Do Parisians wear Hermes?

[papertiger]

Wait, your 30s is middle aged now?

If you're a teen I guess.

These threads are always full of stereotypes and judgements. Not all people in Paris are Parisians and not all H is detectable by even other H shoppers. I'm a Londoner but I no longer live in London, I wear almost every day, who would know? If a Parisian living in London would wear H who could tell until they opened their mouth and told you they grew up in Paris?

 

[papertiger]

Wait, your 30s is middle aged now?

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

 

[chicinthecity777]

If you're a teen I guess.

These threads are always full of stereotypes and judgements. Not all people in Paris are Parisians and not all H is detectable by even other H shoppers. I'm a Londoner but I no longer live in London, I wear almost every day, who would know? If a Parisian living in London would wear H who could tell until they opened their mouth and told you they grew up in Paris?

Totally agree! I can't believe some of the posts I read here!

 

[papertiger]

Totally agree! I can't believe some of the posts I read here!

I can see the point of reporting as a Parisian (or as a person living there a long time) or reading a blog from the same, it'd be very interesting. I just think that most dress-codes are really complex, more local than city-wide, generational, subcultural, and can't always be read by outsiders and certainly are much harder to understand (had to explain to someone in Zara the other day why, as a Londoner, I can't walk about with white shoe laces on DMs, Zara-copies or indeed Gucci combats). Counting Birkins, Kellys and Lindys on the street means nothing, nothing at all (or belongs on the wildlife thread).

 

[chicinthecity777]

To be honest some posts are just plain ageist and racist!

 

[bagnut1]

This thread was dead.
For NINE plus years.
Until yesterday.
Wondering why.
(inspired by @bagidiotic)

 

[tonkamama]

Can we close this thread? I don’t understand what is the purpose of putting “Asian” in front of “middle age” just like it does not make any sense to me referring mature ladies as “seniors” because of their gray hairs from another thread .

If you're a teen I guess.

These threads are always full of stereotypes and judgements. Not all people in Paris are Parisians and not all H is detectable by even other H shoppers. I'm a Londoner but I no longer live in London, I wear almost every day, who would know? If a Parisian living in London would wear H who could tell until they opened their mouth and told you they grew up in Paris?

To be honest some posts are just plain ageist and racist!

 

[PJW5813]

Everybody should go back and read the opening posts of this thread.

The simple observations do reveal why French ladies have
that je ne sais quoi that others aspire to - bon chic, bon genre
The Hermes scarf or bag is a means to an undefinable end.
Some wear Hermes, some do not.

But the thread is nearly ten years old - a time when it was almost possible to go into Hermes and buy whatever you wanted.

 

[chicinthecity777]

1. Some of the offensive posts are recent, and 2. There is absolutely no excuse for being ageist and racist!

 

[MonsoonBirkin]

Can we close this thread? I don’t understand what is the purpose of putting “Asian” in front of “middle age” just like it does not make any sense to me referring mature ladies as “seniors” because of their gray hairs from another thread .

I don't find the offense. She was sharing her observation. Are we going to call Hermes racist when they print that their Asian market is expanding by x percent and that it's outpacing sales in Western countries? Surely not. I too notice that when I see H on the streets, the majority of the time the bags are carried by Asian women, or women of Asian descent (and they look lovely). I find nothing inherently racist about this, though I'm happy to have a dialogue with others as to why I should reconsider.

I'm in my 30s as well and I'm just amused that she calls that demographic "middle age." I reckon she'll get in her 30s and reconsider, haha.

 

[chicinthecity777]

I don't find the offense. She was sharing her observation. Are we going to call Hermes racist when they print that their Asian market is expanding by x percent and that it's outpacing sales in Western countries? Surely not. I too notice that when I see H on the streets, the majority of the time the bags are carried by Asian women, or women of Asian descent (and they look lovely). I find nothing inherently racist about this, though I'm happy to have a dialogue with others as to why I should reconsider.

