HERMÈS BULLISH ON WALL STREET
June 20, 2007 -- WALL Street traders won't have to walk far to spend their bonuses. Hermès, the 170-year-old French saddle maker turned purveyor of "It" items, will bring its famous handbags and silk ties down to the historic area where George Washington was sworn in as our first president, directly across from the New York Stock Exchange.
A swanky 4,000-square-foot store, opening Friday, will reflect the je ne sais quoi of the flagship boutique on Madison Avenue and all its iconic product categories, from saddles to fine leather cigar tubes and condom holders. For those tired of trawling the suit rack at nearby Century 21, the store will boast a comprehensive selection of men's accessories and clothing, and introduce a Demi-Mesure and Sur-
Mesure department for custom and made-to-
measure outfits.
The Wall Street store will carry products exclusively designed to mark the opening, such as the house's silk twill square scarf with a commemorative design, and a choice of tie with a new motif: either bulls or bears.
Don't expect any door-crasher specials, though. The house is steeped in tradition and has built its name on handmade products for the leisure class, whose crafting has not changed significantly in all the years since it began making saddles in 1837.
Wall Street and Hermès are longtime dance partners. Hermès silk ties, with their discreet repeated motif, are a common sight in the neighborhood. Appropriately enough, the ties were created in 1950 because the store in Monte Carlo was next door to a casino, which required the accessory for entrance.
But the house's association with the international jet set is long established, counting as clients everyone from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to Jackie O. More recently, Will Smith loves his H belts, wearing one in "Hitch Sarah Jessica Parker sported a scarf on her head on "Sex and the City and Jennifer Lopez has her Birkin.
And blame Hermès for the "It" bag phenomenon. The Kelly was a design first launched in 1930 but named in 1956 after Grace Kelly, the princess who made every woman want to carry it. The Birkin bag followed in 1984, inspired by the Haut a Courroies created for Jane Birkin, wife of superstar French singer Serge Gainsbourg, a friend of the Hermès family. The Birkin and Kelly remain the Rolls-Royce of handbags, with models in exotic skins and real jeweled closures fetching up to $50,000 at auction.
Though the French company beat them to Wall Street, Tiffany and Pink, the Jermyn Street shirt maker, will soon follow, with Pink opening there on June 27.
A selection of items available at the Wall Street Hermès (as shown on photo): Riding boots, $1,725; silk scarves, $325 each; tan leather Kelly bag, $5,950; red leather Birkin bag, $7,150; Douceur Feline beach towel, $465; Eau d'Orange Verte fragrance, $90 (3.3 ounces); H Clic bracelets, $455 each; Clic Clac H bracelet, $480; alligator Collier de Chien bracelet, $1,275; Micro be-bop pencil case (and condom holder), $375; coral H belt, $530; Kelly cuff links, $355; Wall Street bear-print silk ties, $148
June 20, 2007 -- WALL Street traders won't have to walk far to spend their bonuses. Hermès, the 170-year-old French saddle maker turned purveyor of "It" items, will bring its famous handbags and silk ties down to the historic area where George Washington was sworn in as our first president, directly across from the New York Stock Exchange.
A swanky 4,000-square-foot store, opening Friday, will reflect the je ne sais quoi of the flagship boutique on Madison Avenue and all its iconic product categories, from saddles to fine leather cigar tubes and condom holders. For those tired of trawling the suit rack at nearby Century 21, the store will boast a comprehensive selection of men's accessories and clothing, and introduce a Demi-Mesure and Sur-
Mesure department for custom and made-to-
measure outfits.
The Wall Street store will carry products exclusively designed to mark the opening, such as the house's silk twill square scarf with a commemorative design, and a choice of tie with a new motif: either bulls or bears.
Don't expect any door-crasher specials, though. The house is steeped in tradition and has built its name on handmade products for the leisure class, whose crafting has not changed significantly in all the years since it began making saddles in 1837.
Wall Street and Hermès are longtime dance partners. Hermès silk ties, with their discreet repeated motif, are a common sight in the neighborhood. Appropriately enough, the ties were created in 1950 because the store in Monte Carlo was next door to a casino, which required the accessory for entrance.
But the house's association with the international jet set is long established, counting as clients everyone from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to Jackie O. More recently, Will Smith loves his H belts, wearing one in "Hitch Sarah Jessica Parker sported a scarf on her head on "Sex and the City and Jennifer Lopez has her Birkin.
And blame Hermès for the "It" bag phenomenon. The Kelly was a design first launched in 1930 but named in 1956 after Grace Kelly, the princess who made every woman want to carry it. The Birkin bag followed in 1984, inspired by the Haut a Courroies created for Jane Birkin, wife of superstar French singer Serge Gainsbourg, a friend of the Hermès family. The Birkin and Kelly remain the Rolls-Royce of handbags, with models in exotic skins and real jeweled closures fetching up to $50,000 at auction.
Though the French company beat them to Wall Street, Tiffany and Pink, the Jermyn Street shirt maker, will soon follow, with Pink opening there on June 27.
A selection of items available at the Wall Street Hermès (as shown on photo): Riding boots, $1,725; silk scarves, $325 each; tan leather Kelly bag, $5,950; red leather Birkin bag, $7,150; Douceur Feline beach towel, $465; Eau d'Orange Verte fragrance, $90 (3.3 ounces); H Clic bracelets, $455 each; Clic Clac H bracelet, $480; alligator Collier de Chien bracelet, $1,275; Micro be-bop pencil case (and condom holder), $375; coral H belt, $530; Kelly cuff links, $355; Wall Street bear-print silk ties, $148
about H)
can somebody pls tell me what kind of Red is the birkin in the pic?
