Do you choose a bag color to match your style or let the bag take the lead?

[EdgyBagsPlz]

Hi there! I'm needing to answer that age-old question; do I get a neutral bag or a color bag for my first kelly or birkin? However I've been unable, in three years, to make up my mind on this. Back and forth forever- because I like to wear black with colored accents, and dress very casually most of the time with jeans. So I'm trying to reframe the question:

With a bag as monumentous as a K or a B, do you rearrange your wardrobe to work with the bag (assuming you have only one), or do you get a bag that'll match with as many outfits as possible, even if the clothes cost a fraction of the bag? (Or alternately, do you wear it with any and all outfits regardless of whether it goes or not?)

And another bonus question about a specific color- do you think a black retourne kelly would be too plain, vs a colorful one? Black is one of the easiest bag colors to find so part of me thinks I could fill that gap another way, but another part of me thinks that would get me the absolute most wear out of the bag.

 

[umamanikam]

I have only one black birkin with shw and one black Kelly with ghw .I wanted neutral as these being expensive bags ,and if I chose any colored ones ,I would get bored .But I add any colored twilly or charms to jazz it up with any of my clothes
I don't intend having any more of these bags just the one ,so that was the decisions took .Only my opinion .

 

[FaubourgTropical]

My opinion..

do you get a bag that'll match with as many outfits as possible, even if the clothes cost a fraction of the bag?

Yes. That’s what I did. Like @umamanikam above, I only have one B with silver and one K with gold. I do not like repeating styles so those would be my only ones.
I don’t have the patience to plan for outfits and have a kind of 'uniform' of styles and colours that work for me and my lifestyle.

do you think a black retourne kelly would be too plain, vs a colorful one?

No. If I decide to play, I use shoes, scarves, coats to liven up an outfit. Examples are below, which I understand seem dark and boring to lots of people.





ETA: another bright ensemble

 

[DoggieBags]

I have multiple Birkins and Kellys in various sizes at this point but started with a black box K28 retourne with ghw, then a cafe Clemence b30 with ghw. I wore mostly gold jewelry at that point so it made sense to have both bags with ghw. Then didn’t buy any other b/ks for at least 10 years. But once I resumed buying, I got different colors. The first one I bought in black because it goes with everything. At that time I had no idea, and no intentions, of buying several more so I wanted a neutral color that would work with anything. So my first bag went with any outfit but these days I first pick the style and color of bag I want to wear that day and then build an outfit to match.

 

[QuelleFromage]

Hi there! I'm needing to answer that age-old question; do I get a neutral bag or a color bag for my first kelly or birkin? However I've been unable, in three years, to make up my mind on this. Back and forth forever- because I like to wear black with colored accents, and dress very casually most of the time with jeans. So I'm trying to reframe the question:

With a bag as monumentous as a K or a B, do you rearrange your wardrobe to work with the bag (assuming you have only one), or do you get a bag that'll match with as many outfits as possible, even if the clothes cost a fraction of the bag? (Or alternately, do you wear it with any and all outfits regardless of whether it goes or not?)

And another bonus question about a specific color- do you think a black retourne kelly would be too plain, vs a colorful one? Black is one of the easiest bag colors to find so part of me thinks I could fill that gap another way, but another part of me thinks that would get me the absolute most wear out of the bag.

I'm not 100% sure what you mean by "monumentous" but in terms of investment, yes, even if I am wearing jeans and a t-shirt (which is pretty common for me tbh), my bag has to complement what I'm wearing even if what I am wearing cost $1.50. I can't dress around a bag.

Logic: Like @Helventara, I have a fairly simple wardrobe with some go-to "uniforms". I want it to be easy but not completely boring. I also like a head to toe black look (you can take the girl out of NYC....). A Kelly or Birkin elevates a very simple look, but, again, I can't build the look around the bag. I dress for how I feel that day and what I will be doing, and then I pick a bag that suits what I need to carry. So, I stick to primarily black, gold, and jewel tones (Raisin, Rouge H, Vert Cyprès).

If you wear a lot of neutrals and are comfortable wearing a pop of color very often with those neutrals, then you could choose a brighter color that you absolutely love. Tons of examples on this forum of folks who work bright pinks or Orange or Bleu Electrique into daily outfits.

