Before you get your hopes up: no, you still can’t buy an Hermès Birkin or Kelly Bag online, straight from the brand. (Although there are certainly other places you can pick one up.) Beyond those two highly sought-after designs, though, now’s the best time ever to be buying brand new Hermès bags on the Internet, thanks to the brand’s own online store. As quotidian as that sounds in The Year of Our Lord 2016, it does make Hermès something of an anomaly among its top-tier competitors in the luxury accessory market.
Hermès doesn’t have a direct competitor in the fashion industry–its handbags are the most expensive and most universally highly regarded in the world. Louis Vuitton, Chanel and sometimes Céline come close, though, as far as offering rarified ultra-luxury accessories, and all of those brands are varying levels of stingy when it comes to selling their bags online. Chanel and Céline decline to participate in the practice entirely (although Chanel’s entrance into the online accessories market is said to be forthcoming), and although Louis Vuitton sells its lower-priced canvas bags and some leather online, you have to contact the brand by phone or in person to get exotics. That hasn’t been the case with Hermès for quite a while, and it’s certainly not the case right now–not only are lots of the brand’s popular bags available, but most of them are available in multiple sizes, abundant colors and, for some of them, even the brand’s ultra-rare exotic leathers.
Luxury brands have long shied away from e-commerce because it threatened their traditional senses of exclusivity and rarity, and when consumers no longer associate those ideas with a high-end designer, they’re usually also no longer willing to pay top-tier prices for goods bearing its name. Hermès, though, is proof of concept for the idea that online availability doesn’t necessarily cheapen a brand’s value in the eyes of consumers. If you make an exceptional product, it will always feel rare and people will be happy to buy it no matter where it’s available.
That’s good news for Hermès lovers, and especially those who are outside of the posh urban centers where luxury boutiques usually crop up. Below, we’ve picked over a dozen of our favorite currently available bags from Hermès’s selection, and you can shop the full edit (on the brand’s admittedly frustrating-to-navigate website) right here.
Hermès Bolide Secret Bag
$9,950 via Hermès
Hermès Cherche-Midi 25 Bag
$7,950 via Hermès
Hermès Evelyne Bag
$3,725 via Hermès
Hermès Garden Party 36 Tote
$3,675 via Hermès
Hermès Harnais Shoulder Bag
$9,200 via Hermès
Hermès Jypsiere Bag
$8,500 via Hermès
Hermès Lindy 34 Bag
$8,250 via Hermès
Hermès Maxibox 29 Bag
$9,650 via Hermès
Hermès Mini Convoyeur Bag
$13,400 via Hermès
Hermès Pliplat Crocodile Clutch
$49,400 via Hermès
Hermès Plume 32 Bag
$8,700 via Hermès
Hermès Roulis 23 Bag
$7,750 via Hermès
Hermès Victoria II 12H Bag
$5,300 via Hermès
Hermès Virevolte 24 Bag
$5,450 via Hermès
I love the Lindy
I can’t imagine spending that much money on anything sight unseen.
I agree; however, I am also tempted by the ability to avoid the Hermes boutique experience. (Even though the ladies at the boutique in my not-very-large city are pretty nice.)
I love the Bolide and leather garden party
I love Plume 32 bag and Victoria ll 12H bag.
You know, for all the hype surrounding the Hermès Kelly and Birkin – the rest of the house’s bags are nothing to sneeze at. I’m surprised so few of the smaller bags from them have caught on besides the Constance.
I like so many of Hermès’s less-famous bags much more than the Birkin or Kelly–the Lindy is so unique without being non-functional, for example, and so discreet!
The Lindy is my HG more than all the others. So unusual and unfussy, while still being staggeringly sleek and sophisticated.
i like the regular Victoria and Garden Party but the rest of these are boring bags!
I like the Garden Party, and the Roulis 23, it’s really beautiful.
Online selection for bags is still pretty limited if you are outside the US (though I’m sure it varies to some degree depending on the country)
Obsene prizes, even for luxury bags standards. A Chanel flap is a bargain in Hermés world.
Obsene prizes, even for luxury bag standard. A Chanel flap is a bargain in the Hermés’ world.
I’d say that valextra’s designs and the leathers used are most comparable to Hermes. Certainly not a “competitor” per se, but more so than LV, Chanel, Celine imo.