Can’t decide: K25 Barenia, yes or no?

[missfaraday]

Hello lovely ladies,

I please need help deciding. I’ve been offered a K25 Barenia PHW by my amazing SA and I don’t know what to do.

I absolutely love barenia, I had discussed about it with my SA in the past, and I thought this was impossible to get, so I was keeping it as my « dream bag ». Now that one has landed at my local boutique and she has offered it to me, I hesitate because of:
1) the price tag, which will potentially refrain me from using the bag very often (being worried about theft, as I use public transport a lot)
2) the style; sellier is a dream but I’m always wearing sneakers and have a very casual style. Would this match my wardrobe or look odd?
3) the practicality of the bag itself. I have a K28 gris Étain togo, that I have used less than 5 times in 2 years. I find it bulky and not comfortable at all. Would 25 sellier be a better fit?

For reference, I’m petite - 1,60 m tall. Oh gosh… I don’t want to regret it, would like to be able to make a decision and make it for good. Sometimes I think “go get it and run away”, but the next second I feel anxious, due to the fact that it’s a lot of money that could serve other purposes in life (e.g. traveling with my family or just be more relaxed with no remorses in mind). What would you do? Thanks in advanced!

Edit: To give you some more details about what type of bags I use the most - I always go for my mini Lindy, and I have other bags (C18 box, B25, B30) but I hardly ever wear them. Wondering if a K25 would become the rotation bag I need for alternating with my Mini Lindy? Or should I look at other styles and forget about a Kelly?

 

[luckygirl31]

Hi there,

Congrats on the offer. Barenia is hard to come by. It is a particular taste. You either love it or hate it. I think you belong to the first group.

I can read that your doubts are more so about fitting your lifestyle and the overall price of it.

My question would be; would you want to wear it? Everything can fit a certain wardrobe. There are now hard rules. Public transport depends on where you live.

London would for example be a different story than Zurich.

Regarding the money. If you can make this amount back within a reasonable timeframe and it is not part of your emergency fund of other planned expenses, you
Could consider it.

The last thing i would say; if you doubt to much, let it go to someone else. Someone who will be head over heels for this back.

Let uw know what you do

 

[Love Of My Life]

I think you have answered your own question.
This bag should make your heart sing & I mean sing.
Practicality, style, price tag are issues that would concern many of us & as you point out,
you have a K28 gris Etain that you have used less than 5 times in 2 years, that speaks for itself, IMO
Would you consider perhaps selling this bag & putting the money toward another bag that
would work better in your lifestyle?
If travel is a big category for you & you enjoy that with your family & overall not be "stressed" or "anxious"
about this purchase, perhaps just think about it for another day or so & you will make the right decision
Don't feel pressured as at the end of the day, you will know the best choice to make..
Good luck in your decision

 

[doloresmia]

Ok everyone is different, but here is what i would say (and i LOVE barenia)

1) Price is relative. if you are buying an H bag, it is crazy crazy expensive. in my younger days i worried about use, and now in my older days i worry about not using. get over it! (said in a good way) slip the little thing into an envirosax or something similar if you are so worried about public transport.
2) sellier in barenia can be made casual.... as can anything. it is about how you tweak things to make it more you. I am queen of easy dressing and have no trouble wearing whatever now that i have learned how to tweak - shoes, coat, jewelry or other things. loads of good blogs about antonym dressing for example (if you feel too lady, put on sneakers type of advice). IMO barenia itself is casual regardless of bag form
3) query yourself as to WHY you have not used the K28 and whether that logic applies to this or any new bag. none of us can answer this for you, any more than any of us really can answer whether you should go on vacation or buy a bag. these things have to do with your values, not our opinions.
4) I am 5 1 and petit and i wear what i want big or small... and you can too!

 

[luckylove]

Congratulations on your lovely offer! For what it is. worth, there will always. be more practical things to put the money towards. After all, this is one of life's luxuries and do any of us NEED another expensive handbag? Probably not, but they make us happy and we usually love wearing them. So, if this truly is your "dream bag," and you can comfortably afford it, I say, "Take the bag and run!!"
A 25k will not look too bulky on you and Barenia can easily be dressed up or dressed down. Good luck deciding!

 

[Love Of My Life]

OP, you comment that your go to bag is the "mini Lindy" & in spite of having a C18, B25,B30
& a K28 these bags sound like they don't work as well for you as your mini Lindy does
& the K25 is small & could be the option you are looking for.
Proportion wise the K25 should work for you.
While it sounds like you haven't seen the bag in person yet, why don't you go try the bag &
see what your reaction is?
You may be drawn to it you may not.. you won't know until you give it a try, JMO
While others point out what attracts Barenia to them, you need to know if it will work for you
& you are the only one that will know as you seem to still have some reservations

 

[880]

Hey, only you can decide whether you are a small kelly person, or a sellier person. I’m both, and I wear them with Birkenstocks and with sneakers. On public transport. A small bag is more discreet, and it’s not red or a pastel, both of which are more blingy. A 25 is easier than a 28. Having said that, is this barenia Faubourg? Bc I think BF pales in comparison to smooth barenia. JMO. I don’t have a barenia sellier 25, but here is a gold B25, a 25K, both sellier, both casual. And a boxK larger 32, casual. If you love them, just wear them. you can wear the kelly with the straps belted under the flap. Congrats

ETA: I’m 5’2”, medium build, about a chanel 38/ Dior 40 size

 

[A1aGypsy]

It can be quite a shock when “the bag” drops in your lap. I understand the push back. But here’s the thing - this is your dream bag. It’s tough to get. And it sounds like it is perfect for your style.

