Can someone explain the Birkin/Kelly obsession to me?

[WhiteBus]

So much silliness gets put out there and it gets parroted about as if it were gospel. There are pros and cons to every choice.

A Birkin is heavy but it is a durable tote, it has feet, it has a lock, pockets, expandable gussets, a reinforced bottom and a leather lining. It comes in a universe of colors, it will be accepted for a lifetime for repair by its manufacturer, it holds its value, and the label is discreet and not visible when the flap is closed. The leather is sumptuously beautiful, and one bag will probably last a lifetime with regular spa visits.

That’s a whole lotta’ pros. It’s not really unfathomable why the bag is popular. I’m perplexed at the perplexity. There really are not that many (any?) other tote bags out there that can boast that exact list of stellar features. If so, please enlighten me.

The Birkin caught hold because it’s a special, unique bag. That celebrities carry it at this point is, quite frankly, neither here nor there. The same thing goes for the ever popular LV monogram canvas, and Rolex-bashing. For an automatic movement, Rolex is in fact very accurate. After 2015 every watch in the line was a chronometer. Is it possible to get a more accurate atomic or quartz? Sure, but my last quartz watch was gone two months out of every year getting opened up, the battery relaced and re-waterproofed. This is not a thread about Rolexes—my point is there are pros and cons to these choices. My Rolex is accurate, I sleep in it, shower in it, swim in it, bash the dang thing around and it looks fabulous. The accuracy is guaranteed for 5 years and Rolex doesn’t need to see it for 10. I can live with that. I buy Birkins for very similar reasons.

I think we have to assume that long-lived houses have reputations for a reason, and I don’t think we can write that off entirely to the ignorance and cluelessness of us shallow and feckless owners. Maybe (just maybe) some of these products are popular for good reason.

This is just a fabulous post

 

[BowieFan1971]

This is just a fabulous post

A Saint Laurent Sac de Jour has all but a functional lock, which most people don’t actually use on the B because then you can’t wear it open and see the logo. And at 25-30% of the price…and a detachable shoulder strap

 

[maxroxxherhandbags]

A Saint Laurent Sac de Jour has all but a functional lock, which most people don’t actually use on the B because then you can’t wear it open and see the logo. And at 25-30% of the price…and a detachable shoulder strap

but not as well made...I also find the Sac de Jour just looks boring but the Birkin never does.

 

[BowieFan1971]

but not as well made...I also find the Sac de Jour just looks boring but the Birkin never does.

If it’s only made 50% as well, which I don’t think is the case, you’re still ahead financially. You could buy 2-3 replacements in different colors and/or sizes and break even. If you can get one new from H. Plus you still have to send your B to spa, which costs $3-400 minimum, to keep it new looking.

Looks? looks are subjective….the post asked if there are other bags with those specifications. But none with the status.

 

[Etriers]

A Saint Laurent Sac de Jour has all but a functional lock, which most people don’t actually use on the B because then you can’t wear it open and see the logo. And at 25-30% of the price…and a detachable shoulder strap

But I want a real lock, not a really unattractive, low quality faux lock, I don’t want a detachable strap, I don’t like the visible logo, and the SDJ is an obvious copy of a Birkin. If I can afford a Birkin, and it has exactly what I want, why not buy a Birkin?

One reason Jane Birkin asked to have the bag designed is because there wasn’t anything like it, and she, (thanks Jane!) like a lot of us wanted those specific functions in a tote. There still isn’t anything like it.

My suggestion was that sometimes the status/longevity/reputation of a company or product is deserved. While it’s probable that I am a dingbat who doesn’t know what from what, it’s improbable that all or even most BK buyers are.

 

[Etriers]

If it’s only made 50% as well, which I don’t think is the case, you’re still ahead financially. You could buy 2-3 replacements in different colors and/or sizes and break even. If you can get one new from H. Plus you still have to send your B to spa, which costs $3-400 minimum, to keep it new looking.

