My very first French perfume was Amazone; purchased at the boutique in St Martin on a trip with my parents a looooooooong time ago. I looked at the silks and rolled my eyes; who's eyes are rolling now! 
How did you first hear about Hermes?
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I love this thread idea. I learned about the brand through my family. My grandmother was an avid H collector, and my dad has told me some hilarious stories about how she would dress him in his Sunday best and drag him to Bonwit-Teller for Hermès shopping with her in the 60s and 70s. I still use some of the very meticulous notes my grandmother took about her own collection and many of the other Hermès offerings of that time.
In the 80s when Hermès opened their original NYC store on E 57th (before it became a Jil Sander and then a Miu Miu), my dad would go each year to buy a birthday gift and Christmas gift for my grandmother. After my grandmother’s passing, I guess the tradition was passed down to my mother, because I remember being maybe three or four and going with my dad to Hermès to “help” find gifts for my mother— I doubt I was of much help at all. On other occasions, my parents and I would visit the Hermès boutique around closing time to shop and bring treats for the SAs (I would usually sneak a treat for myself too).
In the 80s when Hermès opened their original NYC store on E 57th (before it became a Jil Sander and then a Miu Miu), my dad would go each year to buy a birthday gift and Christmas gift for my grandmother. After my grandmother’s passing, I guess the tradition was passed down to my mother, because I remember being maybe three or four and going with my dad to Hermès to “help” find gifts for my mother— I doubt I was of much help at all. On other occasions, my parents and I would visit the Hermès boutique around closing time to shop and bring treats for the SAs (I would usually sneak a treat for myself too
).
Lovely thread!
At my first job after university, I made friends with (and rather emulated) an elegant clinician/scientist from Tokyo. She almost always exclusively wore Chanel for clothing and Hermes for handbags. I rarely ever saw her without her signature Kelly 25 Retourne in Rouge Garrance, which she regularly described as “very convenient.” For my 25th birthday, she gifted me with a Vision II Agenda in Chevre Mysore Turquoise. Well over a decade later, I still use it to this day and have loved Hermes ever since.
At my first job after university, I made friends with (and rather emulated) an elegant clinician/scientist from Tokyo. She almost always exclusively wore Chanel for clothing and Hermes for handbags. I rarely ever saw her without her signature Kelly 25 Retourne in Rouge Garrance, which she regularly described as “very convenient.” For my 25th birthday, she gifted me with a Vision II Agenda in Chevre Mysore Turquoise. Well over a decade later, I still use it to this day and have loved Hermes ever since.
I first heard of H from my 3.5 year older and fashion obsessed sister who told me about Grace Kelly , who unfortunately passed away a few months later . I also recall reading about a character in the Shirley Conran novel “Lace” , buying a pigskin notebook and pencil at Hermes in Paris…strange , random moments that have vividly stuck with me…!
Great topic !
Great topic !
My mom bought me my first Hermes scarf in the mid 90’s (1996) when I graduated high school, and it was love at first sight after that. Around that same time I saw a photo of Jane with her Birkin and thought she was the chicest and coolest woman I’d ever seen. I was obsessed after that. I still love the brand. Maybe even more now.
I love these unique stories so much! Thank you all for sharing.
The Gilmore Girls & Sex and the City Hermes moments are iconic. I've only seen one Birkin in the wild and if I didn't already know about Hermes, I think I would have immediately gone sleuthing. The print ads shared are stunning! Now I want a pile of silk pillows (does Hermes even make silk pillows? do you think they'd do custom?) I think the first time I went in, I was shown the Hermes apple watch in Barenia and it was just gorgeous. The stories of learning about Hermes or being gifted things from friends and parents is making my heart melt.
The Gilmore Girls & Sex and the City Hermes moments are iconic. I've only seen one Birkin in the wild and if I didn't already know about Hermes, I think I would have immediately gone sleuthing. The print ads shared are stunning! Now I want a pile of silk pillows (does Hermes even make silk pillows? do you think they'd do custom?) I think the first time I went in, I was shown the Hermes apple watch in Barenia and it was just gorgeous. The stories of learning about Hermes or being gifted things from friends and parents is making my heart melt.