You seem to have a lot of unused bags. Why not sell some of those to make some room for something you might actually carry?

That being said, if price tag is just going to add this one to the shelf - don’t get it. That doesn’t make any sense.

 

[shopaholicious]

There is a thread for casual styling with Kelly if you need inspiration.

If it were me, I would have gone to the store asap. It is a unicorn for me!

 

[QuelleFromage]

I had this bag with GHW and I let it go, because for me...personally...Barenia is a casual leather and the sellier K style doesn't necessarily work the best with it. Also at the time the price was a lot for me. If you don't mind how it looks when banged around (sellier corners), worth trying?

I do regret letting the bag go BUT only because these days it's not a meaningful amount of money to me, and I would be happy keeping the bag as a collector's item. I still don't so much see it as a bag for daily casual use. JMO YMMV etc etc

 

[missfaraday]

Hi there,

Congrats on the offer. Barenia is hard to come by. It is a particular taste. You either love it or hate it. I think you belong to the first group.

I can read that your doubts are more so about fitting your lifestyle and the overall price of it.

My question would be; would you want to wear it? Everything can fit a certain wardrobe. There are now hard rules. Public transport depends on where you live.

London would for example be a different story than Zurich.

Regarding the money. If you can make this amount back within a reasonable timeframe and it is not part of your emergency fund of other planned expenses, you
Could consider it.

The last thing i would say; if you doubt to much, let it go to someone else. Someone who will be head over heels for this back.

Let uw know what you do

Thank you so much for this, I indeed doubt A LOT, as there’s something deep inside me that says… “you’ve made purchase mistakes before, but it was different because it was not a 11,800 euros bag”.

I received the offer in June, I decided to wait (they didn’t put it on hold for me, it just happened that no other client accepted it over the summer). I had almost forgotten and now suddenly it’s still available… so does it mean it was waiting for me?

I had structured bags in the past that I ended up selling because, despite I loved them, I didn’t feel comfortable wearing them - e.g. Céline Classic box, Chanel Boy, medium Lady Dior.

So… is the K25 sellier for me? I can’t decide, it is too risky IMO

 

[missfaraday]

I think you have answered your own question.
This bag should make your heart sing & I mean sing.
Practicality, style, price tag are issues that would concern many of us & as you point out,
you have a K28 gris Etain that you have used less than 5 times in 2 years, that speaks for itself, IMO
Would you consider perhaps selling this bag & putting the money toward another bag that
would work better in your lifestyle?
If travel is a big category for you & you enjoy that with your family & overall not be "stressed" or "anxious"
about this purchase, perhaps just think about it for another day or so & you will make the right decision
Don't feel pressured as at the end of the day, you will know the best choice to make..
Good luck in your decision

Many thanks, this is super useful ❤️. I have put my K28 for sale, finally. I didn’t dare before because deeply in my heart this was my first and only Kelly, and it’s a forever bag. But only if you use it…!
If I manage to sell it, this K25 purchase won’t hurt my feelings that much. Fingers crossed

 

[textilegirl]

Notwithstanding that it's barenia, it doesn't sound like it's the right bag for you. All of the bags sitting in your closet are structured bags, and this is a sellier Kelly. Can you wear it casually? Of course you can, see the always stylish @880 for examples above. But you seem to prefer a somewhat squishy Lindy, a bag designed to be soft in structure. QUED, aka don't do it. How about that for a definitive recommendation from a stranger on the internet. YMMV, JMO, etc.,

 

[880]

I had almost forgotten and now suddenly it’s still available… so does it mean it was waiting for me?

This sounds like FOMO. Agree with @textilegirl and others to pass. It’s only worth it if you will love it AND use it. Leave it for the person who loves it so much that she has to wear it out of thr boutique
JMO

 

[missfaraday]

This sounds like FOMO. Agree with @textilegirl and others to pass. It’s only worth it if you will love it AND use it. Leave it for the person who loves it so much that she has to wear it out of thr boutique
JMO

Thank you! ❤️
Yes… that’s exactly why I’m hesitating a lot. I love Barenia leather (it is fauve Barenia), I love imagining how it would age and get patina with time, I love how it looks by itself… I would put it on a shelve and look at it all day. But… would I grab it and use it in the streets without fearing that I might get robbed? Would I bring it to work, and get all comments from my colleagues? (They already know I’m crazy about Hermès but I don’t like to be judged so I prefer to keep a low profile at the office).

Plus… I’m going through IVF and it’s being such a hard time that I don’t want to add mental pressure to the whole process.
I know. Hormones shouldn’t decide for me… so here I am, trying to keep reasonable and understand my feelings.