I am going to start saving for a birkin, need every tip and help I can get!

Mai Britt

Mai Britt

LOVES LUXURY
Oct 13, 2006
663
6
#1
I want the black birkin with gold hardware and just today (from your posts) I found out you can get the leather in different qualities, togo and clemeuse (?) are there others 'normal' leathers? (no exotic)

what are the pros and cons for these leathers?

I am 5'2 and a US size 6/8 would the 35 be the best size or can you recommend a different size?

what is the current prize for this bag? and is it cheaper in France?

Thanks in advance everybody!!!
 
#2
Welcome Mai,
I just found the Purse Forum also and it has been a great information site. I purchased my first Birkin in June, 35cm Chocolate with gold hardware in Clemence leather. The price was $7550.00USD.
I live in Canada and am 50 years old.
Please know that I do not mean to be too personal; but I think I have your book. If that is the case, I must say that I really enjoyed it and you are an inspiration to us all. I like your current hair colour.
If you would like to contact me I would be happy help you.
Cheers.
 
#3
Hi Mai,
I'm sorry that I posted before looking at the date you joined and the number of your posts. I saw your name and it registered in my brain. i thought it was your first post. You happen to have the same name as an actress,once married to Sammy Davis Jr. She was very pretty,blonde and freckled. She wrote a memoir and I really enjoyed it. She is also from Sweden. My husbands mother was Swedish and his father was Finnish so I have a sensibility to those countries.
Now that I sound like a total twit;you are welcome to contact me and I will be happy to give you any help that I can.
Cheers.
 
#4
Thanks duchessofs!! It sounds like a wonderfull bag you have!! I didn't know that Sammy Davis was married to a swede and one with my name even! Off course you don't sound like a twit, I absolutely know the feeling of seeing a name or a phot and being reminded of something!

What made you choose clemense over the other leather options? So far, for what I have read about togo and clemense, I prefer togo because is sounds more stiff and will hold the shape for longer. My mother has a gold Kelly but I do not know what leather it is and neither does she, she just bought a Kelly because she wanted one :yes:

Thank you!
 
#5
Hello and Welcome
I saw your post and wanted to chime in because I recently acquired a 35 cm gold togo birkin and I have to say, I am surprised at just how HEAVY it is during a day of shopping!
I am 5'3 and I wish I had gotten either the 30 cm or the goat leather (chevre). I heard it is much lighter but just as durable. I just find that the bag gets heavier and heavier as the day goes on!
Don't get me wrong, I love my birkin but it is a bit heavy!

Funny, I have a client from Malmo who now lives in the US. Small world!
 
#6
Hi, welcome!
I would definitely recommend having a look in either resale shops or of course in Hermes to help you determine the right size for you.
I'm only 5'1" tall, but a 25cm bag looks TINY on me--the 35 is the most popular size but as Maggiemoo said it can get heavy rather quickly. A 30cm is the only one I haven't actually tried to walk around with yet, and I think that one might be juuuuust right for me in terms of versatility.

A lot of the size preference has to do with your lifestyle, also. For instance, if you commute around a city and have to take a train or bus a lot, you probably carry a lot of things with you on a daily basis and would need a larger bag. But if you're like me and live a more suburban lifestyle where you drive most places or don't go a huge distance from home on a daily basis, you could get away with a smaller bag.

As for leathers, in my opinion Clemence is the heaviest of the more common leathers (I'm not counting things like Buffalo that are hard to find). Togo is a little lighter weight, and as you have already learned, not as slouchy/a little stiffer. Fjord leather is a wonderful alternative because it has beautiful character, lots of texture, takes color wonderfully and also has a lovely matte finish. It's also much lighter in the last year or two than it used to be--Fjord used to be considered a very heavy weight leather, but I recently weighed a Fjord bag against a Togo bag of the same size on a scale and they were within about an ounce of one another. Chevre is a great suggestion, but it's quite hard to find a 35cm Birkin in Chevre, at least at the moment. Something about small goats or some such :rolleyes: But if you do find chevre, it's a wonderful leather--lightweight, very sturdy, has a gorgeous sheen, and takes color very richly and beautifully. That also brings to mind the fact that I have seen a lot of HAC 32s available lately in Chevre; you might want to consider a 32cm HAC instead of a 35cm Birkin if you're unsure about size and think a 30cm Birkin is too small for you.

Other leathers not yet mentioned: Epsom which is least expensive; it has a very specific look to it and is quite thin yet very stiff. The one con to Epsom is that if your corners get badly scuffed or you get a bad scratch, it can't be refurbished as well as a lot of other leathers. There's also Swift, which is quite smooth and soft but even squishier than Clemence, and it doesn't sound like you want squishy? Then there's Box, which is shiny and the smoothest of all--but it can be quite high maintenance.
There are others, but these are the most commonly available at the moment so this should get you started.
Hope this is helpful!
 
#7
Oh and one more thing...some people have actually made little paper or cardboard cutouts in the size and shape of different size Birkins, and then held them up in front of the mirror to see which size works best.
It sounds silly, but hey: these are expensive bags! You want to be sure.
 
