I’ve always been a big fan of Bethenny Frankel, the sometimes-controversial former star of Real Housewives of New York who parlayed her reality TV fame into a booze-for-girls brand that she sold for a reported $120 million last year. She’s funny, direct and willing to cop to most of her flaws – that’s about all I ask from someone on a reality show, personally. When I got a look at her insane bag collection, it only made me like her more.
If you’ve ever asked yourself how you’d splurge if you suddenly became rich and wildly successful, you’re going to want to take a look at Bethenny’s bags, because she got to answer that question in real life. In early paparazzi photos of her, she’s carrying average stuff, most of which I didn’t recognize. Once her brand started to take off, though, Bethenny bought an Hermes or Chanel classic in seemingly every color, for every occasion. If you’re a traditionalist, you’ll probably faint over Frankel’s bag collection.
We’ll start with the early days before we move on to what Bethenny’s recent riches hath wrought. I remember lusting after this exact same Gucci Horsebit Hobo when I was in college. It’s still a totally beautiful bag. Shop Gucci via Gucci.com.
Bethenny’s always had a penchant for simple, classic bags, like this mini version of the Gucci Boston Bag.
Speaking of small satchels, Bethenny carried this Chanel Bowling Bag around the time that she hit it big with SkinnyGirl.
Even before her recent success, Bethenny was an Hermes fan. She toted this black Hermes Birkin while filming Real Housewives of New York.
Once things got going, though, Bethenny’s collection of Hermes Birkins expanded quickly. A tan version, of course, is a good investment.
And what about taupe? You gotta have taupe. Bethenny definitely has taupe.
This might be a repeat of Bethenny’s taupe Birkin or it might be a slightly different grey color – I’m not totally certain because of the lighting.
Bethenny also has a somewhat elusive white Hermes Birkin.
Naturally we (and Bethenny) couldn’t round out the neutrals category without a good chocolate brown Hermes Birkin.
Bethenny seems to like a pop of color at times as well – this green Hermes Birkin provides a nice one.
Or red? Maybe you prefer red.
If blue is more your speed, Bethenny has two Hermes Birkin options for you. First, cerulean.
Second, cobalt.
For a more streamlined Hermes look, Bethenny can whip out her taupe Hermes Jige Clutch.
On the other hand, if Bethenny wants a more casual Hermes look, her tan Hermes Evelyn Crossbody suits her well.
It’s not all Hermes these days, though. A good, relatively affordable crossbody like the Alexander Wang Lia Messenger is a must for all New Yorkers. Shop Alexander Wang via ShopBop.
For travel, a mid-sized Chloe Marcie Crossbody and a Louis Vuitton Pegase Suitcase make a functional pair. Pick up a similar Chloe bag for $775 via Net-a-Porter and a Pegase of your own for $2,680 via Louis Vuitton.
Like a lot of people, Bethenny has caught the artist-collab bug with this Yayoi Kusama for Louis Vuitton Speedy.
When it comes to handbags, though, Bethenny really only has two great loves. We’ve already covered her Hermes obsession in detail, but she also has a serious thing for the Chanel Classic Flap. We start, of course, with black.
Next up, the Classic Flap in tan.
And a grey Chanel Classic Flap, because Bethenny likes to have her neutral bases covered at all times.
Finally, a blue Chanel Classic Flap. Bethenny seems to have a particular taste for blue, and this enormous Chanel bag does the shade justice.
Does anyone know what size Bethanny’s birkins are?
Bethany said on Watch What Happens Live she never pays retail. I’m curious as to how she’s avoiding retail prices especially for the Birkins.
I’ve read on Radar Online that most of her designer bags including the Birkins are high quality knockoffs!!! She even bought a Birkin from eBay!!
I’m willing to bet that her Hermes bags are an exception to the rule.
she does have a beautiful and colorful collection! love her taste in color!!! <3
I read some place that her bags are REALLY good copys
WOW…um, wow… for some reason, this collection on anyone else would seem a bit contrived but this entire post is just so Bethany and I love it. She seems to have the best of the BEST! Love the speedy, the Hermes clutch, and the chocolate Birkin!
She’s brave not only for wearing a white Birkin, but for wearing it with JEANS :O must be nice having all that moolah.
Don’t get me wrong, I actually think her bag collection is great. But I think she often looks kind of cheap… especially her tops and jeans. They never look that premium. I recall she already said she can’t buy clothes full price… well, it actually shows a bit. I know some people that buy phenomenal quality or at least, great looking textiles at a cheap price. She sure doesn’t know how to pull that off.
