How to Carry a Kelly... or Not
- Thread starter Pinkie*
- Start date
What you paid is not a bargain. This bag was probably carried by the handle, with the bag open and quite a lot of stuff in it, causing those cracks that got worse over time. I would return with zero thought.
I think you may be right. I think it may have been carried undone and overs-t-r--e-t-c-h-e-d with a couple of iron bricks inside it, I can see exactly what you mean.
Credit goes out to our SA. We happened to be buying the wife’s sellier Kelly when a lady walked through the boutique with her Kelly bag undone and carrying it by the handle. She warned us to not do that with items in the bag because the weight causes the points where the OP’s bag is cracked to become stress points.
I've written it 100s of times in this forum.
Apparently, lots of people think it's more impotent to show the logo than not compromise the integrity of the bag.
I've also written I wouldn't want to buy a bag after someones carries it like that.
I thought exactly the same but the rest of the bag is so flawless that it looks to me it was carried opened without stuff inside, but the body of the bag is heavy and this caused the damage. I would like to buy a Kelly and wear it open but if this can happen I need to think about it. It isn’t about showing the logo, I like the look of opened Kelly, it looks very casual and chic.
I think some of the influencers started this a wile ago, like Miroslava Duma carrying her Kellys like this to fashion week. But, crucially, she carried them empty.
I believe this is also a factor that fueled the renewed popularity of the Kelly, the idea that all of a sudden you could carry it showing the Hermes logo just like the Birkin...
I remember once seeing an influencer in Instagram recommending whatever inserts she was promoting to take care of the shape of the Kelly that she carried opened by the handle... Crazy.
Aged leather and aged bags are chic, but to me there is nothing chic about carrying a bag in an unnatural way that will make it crack and break, rather the opposite, sorry.
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Why can a birkin with stuff inside be carried open (without causing damage) but not a kelly?Unlike the B, a tote that also only shows the logo when held open, a Kelly - not a tote- cannot be carried open without some damage happening to the bag - even if it doesn't show at first.
The reason why the trend started is because people wanted others to see the logo.
If you like the casual look why not go for a B or other more casual H bag? Plenty to choose from.
I hope you now have enough information to make your choice.
Currently there are 115 people who say return the bag and 5 who say keep.
If this thread goes into other topics much further such as the coolness of carrying a K upside own or on one's head I will have to close the thread
It does make me cringe inside and out when I see people carry their FULL kelly's without securing the structure. I think IG has normalized the 'open' look.
Definitely would return! Get yourself a piece that isn't that well-loved and cracked!
Definitely would return! Get yourself a piece that isn't that well-loved and cracked!
3 reasons:
1. The weight is distributed evenly between 2 handles (that's half of the pressure on each handle v K one handle)
2. The weight is distributed evenly through 2 sides of the bag (that's half the pressure per side)
3. The Birkin handles are sewn flat against bags sides, stitches in a widening, long 'leaf' -shape x 4. K has all the weight through a small ring at 2 points. This is equivalent to the difference between the distribution of weight between block heels v pin-thin stilettos
So, when a K is carried open, the full weight is distributed unevenly towards one side and this pulls the handle sideways so 1 & 3) the weight is now pulled towards one side of the rings more than another, stretching out one side of the handle where attached 2) as we can see with this bag (IMO) this over-stretches the flap when loaded and puts huge pressure on the side carrying the whole bag.
How does one carry a kelly open without their stuff falling out 
Am I the only one sitting here thinking it’s in super poor taste to have a kelly hang open just to show off a logo? 
It honestly never even occurred to me before today that people would do this. The stamp is so tiny and even with the flap open, it is often blocked by the hanging top flap edge or the shadow of it. I feel like if people know H, they will know it’s a kelly without having to see the stamp, and if they don’t know H enough to recognize a Kelly from far away, seeing the tiny stamp isn’t going to enlighten them anyway. And if its an authenticity type thing, well every fake I’ve ever heard of has some sort of “Hermes” stamp on it too so unless strangers are examining with a microscope, it just all seems very over the top to me. shrug.Am I the only one sitting here thinking it’s in super poor taste to have a kelly hang open just to show off a logo?
I should go back for a second look at the pics above. I didn’t see spine cracking on the kelly above or stress on the shoulder pads attaching the rings. I think someone mentioned the peeling could be due to moisture.