#8
I did not choose clemence,it was offered to me and I didn't even think of turning it down. I just weighed it and I only have the rain protector,eyeglasses and a few lipsticks in it now and it is 3.5 lbs. I quess it will get heavy carrying it around all day.
I wanted either black or dark brown in a birkin with gold hardware,as I wear yellow gold during the day.
I will go for colours in other bags that are not as costly.
 
#9
MaggieMoo, Cynthia NYC and duchessofs - thank you all so much!! I'll definitly be reconsidering the togo leather then! I am guessing Chevre is more expensive than Togo, since it is more rare to be able to get bigger pieces?

also ( I am embarresed to ask) what is a HAC? I keep seeing all these word shortenings and have no idea what they mean :shame:

I really love the black with gold hardware and I really like the leather to have texture. My moms friend got a Birkin in gold box leather (I think it is box, it is completely smooth and has a sheen) and I am more to one with some grain in it or what it is called. BUT is the black/gold HW seen TO much.. are there other classic combos to reconsider? Even though I do not even own a Hermes bag, I know that my second Birkin or Kelly should be in orange, I love orange and it suits me well, but I want classic first ( I am borderline 29).

I will think about the 30 instead of 35!

Thank you all so much!!
 
#10
Don't be embarrassed! A HAC is an abbreviation for Haut au Courroies (I might have spelled that incorrectly, sorry!). It was basically the original shape of both the Kelly and the Birkin bags--it's slightly narrower and taller than the next closest sized Birkin. The most readily available HAC size is a 32cm HAC. I personally think they're lovely.
Here's a photo of a black & gold HAC in Togo (this particular bag's graining is smaller/finer than many Togo bags though).
black_1_001.jpg

If you compare the silhouette of that bag with a "regular" 35cm Birkin, you will see that the proportions are slightly different.
 
#11
^ Thank you Cynthia!! So silouette wise, it is more square'ish and the Birkin is wider I guess..

I think I have seen some HAC's on members here, and I must admit I am more drawn to the BIrkin, but this is GREAT I am learning WHICH exact bag will be the best!! Do you by any chance know the price differences between chevre and togo?
 
#12
CynthiaNYC said:
Hi, welcome!
I would definitely recommend having a look in either resale shops or of course in Hermes to help you determine the right size for you.
I'm only 5'1" tall, but a 25cm bag looks TINY on me--the 35 is the most popular size but as Maggiemoo said it can get heavy rather quickly. A 30cm is the only one I haven't actually tried to walk around with yet, and I think that one might be juuuuust right for me in terms of versatility.

A lot of the size preference has to do with your lifestyle, also. For instance, if you commute around a city and have to take a train or bus a lot, you probably carry a lot of things with you on a daily basis and would need a larger bag. But if you're like me and live a more suburban lifestyle where you drive most places or don't go a huge distance from home on a daily basis, you could get away with a smaller bag.

As for leathers, in my opinion Clemence is the heaviest of the more common leathers (I'm not counting things like Buffalo that are hard to find). Togo is a little lighter weight, and as you have already learned, not as slouchy/a little stiffer. Fjord leather is a wonderful alternative because it has beautiful character, lots of texture, takes color wonderfully and also has a lovely matte finish. It's also much lighter in the last year or two than it used to be--Fjord used to be considered a very heavy weight leather, but I recently weighed a Fjord bag against a Togo bag of the same size on a scale and they were within about an ounce of one another. Chevre is a great suggestion, but it's quite hard to find a 35cm Birkin in Chevre, at least at the moment. Something about small goats or some such :rolleyes: But if you do find chevre, it's a wonderful leather--lightweight, very sturdy, has a gorgeous sheen, and takes color very richly and beautifully. That also brings to mind the fact that I have seen a lot of HAC 32s available lately in Chevre; you might want to consider a 32cm HAC instead of a 35cm Birkin if you're unsure about size and think a 30cm Birkin is too small for you.

Other leathers not yet mentioned: Epsom which is least expensive; it has a very specific look to it and is quite thin yet very stiff. The one con to Epsom is that if your corners get badly scuffed or you get a bad scratch, it can't be refurbished as well as a lot of other leathers. There's also Swift, which is quite smooth and soft but even squishier than Clemence, and it doesn't sound like you want squishy? Then there's Box, which is shiny and the smoothest of all--but it can be quite high maintenance.
There are others, but these are the most commonly available at the moment so this should get you started.
Hope this is helpful!
Click to expand...

Hi, can I ask if there is a link or website that actually shows the photos( of the grains)of the different leather that you have mentioned? Thanks!
 
#13
#15
Mai Britt said:
^ Thank you Cynthia!! So silouette wise, it is more square'ish and the Birkin is wider I guess..

I think I have seen some HAC's on members here, and I must admit I am more drawn to the BIrkin, but this is GREAT I am learning WHICH exact bag will be the best!! Do you by any chance know the price differences between chevre and togo?
Click to expand...
Actually I think the Birkin is more square than a HAC, but either way--it's just different!

I don't know the exact price difference between chevre and togo but if I recall correctly it's a few hundred dollars, US. There's also a thread or two around here on Birkin pricing, which is really useful. If you use the Search button (along the top up there ^^^) and search on "Birkin Price" or something, you should find several resources.
 
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