Looks? looks are subjective….the post asked if there are other bags with those specifications. But none with the status.

But I don’t need to be ahead financially here. And I would rather spa my favorite bag than buy 3 new cheaper bags. I could also fly coach three times for the price of a business class ticket and I don’t want to do that either.

The rationale (not necessarily by you, but in general) that it‘s more wise, virtuous and less frivolous to buy three items I don’t want, vs. buying exactly what I do want is fascinating logic.

 

[Etriers]

And the other appeal of a Birkin, which I didn’t list is that it is really strong. If you could fit your pony in there, besides some mildly stretched handles and a bag that smelled kinda horsey, it would probably handle him like a champ.

 

[Itinerantd]

Can’t add to my previous post, just sharing some more thoughts. I think the management at H over the years really did a good job creating desire for the brand and may have chosen to use the BK for that purpose. My impression which may not be true but I think around the 90s they started limiting access to BK such that they became legendary in terms of hard to get. The bolide and other bags may have been around longer but for whatever reason it was not chosen for this purpose, or perhaps BK was already their 2 bestsellers at the point of limiting access. (Just wild conjuncture, If anyone has more accurate historical info please enlighten me) The current status of Bk is about 70-80% exclusivity and hype and 20-30% quality/customer service behind the product. Many brands have one or the other but to have both is basically exclusive to H in the luxury handbag world. If only quality without exclusivity (anyone can walk in and buy their 2 iconic bags brillant and tempete) you end up like Delvaux. If only hype it cannot be sustained for long without quality (so many other hyped brands).

 

[Etriers]

Can’t add to my previous post, just sharing some more thoughts. I think the management at H over the years really did a good job creating desire for the brand and may have chosen to use the BK for that purpose. My impression which may not be true but I think around the 90s they started limiting access to BK such that they became legendary in terms of hard to get. The bolide and other bags may have been around longer but for whatever reason it was not chosen for this purpose, or perhaps BK was already their 2 bestsellers at the point of limiting access. (Just wild conjuncture, If anyone has more accurate historical info please enlighten me) The current status of Bk is about 70-80% exclusivity and hype and 20-30% quality/customer service behind the product. Many brands have one or the other but to have both is basically exclusive to H in the luxury handbag world. If only quality without exclusivity (anyone can walk in and buy their 2 iconic bags brillant and tempete) you end up like Delvaux. If only hype it cannot be sustained for long without quality (so many other hyped brands).

Access is limited and it is hard to get because there is more demand for Birkins in a working year than the craftsmen at Hermes can produce at the current rate of production and desired level of craftsmanship. It takes a single craftsman about a week to make a Birkin. People act like Hermes has a giant secret warehouse piled high with Birkins that it is deviously “withholding“ from the clamoring public.

Again, just an idea, but maybe women are not the shallow, idiotic sheep that we are made out to be. (No offense to any sheep who may be reading this.) Maybe—-just maybe——we actually LIKE the Birkin because it has features we want in a tote bag that other bags on the market do not have.

 

[jellyv]

Yeah, I don't get the hate for the few things that have stood the test of time in design and utility, not to mention the more subjective area of aesthetics.

There are just a few iconic material goods, design wise--those with the degree of presence that captures what the item is supposed to be. What a kid would draw if asked to. These two H bags are this.

 

[Itinerantd]

Access is limited and it is hard to get because there is more demand for Birkins in a working year than the craftsmen at Hermes can produce at the current rate of production and desired level of craftsmanship. It takes a single craftsman about a week to make a Birkin. People act like Hermes has a giant secret warehouse piled high with Birkins that it is deviously “withholding“ from the clamoring public.

Again, just an idea, but maybe women are not the shallow, idiotic sheep that we are made out to be. (No offense to any sheep who may be reading this.) Maybe—-just maybe——we actually LIKE the Birkin because it has features we want in a tote bag that other bags on the market do not have.