She needs a stylist to constantly go to Zara!!!!! She’s thin so she’ll have no problem fitting into the clothes.
Can I have her wardrobe as well?
Her bag collection is unreal
What a gorgeous collection of bags! You can never go wrong with the classics.
I’m not a big Bethenny fan but I do have to admire what she has accomplished via hard work, a loud mouth, and a couple of well-to-do boyfriends. We should all be so lucky.
I struggle with brands like Hermes…brands that I know are only purchased for the status symbol. There are so many other luxury brands that offer quality perfectly made bags for more reasonable money. With that said, I have often thought of spending my entire years bag budget and getting a Birkin…..my question would be why do you need every color in the rainbow unless you have something you are trying to prove?
The Birkin as Uniform is overkill as product placement!
The Birkin as uniform is overkill in product placement.
I read somewhere (Radaronline) I think, that her Hermes bags are fake. Apparently she has a woman come over from Asia and she pays around $750 for each. She was apparently being outed by a former assistant. Dunno hw true that allegation was, but I read it online like last year.
Her chocolate brown birkin is fake! You can tell by the flimsy handles and that she’s carrying it the wrong way in order for people not to clock it’s fake.
i heard that too… but i’m not sure if it’s true, either.
I loved looking at the bags, but today it was the slice of pizza that really grabbed my attention and got me drooling! 😀
I’ve always liked, but recently she’s been kind of, I don’t know aggravating with the whole divorce and “I wanted a fairytale” b.s….marriage is work lady! Sorry for the rant! Anyway I think her whole stickh (sp?) is to be accessible, so she may be carrying a bag that’s worth 10Gs but her jeans are from Express kind of thing. And she buys a lot off of Ebay which is I guess how she avoids paying retail.
I’ve never seen the chocolate birkin and what a treat indeed! Love the tan a taupe ones as well!
I don’t know if I love her because I have only ever seen the adverst for her show but I love her green hermes birkin. It’s quite stunning in that colour.
wow so lucky
Shes great. And she’s laughing all the way to the bank.
I am a big fan of Bethenny I never miss her show on Bravo TV. Not only her bag collection was great also her clothes matched perfectly with her personality. Glamorous
She is not funny. Bethenny is the epitome of passive aggressive and I am glad her show is cancelled!
Now her style: her bags are probably knock offs, she has no problem breaking the law what-so-ever in this respect when it comes to counterfeit labels.
Which follows with her personality because she is a complete phoney! What would be interesting, if someone were to fraudulently use the Skinnygirl line, she no doubt would be screaming foul.
Thus, I have no desire to follow her at all.
Love Betheeny….Love her style and she treats her loyal employees well,,is gracious,tells it like it ,hard worker .Her bags are lovely also!..does she still have her Jet…I bet!
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So… I see that there is a debate regarding the authenticity of her bags? I don’t know about these claims, but I do know that I do love Hermes and Chanel 🙂 Yes they are status symbols, but those bags have extraordinary workmanship. A Classic Chanel 2.55 is going to last longer and have excellent workmanship (details, details, details) than most of these newer designer bags. Well made/designed bags are pieces of art and if someone has the money and wants one…. I say go for it! You can buy your Picasso and I will buy my Birkin.
Two corrections… one is that the first bag pictured at the top is NOT Gucci. It is Cape Cod Leather, and even though that pic was taken about 6 years ago shortly after Bryn was born, CCL still sells this bag on their site, capecodleather.com. It’s one of the more affordable bags at under $200. Second, although Bethenny has said she dated rich guys in the past who helped pay her rent and/or bought her bags or expensive watches (I think the Cartier Ballon Bleu she still wears was a gift), there’s NO WAY all those Birkin-style bags are real. Especially since she had several colors when she was new on RHONYC and still had her Bethenny Bakes business. Many of the bags predated the start of Skinnygirl being manufactured. It’s not hard to find leather copies of the Birkin bag from China for $200 or less, which still adds up if you have as many colors as she does. It’s possible that one or two of hers are real, and the rest are all knockoffs.
Chocolate brown birkin is fake for sure.
When she first started housewives she bought a fake birkin on eBay which I’m going to assume is the chocolate brown since she’s holding it with the front facing her direction plus the handles are too flimsy for a birkin. It doesn’t really matter if she carries fakes since she’s worth so much money! Like Paris Hilton….she carries fakes because she has so much money she doesn’t care whether she has fakes since she has nothing to prove.