I'm in my 30s as well and I'm just amused that she calls that demographic "middle age." I reckon she'll get in her 30s and reconsider, haha.

You are missing the point. Like PT tried to explain, people of Asian heritage can and may well be Parisians, Londonders etc, therefore there is no need to single them out when talking about Parisians' style! Hermes reporting growth in Asia refers to a geographic region. Two different context!

 

[papertiger]

If we all stop posting

I don't find the offense. She was sharing her observation. Are we going to call Hermes racist when they print that their Asian market is expanding by x percent and that it's outpacing sales in Western countries? Surely not. I too notice that when I see H on the streets, the majority of the time the bags are carried by Asian women, or women of Asian descent (and they look lovely). I find nothing inherently racist about this, though I'm happy to have a dialogue with others as to why I should reconsider.

I'm in my 30s as well and I'm just amused that she calls that demographic "middle age." I reckon she'll get in her 30s and reconsider, haha.

I don't think anyone had the intention, but people do tend to see things, presume and put people and things in boxes. And yes, I'm sure she'll reconsider - I remember feeling old at 18, OMG.... I am so much younger now

 

[MonsoonBirkin]

You are missing the point. Like PT tried to explain, people of Asian heritage can and may well be Parisians, Londonders etc, therefore there is no need to single them out when talking about Parisians' style! Hermes reporting growth in Asia refers to a geographic region. Two different context!

She didn't say Asian tourists, though, which would lend credence to your belief that she's excluding this group from being a Parisian. I don't see how what she wrote indicates this (what yes, would be a racist) assumption.

 

[Liberté]

You are missing the point. Like PT tried to explain, people of Asian heritage can and may well be Parisians, Londonders etc, therefore there is no need to single them out when talking about Parisians' style! Hermes reporting growth in Asia refers to a geographic region. Two different context!

To be blunt, the opening question rests on presumptions that aren't really clear or seem biased or based to some extent on romantic notions of parisians along the lines of "why French women don't get fat" (French people are about as overweight on average as people in Colorado apparently) or something, which inevitably leads to these kinds of responses. It's a discussion about something that doesn't really exist or an idea that might be different from one person to the next. The short answer to the question "do parisians wear Hermes?" would be "No, most parisians don't wear Hermes." Period. Answering based on observation doesn't make it any better. Most people in Paris would actually not be "parisians" if that means people who live or own property in Paris, but tourists or commuters. This could even be true if you count the entire Grand Paris area as "Paris". It's even less likely that a person carrying an H shoppin bag or H items or are in an H shop at any given time in Paris is parisian because most of the shopping is done by tourists of which Americans, Brits and Germans are most numerous followed by Chinese. I would guess that this is the case especially in the "global luxury brand" category that all the premium brands discussed here on tfp belong to. I don't think it would be a great loss if this thread were to be closed though.

 

[MonsoonBirkin]

To be blunt, the opening question rests on presumptions that aren't really clear or seem biased or based to some extent on romantic notions of parisians along the lines of "why French women don't get fat" (French people are about as overweight on average as people in Colorado apparently) or something, which inevitably leads to these kinds of responses. It's a discussion about something that doesn't really exist or an idea that might be different from one person to the next. The short answer to the question "do parisians wear Hermes?" would be "No, most parisians don't wear Hermes." Period. Answering based on observation doesn't make it any better.

I think the topic of Parisian attitudes surrounding their home brand, Hermes, make for a fascinating discussion. It doesn't have to devolve into kitschy blanket statements ("why French women don't get fat") but can lend itself to discussing French values (for ex, their appreciation of quality over quantity, unobtrusive luxury vs brightly branded items, etc). At the end of the day, there's a fine line between stereotypes and cultural values for sure. But the demarcation exists nonetheless. People watching and reporting back as to what one sees on the streets might be one of the weakest assessments but isn't worthless.

Close this thread if one will, but I certainly don't think it should be on the basis of it being racist. Sharing observations =/= being critical of, or derogatory towards, a race.