Hermes Handbags and Purses

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. → Read More

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. → Read More

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. → Read More

Anyone who’s ever tried to push a needle through any kind of durable material knows that doing it in an orderly, aesthetically pleasing way is nearly impossible, which just makes the amount of handwork that goes into some of Hermes’ leather goods all the more impressive. → Read More

The Hermes Birkin is synonymous with classic. But what do you think about Hermes’ take on the Birkin Club for Spring/Summer 2011? The bag features stripes (some refer to them as racing stripes). Tri-colored, we think the colors are gris, perle and Mykonos blue lizard.

The overall vibe of the Hermes Birkin Club has a younger feel to it – something meant to be seen as more fun, with even a tad of a sporty finish. Do you prefer the classic Birkin or the Birkin Club?

People always wonder why Hermes handbags cost so much, and the answer is a complicated one, just like it would be difficult to explain why a Bentley costs as much as the average American pays for a house; the prices simply aren’t based on materials and labor alone. In fact, the video tour of Hermes’ newest Paris store probably gives a much more succinct illustration than words ever could. → Read More

We’ve covered the exquisitely detailed work of Hermes Window Design Director Leïla Menchari previously, and she continues to create unique, spellbindingly intricate designs for the brand’s Paris flagship with the change of every season. Hermes released this photo of Menchari’s Winter 2011 work on Facebook yesterday, leaving all of us playing a dazzling game of Where’s Waldo with some of the world’s most expensive handbags. How many can you spot? Click the image for a larger view.

Image via Hermes.