Do Parisians wear Hermes?

[keodi]

I saw that this thread got re-started and wanted to chime in on my piece. Just to disclose: I'm in my late 20s and of American nationality (but I'm classified as a minority in the US) originally -will be French in a couple of years!-and I've lived in the Paris area for most of my adult life and longer than some of my French friends have but please take my observations with a grain of salt.

When I first moved to France to study, I lived in Nice, where I felt like wearing more designers items in public was much more tolerated and I saw my fair share of designers including Hermes (but usually in neutral colors). When I moved to Paris, despite living with a very bourgeois french family in the 8th, they had good quality clothes and accessories but not any major designer brands. However their home was beautiful, the family members themselves were well-traveled and very well-educated , and they had just bought a second home several years before with extended family and my host mother had been leading the charge with renovations. And my host family is not unusual in these habits in their social circle (a good number of their friends also had origins from Brittany as they did). I saw Hermes out on the street but just not very often because school/internship. This was also 2010-2011 so major economic crisis in EU and elsewhere and people wanted to be more discreet.

In between the time I moved back to France in 2014-2015, I lived in S. Korea (in the middle of the country) for two years where the Korean population is much more brand conscious but I rarely saw Hermès outside of Seoul's richer districts such as Sinsa-dong, Gangnam, Apgujeong-dong etc. However, female coworkers would comment on my Ferragamo Varas (bought vintage), leather coach bag (also bought vintage) and my Longchamp bag. All of these items are not expensive to me but these foreign brands cost much more there and weigh more heavily as social markers than my environment back in the US (which is admittedly upper middle class) or even when I returned back to France (back in a bourgeois atmosphere both academically, socially and professionally). It goes to show that different cultures have different means of judging social status. It's why I'm very hesitant in investing in a Kelly for myself (I buy bags for family currently ) in the future because I've absorbed the french mentality of not wanting to look too 'gauche' in terms of handbags but no one will judge you here for spending a fortune on shoes, a watch, or a coat. So I stick with building my scarf collection.

Now back in Paris a little bit older and the economic crisis receding, I've seen more Hermès but still in a very subtle way. I see more leather bracelets and many watches on women whenever I work in major business districts ( around Miromesnil in the 8th, La Défense, Neuilly-Sur-Seine, Boulogne) , scarves (usually 90cm and only for brief periods because of the constant threat of rain) and occasionally bags but usually Evelynes, Bolides, and Garden Party and if a Birkin or Kelly, the opening almost always facing inward. In residential districts, I've seen one Kelly in my neighborhood (11th-12th which is more middle class) since I moved here from the 18th six months ago but of course you'll see more H bags in the 7th, 8th, 15th, 16th, lower 17th and Neuilly-Sur-Seine but definitely in a way that shows that the owners don't baby their stuff. On a daily basis, I see far more Chanel and (old) Céline bags being worn by other locals followed by APC, Le Tanneur, Lancel, Furla, Mansur Gavriel, Polène, Michael Kors(idk why but this brand makes a killing here) and Sézane (which resells in France in a way the Hermès resells worldwide). The best time to see a huge concentration of H in Paris is when H trots out the expositions with their artisans and there are always more locals than tourists at these events. This is where you see lots of people displaying their H collection.

In addition, if you follow french influencers on instagram, Oran Sandals are a huge trend, as well as bracelets and other jewelry pieces. Also, my sales person here at Sevrès ( I personally prefer going there before FSH or GV ) noted to me that small leather accessories is what sells out first among local clientele.

And I cosign previous commenters that acute attention to the cut/quality of clothes and buying what suits your actual body type is what differentiates (a lot ) of Parisians from other populations, even the rest of France. There is also a healthy resellers market, particularly in the paris region, which is great for a currently broke student like me who likes nice things but this feature of the shopping landscape allows all demographics access to high quality items as long as you know where to look.

EDIT: I've done several edits for grammar but most recent edit was to add some more important details on bag models and brands.

Excellent post! thank you for sharing! I was curious about Polene, so I went to check it out, nd I love what they have to offer! I've been looking for a nice bucket bag for a long time!

 

[Passerine123]

Although we live in Switzerland, we spend a lot of time in Paris -- for our next trip we will be spending four weeks there, inc Christmas and New Year's and have tickets to the Opera Garnier's 350th anniversary NYE gala -- I assume I will see lots of great designer bags that evening! So to OP's question, yes, but I agree that Evelynes are most common, followed by Bolides and then Garden Party. I see far more Birkins here in Switzerland than anywhere else, mostly carried by women in their late 30s to late 50s.

In Paris, we usually stay in the 16th and the Hermes bag I see most often (besides the models mentioned above) is the Constance. While we're in Paris next month, I plan to see if the Sac a Mosaique is in, which could be an alternative to the Constance. https://bagaholicboy.com/2018/09/hermes-sac-a-mosaique/ (sorry for the link to another bag site, but I couldn't find anything about it on Purse Blog)

I ordered a Polene bag last week and will be picking it up at their store in Paris. I bought the little Numéro Six in the Terre de Sienne. https://polene-paris.com/products/numero-six-monochrome-terre-de-sienne I have been trying for months to purchase a Numéro Deux (two actually -- one in the black moc croc and the other in green) but they are still out of stock. Fingers crossed they arrive before Christmas.

 

[paula24jen]

True. Beauty companies officially classify everyone over the age of 26 'mature' so you have a point.

And medically speaking a first time mother over 28 is classed as “geriatric”!

 

[papertiger]

And medically speaking a first time mother over 28 is classed as “geriatric”!

I didn't know that . I find both definitions not only insulting but both worrying and telling.

Are there such 'over the hill' equivalents for men? I don't think so.

 

[GoStanford]

And medically speaking a first time mother over 28 is classed as “geriatric”!

I didn't know that . I find both definitions not only insulting but both worrying and telling.

Are there such 'over the hill' equivalents for men? I don't think so.

The term I have seen is "advanced maternal age" for pregnancy over the age of 35, used by the main national professional society here in the United States (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists). I believe the male contribution to chromosomal abnormalities with increasing age is not well understood.

Thinking about scarf designs as I get older, I'm wondering whether Hermes will re-issue or create new designs that specifically speak to children's activities, such as The Triplets or the rocking horse-motifs.

 

[QuelleFromage]

I didn't know that . I find both definitions not only insulting but both worrying and telling.

Are there such 'over the hill' equivalents for men? I don't think so.

It's called "elderly primigravida" and it's 35, not 26. "Elderly" is literally meant as in "older than most", not "geriatric", so it's not quite as bad as it sounds.
And no, interestingly, men don't get such labels in medicine.

On topic and happier of course Parisians wear H, lol!!

 

[vivelebag]

The term I have seen is "advanced maternal age" for pregnancy over the age of 35, used by the main national professional society here in the United States (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists). I believe the male contribution to chromosomal abnormalities with increasing age is not well understood.

Thinking about scarf designs as I get older, I'm wondering whether Hermes will re-issue or create new designs that specifically speak to children's activities, such as The Triplets or the rocking horse-motifs.

Or perhaps as an ode to AMA they could do an IVF-themed scarf? [emoji14]