Hermes Crocodile Lydie bag

[Cryptica]

Hello, All --

I just discovered this great board while trying to find info on the Hermes CROCODILE LYDIE bag. I see one photo of a blue LEATHER one in your registration thread, but that's all I've found. There's a brown leather one that just sold on eBay for about $585.00. If you check "Completed auctions," you can find it.

My mother recently gave me her dark brown crocodile bag, which was a present from my father to her in the 1980's. It's an elegant clutch with a Gold H clasp in the middle, connecting the top flap to the body of the bag. It also has a detachable croc shoulder strap. It is stamped Hermes inside. It's very pretty, barely used.

I brought it into the Hermes store on Madison Avenue and the head repair guy took one look at it, pronounced it an authentic "Lydie" bag (I didn't even know what my style was called) and said the clasp needed to be fixed, which he did for free right then. He said that fixing the clasp would have no effect on the value of the bag.

He told me that if special ordered new, the croc Lydie would cost $6,000. (I was pretty blown away. While my father is a generous guy, he would never spend 6 grand on a purse for my mother. He swears he didn't, but he can't remember where or when he bought it.)

The Hermes guy said I could try selling it on eBay -- or I could take it into Doyle Auction galleries, as they do auctions of vintage bags. I haven't decided whether or not to sell the thing, but have been scanning eBay auctions to help me make up my mind. I rarely see a Lydie except once in a while, when there's a "Buy It Now" auction by someone in France for either $3,000 or $3,999. I've yet to see anybody actually BUY it now, though.

Hoping someone here might be able to give me some info on the croc Lydie. Is this a desirable or popular bag? I never hear anybody talking about anything other than the Kelly or Birkin. I've Googled around everywhere and can't find anything on Lydies.

If I really could expect to get 3-4 thousand dollars for mine on the open market -- I probably will sell it.

But if the reality is it's only going to earn several hundred dollars, then I think I should keep it and enjoy it, even though I don't have either the lifestyle OR the wardrobe for it.

All I know is before I heard the $6,000 price from the Hermes guy, I casually loaned the bag to a friend attending a Broadway premiere and she said all night long women were making a beeline for her from across the room, demanding to know where she got the bag and wanting to hold it. Had I known it was such a big deal, I would have never let it out of my sight!

Thoughts?? Thanks so much.

Cryptica

 

[crochetbella]

I don't have any info but I definitely would keep it no matter how much you could sell it for!!!! :shame:

 

[MissV]

can you post a pic please?!?!

 

[S'Mom]

Please post a pic, I'm dying to see it!

I've inherited a few designer bags from my Mother who has since passed away. I don't use them but I would never sell them. Actually, I have used the LV Speedy (it's resting now along with my other LV's) and it's over 30-years old! These bags we inherit or are given to us by our parents are really priceless in my opinion....hang onto it. You'll be glad you did.

 

[coco-nut]

I am of a different opinion. I think William Morris was right when he said, "[SIZE=-1]Have nothing in your house that is not either useful or beautiful."

I make an exception for sentimental items: one item for each person who has been important to you, and one item that marks a certain period of your life.

So if you do not consider it exquisite, [/SIZE][SIZE=-1]it is not useful to you, and you already have something quintessential to remember your mother by, sell it and enjoy the money and an uncluttered life.
[/SIZE]

 

[Kellybag]

I don't know how old you are, but sometimes things you would not care for when you were younger you would kill to have 5, 10, 15 years later. Think about it before you move. It might be something you wished you had later to remind you of your lovely mom. In the scope of it all, $3000 isn't that much when you look at the history and sentimental value. You may want to give it to your daughter one day since it was her grandmothers.

 

[Baggaholic]

I agree with shopmom and kellybag. I have inherited some bags from my mothers extravagant closet. I love them dearly. Once in a while I'll go in to check out some stuff in my closet and bump into my mother. When I say my mother I mean something of her's, as soon as I touch it I can remember the exact time and place where she was wearing it (I can even smell her) This is how I keep in touch with her.
I never wear her stuff, I just keep it.

 

[crochetbella]

Baggaholic, I am so happy you have your mom's things. My dad sold my grandmothers clothes/hats/bags (from the 40s/50s/60s) to an antique dealer without my knowledge. When I found out I could have died. :cry: I cried for days because her collection was so pretty. No big names like Hermes but beautiful vintage stuff and it was part of her. I guess that's why I save everything. One neat thing happened however. I was at an antique show and I found a scarab bracelet that was just like one that had been my grandmothers. I bought it and like to think it was hers and somehow found its way to me.