Being a sheep would be more like hype only without recognizing quality. I think the SDJ of YSL is more functional but would not buy one due to quality. There are of course many answers to this topic question and those who do genuinely find the birkin functional is one answer, but imo those are the minority reason for the hype (the topic of the post). The disproportionate demand and supply might in part be due to how long it takes to make one but does not explain why there are bags in the back but virtually anyone unknown to the store walking in will be told there are none. I believe there was a recent quote from H top leaders criticizing Rolex for making too many of their watches, that that is not luxury and they’d regret it. This suggests creating scarcity is part of their business model. I’m speaking for myself but I did not buy a BK for the functionality but 80% status symbol and 20% quality (all the great things about H and BK you mentioned).

 

[Alienza]

And the other appeal of a Birkin, which I didn’t list is that it is really strong. If you could fit your pony in there, besides some mildly stretched handles and a bag that smelled kinda horsey, it would probably handle him like a champ.

But has anyone brave enough to risk testing its strength? . Well, a grandmother in Taiwan has tested the strength of LV neverfull by taking it to wet market and filled it with fish and groceries!.

Taiwan grandma carried fish in £900 Louis Vuitton handbag - BBC News

She used the new Louis Vuitton handbag her grandson gave her to carry fresh fish from the market.

www.bbc.com

I remembered reading it in the news.
I stuffed my old Neverfull gm too because it was my baby bag for when we went on holidays. So inside it I would put jacket, sandwich, water bottle, snack, umbrella, hat, shawl, book, map/leaflets, and whatever that can still fit inside. I put the bag on the ground, train floor, bus floor, sand, rocks, etc. I spilled drinks inside the bag a few times. Nothing could destroy it. I am still too scared to abuse my H bags because its much more expensive than LV . My point is, I think there are other brands that produced durable bags too. Its just that H is more desirable because its exclusive and difficult to get like other poster mentioned.

 

[Etriers]

Actually—The topic of the thread is: “…can someone explain to me what the big deal with Birkin/Kelly is?”

Which many of us have tried tirelessly to do.

The reality is that we can beat this dead horse all day long. No matter how much a BK lover waxes rhapsodic about the features of the bags—the beauty, craftsmanship, colors, the feel and varieties of the leather, the unique design, the gorgeous hardware, pockets, lock, feet, handles, spa, ability to special order, etc. etc.—those who do not like Birkins and Kellys, who do not own Birkins and Kellys, and do not want Birkins and Kellys, for some reason cannot imagine this.

All they observe is “hype“ and “hard to get” and in an error of deduction confuse result with cause. They insist that B/K has absolutely no features more remarkable than any other bag, and that somehow Hermes magically conjured up all this hype and demand out of thin air by simply withholding these ho-hum, unremarkable bags from all of us women who are too clueless to know the difference.

Which is fine. YMMV.

 

[BowieFan1971]

Actually—The topic of the thread is: “…can someone explain to me what the big deal with Birkin/Kelly is?”

Which many of us have tried tirelessly to do.

The reality is that we can beat this dead horse all day long. No matter how much a BK lover waxes rhapsodic about the features of the bags—the beauty, craftsmanship, colors, the feel and varieties of the leather, the unique design, the gorgeous hardware, pockets, lock, feet, handles, spa, ability to special order, etc. etc.—those who do not like Birkins and Kellys, who do not own Birkins and Kellys, and do not want Birkins and Kellys, for some reason cannot imagine this.

All they observe is “hype“ and “hard to get” and in an error of deduction confuse result with cause. They insist that B/K has absolutely no features more remarkable than any other bag, and that somehow Hermes magically conjured up all this hype and demand out of thin air by simply withholding these ho-hum, unremarkable bags from all of us women who are too clueless to know the difference.

Which is fine. YMMV.