That said, I think a black retourné Kelly is one of the absolute MOST wearable Hermès bags hands down and you can never go wrong. If you feel like you're choosing too easy of an out then I encourage you to look at the "off neutrals". There is a whole thread on these colors which I will try to find and link, but they would include the aforementioned Rouge H, Vert Cyprès, Raisin, many of the mid and dark blues, Vert de Gris, etc.

ETA: the tl;dr here is that I can pull pretty much any one of my bags from my closet and it will work with what I am wearing. This works really well for me. If I had one B or K, I would want it to do the same thing. My first iconic H bag was a Gold Birkin and it worked with pretty much everything. Black is even more useful IMO.

 

[880]

With a bag as monumentous as a K or a B, do you rearrange your wardrobe to work with the bag (assuming you have only one), or do you get a bag that'll match with as many outfits as possible, even if the clothes cost a fraction of the bag? (Or alternately, do you wear it with any and all outfits regardless of whether it goes or not?)

And another bonus question about a specific color- do you think a black retourne kelly would be too plain, vs a colorful one? Black is one of the easiest bag colors to find so part of me thinks I could fill that gap another way, but another part of me thinks that would get me the absolute most wear out of the bag.

I absolutely do not arrange my wardrobe to go with any bag. My wardrobe considerations come first,
then I pick one of a number of bag possibilities.

This is easy because I wear mainly neutral colors, though I am slowly interjecting brighter color choices into my clothing. I wear neutral bags with almost no exceptions. But I include blues, Bordeaux, Bleu Orage (which to me is greenish gray), etoupe, craie, ardoise (dark gray box leather medor 29), and Hermes color gold, as neutrals.

I have one black retourne kelly 28 (my only retourne) and find that I wear it least of all my kelly bags. I prefer navy to black, but I do mix navy and black together. I’m including a few random pics of what I consider neutral, but i have posted many more on TPF, in the H in action thread. I consider lighter neutrals like craie, gold and etoupe more versatile than black. I feel that almost without exception, I could have switched any of these bags into the different clothing combinations.

i do think of hw as almost more important than color (a minority opinion here). If black is your absolute favorite color, then of course, go with black.But even if your favorite color was hot pink, as Diane Vreeland said, “Pink is the navy blue of India. Pink could be a pop neutral. Go with the color you love the most.

 

[Prada Prince]

Hi there! I'm needing to answer that age-old question; do I get a neutral bag or a color bag for my first kelly or birkin? However I've been unable, in three years, to make up my mind on this. Back and forth forever- because I like to wear black with colored accents, and dress very casually most of the time with jeans. So I'm trying to reframe the question:

With a bag as monumentous as a K or a B, do you rearrange your wardrobe to work with the bag (assuming you have only one), or do you get a bag that'll match with as many outfits as possible, even if the clothes cost a fraction of the bag? (Or alternately, do you wear it with any and all outfits regardless of whether it goes or not?)

And another bonus question about a specific color- do you think a black retourne kelly would be too plain, vs a colorful one? Black is one of the easiest bag colors to find so part of me thinks I could fill that gap another way, but another part of me thinks that would get me the absolute most wear out of the bag.

I would say I unabashedly, maybe not rearrange, but allow my wardrobe to evolve, to work with the bag. Partially due to the rarity of the offers, I take more of the view that I will take what I can get, within reason, if it's a colour that I can see myself wearing all the time with my existing wardrobe, but also taking into account the bag colour, for future RTW.

For example, I was lucky enough that my B offers have been in the generally neutral shades - the first one was in Noir, and my current one being Vert Cypres, which is such a chameleon shade, vacillating between a verdant green, and a darker, alpine, almost black shade, depending on the lighting.

Once I got the Vert Cypres, even though it worked with my current outfits, I found myself purchasing more green items in my wardrobe to complement the bag, but it was more of a gradual evolution, rather than a drastic rearrangement of my normal wardrobe to fit an aesthetic that I don't want, just so that it works with the bag.

At the same time, when I got my Lime Mini Lindy, it was such a joyous pop of colour, that I definitely found myself gravitating to acquiring more yellow pieces in my wardrobe (the Big Bird life chose me!) because of the Mini Lindy purchase. But as @880 mentioned, to me, a pop of colour, if it's a colour that you like, can work as a neutral in your own mind, as you can still pair that colour with more neutral existing items in your wardrobe. The focal point with such an outfit being the colour pop.