 

[Kellybag]

Baggaholic, I am so happy you have your mom's things. My dad sold my grandmothers clothes/hats/bags (from the 40s/50s/60s) to an antique dealer without my knowledge. When I found out I could have died. :cry: I cried for days because her collection was so pretty. No big names like Hermes but beautiful vintage stuff and it was part of her. I guess that's why I save everything. One neat thing happened however. I was at an antique show and I found a scarab bracelet that was just like one that had been my grandmothers. I bought it and like to think it was hers and somehow found its way to me.

I like that! I would have done the exact same thing.

 

[Cryptica]

Thanks,everybody for the responses so far. I'll answer all the questions in one post:

First of all, I totally agree about hanging on to sentimental items -- and I have endless goodies from my Mom, who is 87 years old, by the way, still working full time and going strong.

This bag has no sentimental value to either of us. Nor to my father who gave it to her! It's actually pretty funny. Neither of them remember when he gave it to her, neither of them remember her ever using it and neithe of them care whether I sell it or not. And when they heard how much it might actually be WORTH, they laughed and reconsidered handing it over!

So, it has no emotional resonance to anybody in the family. So, I'd be willing to sell it. On the other hand, it is a classy bag, so unless it was worth a really large amount of money, I'd hang onto it.

I'm 56, by the way and I agree about unloading things that you hang onto for years thinking you "must" keep them for no other reason than it seems like you "should."

I've never uploaded photos to a website before, but I'll try it now. If it doesn't work, I'll ask for your.

Warning: I didn't take these pictures. I saved them off one of the Lydie bag auctions on eBay because they were so well done and better than anything * I * could ever do. So they're not mine and I apologize to whoever's they are. The only difference between my bag and the one in the photos is that my Lydie is dark brown croccodile and the photos are of a black Lydie.

OK, here goes. . .testing 1, 2, 3...

 

[S'Mom]

OMG, Cryptica....I don't know how much it's worth but it's GORGEOUS! How much was it going for in the eBay auction for the black one?

 

[sarahcantiik]

Sorry, I know nothing about your bag. Are you a bag addict as well? Coz if so, then you should prolly hang onto it, especially if the bag is so rare and hard to get/no longer made. If you are not a handbag lovers then no matter how we all here tell you to keep it, you would prolly think what's the use, you might as well use the extra bucks from selling it for your own needs. So, it depends..

Sorry, we must be posting at the same time. My bad. That is one gorgeous looking bag! I say sell it if you think that would be best. I'll ask around in other purse boards to check whether anyone know more about these bags.

 

[Cryptica]

Shopmom -- I know, it IS gorgeous! But worth thousands? I can't fathom it.

I just looked at my notes from my conversation with the craftsman at Hermes in New York. I was wrong -- he said a NEW Lydie would cost $12,000, not 6! Yikes. And a "used one" for about $3,000 or so.

On eBay I saw it listed for 2,499.99 Euros by a seller in Paris.
Whether it sold, i don't know.

I've also seen it listed for $3,000 dollars and $3,999, as "Buy it Nows." Nobody bought. And in 2004 on Canadian eBay soemone was selling for $5,200 Canadian dollars, which then was about $3,900.

So the prices seem pretty consistent -- but if nobody's buying at those prices -- then what ARE they buyiing at?

By the way, the bag is about 10" wide and 7" high. I think it's prettier without the strap.

What's strange to me is that I can't even figure out how people know the name of the bag, since there's no information online anywhere -- at least I haven't been able to find anything so far...

 

[Cryptica]

SarahC- Thank you for offering to ask around -- I appreciate that.
And please know, there's no financial need to sell the bag or anything. But I do like the idea of having a hunk of cash to spend on assorted other things that might give me more pleasure.

Am I a bag-a-holic? Not for pricey bags. (At least not YET).
If I ever were going to spend the big bucks on contemporary bag, my taste would probably lean to one of those delicious Bottega Veneta woven leather babies.

But I definitely am a vintage collectibles and FLEA MARKET-A-HOLIC. For all kinds of stuff. (More than one item of the same thing means you have a "collection," right?) My favorite thing to do when I travel is head straight for the local collectibles markets/flea markets.

I collect vintage and antique purses -- everything from Victorian beaded bags to bakelite to tiny coin purses to ridiculous kitsch. I especially love bags that are a little beaten up and look like they tell a story.

Are you a bag-a-holic for only Hermes? Does that mean you also love EVERTHING Hermes, or just the bags?

 

[hermesgroupie]

The newest Lydie I've seen had a datestamp from 10 years ago, it sold for $5000 at a private auction. It too was black croc. It's funny you mention this bag. This is one of my favorite styles and am considering a custom order as it is no longer in standard production. Claude also told me that an order can be placed, but the consensus among the SA's is that Paris may decline the order and that I should have a back-up plan.