Latest Obsession: The Hermès Verrou Chaine Bag

I’m not an Hermès girl. I understand why people like Hermès, and I fully acknowledge that its bags are, on average, objectively the best in the world when it comes to major brands. They’re beautiful, luxurious and impeccably crafted, but my personal style tends to be more casual and streetwear-based, which doesn’t jibe with most of the Hermès aesthetic. I’m more of a Balenciaga or Proenza Schouler type, and lately some of Gucci‘s bags really hit home with me, too. The new Hermès Verrou Chaine Bag, though, has managed to bridge my mental gap.

This bag has existed as a strap-free clutch since circa 2010, but as far as I can tell, the chain-strap Verrou is a new addition for Spring 2017. (All the mentions of it on the Internet start with the brand’s spring preview, anyway, but you can never quite be sure with Hermès, mostly because they don’t want you to be.) Earlier this week, the design popped up for sale on the brand’s website for the first time, and it had me at hello.

If someone said the words “super luxe bathroom stall slide lock” to me, I wouldn’t have necessarily be able to picture a handbag situation in which that design would work, or even when someone might have tried it, but here we are. 2017 is only 19 days old and it’s already wild as hell.

The bag’s asymmetrical front flap helps showcase the refined industrial lock, and along with the bag’s delicate chain, it’s the only real design feature. The lock is large and peculiar enough to carry the bag on its own, though, and it fits well with the bag’s right angles and minimal finishes. Pink wouldn’t be my first choice, but the bag also comes in grey suede (and likely several other colors that simple aren’t listed on the Hermès website for sale). I’m in.

Hermès Verrou Chaine Bag
$8,000 via Hermès

Hermès Verrou Chaine Bag
$9,050 via Hermès