 

[EdgyBagsPlz]

i do think of hw as almost more important than color (a minority opinion here). If black is your absolute favorite color, then of course, go with black.But even if your favorite color was hot pink, as Diane Vreeland said, “Pink is the navy blue of India. Pink could be a pop neutral. Go with the color you love the most.

I agree re:hardware! I 100 percent want palladium, with almost no exception. I have a number of gold hardware bags in my collection from LV because it's rare to find silver there, and my one H bag (picotin 18) is red with gold hw. As my style is... I'd hate to say like rocker/casual goth because it's not as cool as that most days, but both my skin tone and outfits really are best with silver. As for pop color, almost my entire current bag collection is red or black. Red is kind of my go-to pop neutral, but I really feel like I don't need yet another red bag. I did include other neutrals in my wishlist but below those I added a couple pop colors I don't have- anemone and rose poupre. I love looking at them, but I know they'd go with fewer outfits. I wouldn't say black is my favorite color, my favorite colors are all bright, but in terms of what I wear, I feel cooler when I wear black or gray with accents of vibrant color. I love a punk/cyberpunk aesthetic. Lol!

I've told my SA that black and grays are my top choice (I vastly prefer grays to browns), followed by those pop colors, followed by things like bleu nuit and cassis and blues like bleu zellige. She actually seems really receptive to getting a bag for me for the first time in three years so I'm trying to make sure I nail it, because in the Bellevue store I don't think I'm going to get many more shots at this.

 

[Midge Maisel]

I also agree with those who have opinions about hardware.

But otherwise, I build my wardrobe around my preferred colors (both the ones I like the best and the ones I feel suit me the best; luckily, there's considerable overlap there), and since bags are an extension of my wardrobe, I select bag colors accordingly. Now, that said, I'm pretty biased towards certain colors (I wear a ton of blue, for whatever reason), so when it comes to a B or K, I'm looking for something that suits a lot of what I already own and will likely own going forward.

 

[QuelleFromage]

I agree re:hardware! I 100 percent want palladium, with almost no exception. I have a number of gold hardware bags in my collection from LV because it's rare to find silver there, and my one H bag (picotin 18) is red with gold hw. As my style is... I'd hate to say like rocker/casual goth because it's not as cool as that most days, but both my skin tone and outfits really are best with silver. As for pop color, almost my entire current bag collection is red or black. Red is kind of my go-to pop neutral, but I really feel like I don't need yet another red bag. I did include other neutrals in my wishlist but below those I added a couple pop colors I don't have- anemone and rose poupre. I love looking at them, but I know they'd go with fewer outfits. I wouldn't say black is my favorite color, my favorite colors are all bright, but in terms of what I wear, I feel cooler when I wear black or gray with accents of vibrant color. I love a punk/cyberpunk aesthetic. Lol!

I've told my SA that black and grays are my top choice (I vastly prefer grays to browns), followed by those pop colors, followed by things like bleu nuit and cassis and blues like bleu zellige. She actually seems really receptive to getting a bag for me for the first time in three years so I'm trying to make sure I nail it, because in the Bellevue store I don't think I'm going to get many more shots at this.

From this, it sounds like noir PHW will rock your world. I have four bags in this combo (B35, B30, K28, mini K) plus a K28 in noir with GHW, and the hardware with noir makes a BIG difference. I don’t carry the GHW bag and probably should not have accepted it. (GHW in smaller bags is less impactful - I have K25s with GHW and I do use those. I think noir in particular really feels different with different HW.)

 

[Veritybelle]

My wardrobe is built around neutrals and basics (lots of black and white) with variation added through statement pieces like coats and shoes (the exception is summer - more colourful dresses find their way into the mix). I select my bag according to style, what I need to carry and, primarily, my mood. That said, my collection is mostly neutral (black, rouge H, light neutrals). I have some blues and would add more, and my one true colour pop is my chèvre Cinhetic clutch in magnolia. I instinctively prefer PHW but I also think the bag chooses its hardware. So I’m usually happy to go with the flow on that. The only hard exception to that principle for me is no gold/GHW (too warm).