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I asked at Madison a few years ago, and they said they had stopped doing the custom pillowcases.
What I wouldn't give to have been an Hermes customer in the nineties. But who knows, maybe they'll be back someday!I asked at Madison a few years ago, and they said they had stopped doing the custom pillowcases.
I've heard of Hermes since I was a teenager but for some reason I always thought it was a brand for stuffy older ladies (no offense). Until this year I thought Hermes only made B/Ks and scarves, so clearly I have been living under a rock lol. I actually was in the market for fine jewelry for a personal achievement celebration and after doing some online research I came across one from H that I liked, so I decided to take the plunge. Along the way I also discovered that there are some really fun and cute modern scarf patterns as well as elegant RTW and home items. Still very new to H but I suppose I am that stuffy older lady now!!
When I was 13 and browsing through fashion magazines, I learned about Hermes as the gold standard for silk scarves. Then, when I was 15, I went into my first Hermes boutique, and purchased the Aline bag in toile with a gold leather strap as my first ever H purchase. This then followed with my love for Un Jardin Sur Le Nil, and when I made my first trip to Paris, I bought a silk pocket square of the Eiffel Tower from FSH.
Thus, the slippery slope began...
Thus, the slippery slope began...
Honestly, probably the Jay-Z/Beyoncé song “‘03 Bonnie & Clyde,” plus the general cultural awareness coming out of the Gilmore Girls and SaTC others mentioned above. I was in high school at the time and no one I actually knew shopped any level of designer, so it was one name in a list of very aspirational brands.
For some reason only Hermès and Gucci were on my radar when I took my first trip to Paris at age 20. I made a point of going to FSH and bought the only thing I figured I could afford there - one perfume. Eau de Merveilles became my signature fragrance for the rest of college and my 20s…onward to now. I figured out Sephora stocked it so got my refills there until I moved to a job within walking distance of an H boutique about 5 years ago. I distinctly remember wanting to be in and out and not bother the “real” Paris shoppers buying actual leather items!
For some reason only Hermès and Gucci were on my radar when I took my first trip to Paris at age 20. I made a point of going to FSH and bought the only thing I figured I could afford there - one perfume. Eau de Merveilles became my signature fragrance for the rest of college and my 20s…onward to now. I figured out Sephora stocked it so got my refills there until I moved to a job within walking distance of an H boutique about 5 years ago. I distinctly remember wanting to be in and out and not bother the “real” Paris shoppers buying actual leather items!
More than 10 years ago l was at a mall with my boyfriend. He suddenly shouted excitedly to me while we were bowsing some clothes ‘Horselove, come quickly! There is a lady with an orange Hermes bag!’ I was more curious than anything about this bag that my nerdy boyfriend was so excited about, because he doesn’t really give a damn about handbags. I remember it was a Kelly 28 in Feu with GHW ( l remeber the bag vividly and only know what the model, colour and HW is now thanks to tpf). It was a spectacular sight. l wouldn’t have imagined then that more than 10 years later l would be carrying my own Kelly.
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Evia
I can’t remember when I first became aware, I knew about Hermes a long time before I purchased anything. And then one day I saw a bag l liked the shape of on a small second hand site, and discovered it was Hermes. I enquired about it, bought it, and then immediately regretted it thinking I’d spent too much money on an old bag. I clearly remember thinking “oh well at least I can return it”. Anyway it arrived and I was just knocked out by it - the bolide 35 became my everyday work bag and it was perfect for work. So then I bought an Evelyne new, thinking 2 Hermes bags is not too extravagant……and so it goes on….
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What a fun thread idea!
For me, it was Lindsay Lohan from the early 2000. There were many celebrities that carried b35s then but the images of Lindsay Lohan with a Bleu Jean and an Orange birkin really made an impression on me. I had always associated the brand with more mature customers and she totally young-ed it for me.
This is also where my bias for birkin over kelly comes from. I’m Team B through and through.
For me, it was Lindsay Lohan from the early 2000. There were many celebrities that carried b35s then but the images of Lindsay Lohan with a Bleu Jean and an Orange birkin really made an impression on me. I had always associated the brand with more mature customers and she totally young-ed it for me.
This is also where my bias for birkin over kelly comes from. I’m Team B through and through.