgraded by Air France on a flight to London, and was sitting next to a man. She was carrying a straw or basket bag, suddenly everything fell out of the bag. 

The man sitting next to Jane said that she should have a bag with pockets. She said, 'The day Hermès make one with pockets I will have that', to which the man replied: 'But I am Hermès and I will put pockets in for you'.

Her fellow passenger was in fact Jean-Louis Dumas, the chief executive of Hermès. Together they began designing the bag, Dumas proposed that he give Birkin the bag in exchange for her lending her surname to christen the design. 

That's how the famous Birkin Bag came into existence.

The whole point of telling both these stories is, Hermès was only a company that made fine leather bags like millions of other companies around the world. But those bags rose to the heights of fame only when they were carried by a special person.

Bags do not make anyone special but when they are carried by someone special they automatically become unique.

So become a special person and by that I don’t mean that you try your luck with Hollywood or marry a Prince. What I mean is that you find the Grace Kelly or Jane Birkin within yourself. Find your authentic self, respect your unique gifts, stand tall in grace, dignity and love. 

And most importantly to receive appreciation give appreciation, then a Birkin or a Kelly will become second nature. 

Much love...

Sonya Syed. (Day 496)