 

[880]

I agree re:hardware! I 100 percent want palladium, with almost no exception. I have a number of gold hardware bags in my collection from LV because it's rare to find silver there, and my one H bag (picotin 18) is red with gold hw. As my style is... I'd hate to say like rocker/casual goth because it's not as cool as that most days, but both my skin tone and outfits really are best with silver. As for pop color, almost my entire current bag collection is red or black. Red is kind of my go-to pop neutral, but I really feel like I don't need yet another red bag. I did include other neutrals in my wishlist but below those I added a couple pop colors I don't have- anemone and rose poupre. I love looking at them, but I know they'd go with fewer outfits. I wouldn't say black is my favorite color, my favorite colors are all bright, but in terms of what I wear, I feel cooler when I wear black or gray with accents of vibrant color. I love a punk/cyberpunk aesthetic. Lol!

I've told my SA that black and grays are my top choice (I vastly prefer grays to browns), followed by those pop colors, followed by things like bleu nuit and cassis and blues like bleu zellige. She actually seems really receptive to getting a bag for me for the first time in three years so I'm trying to make sure I nail it, because in the Bellevue store I don't think I'm going to get many more shots at this.

Given this, I would agree with @QuelleFromage and say go with noir with PHW, 100%. IMO etain is too earthy, and Gris Meyer (which I thought would be perfect) too light. I rejected a padded 25K this year in Gris Meyer bc the gray was surprisingly tepid in that particular bag.

 

[gogingercat]

My opinion..


Yes. That’s what I did. Like @umamanikam above, I only have one B with silver and one K with gold. I do not like repeating styles so those would be my only ones.
I don’t have the patience to plan for outfits and have a kind of 'uniform' of styles and colours that work for me and my lifestyle.

No. If I decide to play, I use shoes, scarves, coats to liven up an outfit. Examples are below, which I understand seem dark and boring to lots of people.

View attachment 5902610

View attachment 5902611

ETA: another bright ensemble

View attachment 5902614

I'm sorry to go off topic slightly but what is the name of the shawl you are wearing in your first outfit, because that look is impeccable. My jaw dropped while scrolling.

Also to add my two cents- I definitely prefer to buy bags around what I normally wear (which is a ton of black, navy and more recently earthy/brown neutrals). Sometimes I like to not wear a bag at all if I am wearing a giant coat with deep pockets! For me bags are a functional accessory, not a necessity lol.

 

[ladysarah]

that’s such a good question! At first I bought my bags to work with my existing wardrobe. Now when I buy any new clothes it’s all about whether or not they would work with my existing bags. I tend to dress with the seasons, for example my black Kelly 28 is used almost exclusively with my black winter coat. I recently added vert cyprès and I am now looking similar colour hues in cashmere sweaters.
I should add, though not exactly a minimalist, my bag collection is small and like to run a tight ship on the wardrobe front as well. Just a few items, in the best quality I can afford - with the aim to keep and wear my clothes for around 5 years at least.

 

[EdgyBagsPlz]

that’s such a good question! At first I bought my bags to work with my existing wardrobe. Now when I buy any new clothes it’s all about whether or not they would work with my existing bags. I tend to dress with the seasons, for example my black Kelly 28 is used almost exclusively with my black winter coat. I recently added vert cyprès and I am now looking similar colour hues in cashmere sweaters.
I should add, though not exactly a minimalist, my bag collection is small and like to run a tight ship on the wardrobe front as well. Just a few items, in the best quality I can afford - with the aim to keep and wear my clothes for around 5 years at least.

I admire the minimalism you all are displaying in this thread! I wish I were as disciplined with my wardrobe. I am really tiny and it's hard to find clothes so I get attached to things that work and absolutely run them into the ground. Because I work from home, my "work" attire is essentially pj pants and hoodies, but when I leave the house I wear other things. I also have a lot of costume stuff because I go all out for Halloween in addition to volunteering for a cyberpunk LARP (never thought I'd be THAT nerdy, but here we are) so my closet needs a good edit. A lot of the color in my wardrobe comes from graphic tees and jewelry accents. I have been getting some classic nice pieces like coats, but my wardrobe probably always will be a mix of quality. Might if I have time post some outfits later for clarity!

My bags are more edited. A red and black petite malle, red picotin 18 ghw, a red medium classic flap shw, a black mini square flap shw, a black coach bag shw shaped like a speedy, LV reverse mono pochette metis, a black LV multipochette, and a pastel rainbow LV onthego with shw.