I own a 1956 Kelly that I actively use because it is still able to be used, so please do not imply that all those who do not worship at the BK altar are clueless. While I love her, especially the history of her, frankly she is a pain in the butt to use. The flap/sangles are a hassle but are the distinctive element of both bags, which B wearers tuck in for ease of use which removes the main design element of the bag and makes it look like any other tote. Truth is there are many other bags by other brands that are as well made and as, if not more, functional out there for less money. I own several vintage LVs in great shape and have seen bags of theirs that are 40 years old that could be used daily. I have a 40 year old Gucci canvas bag I use often that looks new. I have seen many Coach(!) bags that are 30-40 years old that look brand new. Same with Dooney and Bourke. What they do not have is the created scarcity (H could easily expand production if they chose to), name recognition and prestige that B and K have.

BTW, Hermès is not the end all be all for quality…my Bolide started to tear at the strap attachment when I used the crossbody strap with it on a bag that was far from loaded. H bags that are not gently used (and most people gently use a bag thst costs $10k+, if they use it at all) will look likecrap too and fall apart. Just look at the B and K carried by Mary Kate Olsen. Jane Birkin’s Bs have looked like crap at the end and she has gone through quite a few since the mid-80’s.

 

[Etriers]

I own a 1956 Kelly that I actively use because it is still able to be used, so please do not imply that all those who do not worship at the BK altar are clueless. While I love her, frankly she is a pain in the butt to use. The flap/sangles are a hassle but are the distinctive element of both bags, which B wearers tuck in for ease of use which removes the main design element of the bag and makes it look like any other tote. Truth is there are many other bags by other brands that are as well made and as, if not more, functional out there for less money. I own several vintage LVs in great shape and have seen bags of theirs that are 40 years old that could be used daily. I have a 40 year old Gucci canvas bag I use often that looks new. I have seen many Coach(!) bags that are 30-40 years old that look brand new. Same with Dooney and Bourke. What they do not have is the created scarcity (H could easily expand production if they chose to), name recognition and prestige that B and K have.

BTW, Hermès is not the end all be all for quality…my Bolide started to tear at the strap attachment when I used the crossbody strap with it on a bag that was far from loaded. H bags that are not gently used (and most people gently use a bag thst costs $10k+, if they use it at all) will look likecrap too and fall apart. Just look at the B and K carried by Mary Kate Olsen. Jane Birkin’s Bs have looked like crap at the end and she has gone through quite a few since the mid-80’s.

To clarify: The implication that B/K lovers are clueless is not from me. (If you read my post correctly.) It is from those who think that we cannot possibly enjoy these bags for their features, but instead, must somehow all be swept up in a fever of hype.

You wouldn’t be in that group anyway because it doesn’t sound like you are a BK lover.

And that you have other bags you prefer is great. To each his or her own. I like lots of those bags too. The crux of the matter then of the B/K thing seems to be about money and the value for it. Whether the bags are worth the asking price. I don’t know. They are to me. Is a First Class ticket worth the outrageous price for a slightly larger seat and a warm cookie? I think so. Some people don’t, but I don’t hear a lot of talk about how people who fly First Class are only caught up in the hype. Is Loro Piana cashmere worth the price? A goat is a goat. Are Loro Piana buyers caught up in the hype of nicer goats? In some ways these kinds of threads are silly, esoteric questions.

And we’ll have to agree to disagree on whether H could “easily” expand production. But more to the point, why should they? If you manufacture an item, and that item is beloved and desired, are you then morally required to flood the market with it? Why? Says who?

Must you turn your French process and production upside down and rethink your entire business model because people who are not even regular clients (such as those who simultaneously despise Hermes yet demand increased production) accuse you of withholding the good stuff?

As far as quality, I’ll leave that to others as well. What I will say is that H doesn’t promise your bag will never wear. What they say is that they’ll fix it. Will Dooney and Coach and Gucci refurb/repair their 30-40 year old bags? I have no idea. Maybe they will.