Hermes Handbags and Purses (Page 4)

Few pieces in fashion cause more chatter or stronger feelings than the iconic Hermes Birkin. The look, the price, the exclusivity – love it or hate it, the bag is an attention-grabber, not to mention a beautiful piece of handbag lore. The smell coming off of a brand new leather Birkin is nearly intoxicating, and for what people pay for those bags, they probably should get you high. It’s only fair.

That being said, I’ve always had slightly mixed feelings about Hermes’s most famous bag when it comes to whether or not I want to own one myself. And as my therapist always says, it’s good to talk these things out, so join me after the jump for my personal list of pros and cons. To Birkin, or not to Birkin? That is the question.

Hermes gets credit for a lot of things – being expensive, being luxurious, being exclusive – but I don’t think the French brand gets its due for being witty. In fact, that’s always been my favorite thing about Hermes; for all the ways that the company takes itself extremely seriously, every now and then, the designers behind the world’s most coveted luxury goods show their senses of humor. And have you seen anything more sly and clever today than the Hermes Apple Bag? It seems as though this bag dates back a few years, but this is the first time any of us have seen it.

The PurseBlog team wants to wish all of you a Happy Easter and Passover! We decided to spring into the holiday with some bunny accessories, because they are the perfect addition to your Spring wardrobe.

On the Savvy side, I found the Coach Mink Bunny Key Fob which I plan to put on my key ring for spring. Although it is white leather and fur and may get dirty easier, I love having something light and fluffy to hang my keys on and this Coach key fob is so cute. Price is $38 via Coach (style number is #92869).

If you are looking for a bag charm, Hermes is known to entice with their circular leather animal charms like the bunny I have. Vlad got me this for Christmas and it is such a fun way to give my bag a little extra character. Seeing a smiling bunny face dangle from my bag really adds a nice touch. Buy via Hermes.

Hope you all are enjoying the holiday and the arrival of spring!

EBay: It has everything! That nail polish that you should have bought two years ago but didn’t, the pillow shams that match your duvet cover for half the retail price, an unlocked iPhone 4 that you shouldn’t bid on because it’s a scam, it’s all there. And now, it has the Hermes Birkin. That’s right – not an Hermes Birkin, THE Hermes Birkin. Owned by Jane Birkin herself, who famously inspired the bag on a flight in 1984. Birkin is auctioning her iconic bag to support relief efforts in Japan. But because Birkin is so very French and bohemian and eccentric, this bag is not without a few modifications.

Over the weekend we took a trip to Brooklyn to see our favorite Real Housewives of New York couple (look for their feature this Friday on PurseBlog!). After a delightful meet-up, we headed to brunch and then to explore Brooklyn. Here are a few things I learned: spring has only pretended to arrive because I was freezing, Brooklyn is much calmer than Manhattan, and you can see the most amazing views of NYC from Brooklyn. Obviously there is so much more to Brooklyn, but those three things stuck with me the most and clearly the most obvious.

I hopped out of the car to have Vlad snap a photo of me with my black Hermes Birkin. I love this bag. It is the 35cm size so I can really fit a ton of items in there and it the epitome of casual meets chic. This is one of the bags in my collection that works with every outfit and literally can do no fashion wrong.

Leïla Menchari has done it again. Hermes’ Window Design Director always comes up with fantastical displays for the window at the brand’s Paris flagship store, and her design for Spring 2011 debuted yesterday morning on Facebook. In contrast to some of Menchari’s previous work, spring’s look has a stark, industrial quality to it that highlights not only the sharp lines of Hermes’ iconic handbags, but also the details of the brand’s trunks and saddlery. What say you – do you prefer Hermes displays to be more opulent, or is this a welcome change of pace?

Photo via the official Hermes Facebook fan page.

It’s only been one collection for new Hermes creative director Christophe Lemaire, but I already miss ousted designer Jean Paul Gaultier. Hermes is a house of rich tradition and history, and mining those archives should provide more than enough inspiration to avoid gimmickry on the runway. Sadly, Hermes Fall 2011 fell into that trap from time to time. Having a model parade down a catwalk with a falcon on her arm didn’t distract me from the fact that the collection featured few of the brand’s bread-and-butter handbags, and I doubt it fooled anyone else, either.

Although Hermes’ ready-to-wear absolutely has a customer base, it’s a company built on the luxury world’s love for leather goods. You wouldn’t know it from the show, though; the accessories didn’t include a single Birkin or Kelly that I was able to find among the available pictures, and except for a few nice hand-held bags and one luscious dark chocolate duffle, the emphasis was on odd, tasseled canteens worn around the neck. Hermes shows almost always rise to the level of handbag pornography, but there was relatively little after which to lust this season.