Is your Hermes bag always noticed? (Or would it be if you had one?)

coco-nut

coco-nut

Addicted to H
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Jan 15, 2006
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#1
When you are carrying your Hermes bag, how many people realize it's a very expensive, hard-to-get bag? Or a well-crafted, well-designed bag?

I don't have an Hermes yet, and I wonder how I'll be perceived once I carry one. I guess I am one of the few PF'ers who doesn't immediately notice someone else's bag - but then I rarely look at what other people are carrying.

I was shocked to find out last week that a potential (rich) client of mine was completely impressed with the Kate Spade I was carrying (ha! I bought it at NM's Last Call for a song.) Apparently she talked about it for a week and I know this because we share a housekeeper. Between that little bag and my Hermes scarf she thought I was stylish as could be.

So I am wondering...if I carry a $7,000 bag to listing interviews, will anyone notice and what will they think? Will they think it's fake? Will they just think it's high quality? Will they think I'm overpaid? I am a residential Realtor in a midwestern college town with a metro area of about 200,000 people. I've never seen anyone here carry an Hermes bag, but then, I probably just never noticed.
 
#2
coco-nut said:
When you are carrying your Hermes bag, how many people realize it's a very expensive, hard-to-get bag? Or a well-crafted, well-designed bag?

I don't have an Hermes yet, and I wonder how I'll be perceived once I carry one. I guess I am one of the few PF'ers who doesn't immediately notice someone else's bag - but then I rarely look at what other people are carrying.

I was shocked to find out last week that a potential (rich) client of mine was completely impressed with the Kate Spade I was carrying (ha! I bought it at NM's Last Call for a song.) Apparently she talked about it for a week and I know this because we share a housekeeper. Between that little bag and my Hermes scarf she thought I was stylish as could be.

So I am wondering...if I carry a $7,000 bag to listing interviews, will anyone notice and what will they think? Will they think it's fake? Will they just think it's high quality? Will they think I'm overpaid? I am a residential Realtor in a midwestern college town with a metro area of about 200,000 people. I've never seen anyone here carry an Hermes bag, but then, I probably just never noticed.
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most people probably wouldn't know that it was a very expensive bag, i think most stylish women would probably just notice it as a beautiful, well-crafted piece if such things aren't relatively common in your area.
 
#3
If they don't know about it, they won't think anything of it. Hermes bags are very understated. If they do know about it and want it, it can work for or against you. In one of the other threads, there was an article about how havin an it purse gets you social status. As Samantha Jones said, the birkin says you've made it. But then in another article, a woman's boss refused to give her a raise because she had a birkin.
 
#4
When I carry my Kelly, I get compliments here and there. Sometimes, I see some people looking at it ... but I think it may be the color since mine is fuschia. For my friends who know Hermes, we start to chat about the bag.

Otherwise, I agree with birkinbaby that Hermes bags are very understated.
 
#5
I think my Hermes bags tend to "fly under the radar" and not garner too much attention. But my mom always asks about my Hermes bags when I carry them. This is from a woman who does not know a single label name besides Coach, and that is because I bought her one. She will pick up my bag and say "That is beautiful! Is is Coach?" She never does this with any other brand I have.
 
#6
I feel many people don't have a clue about the Birkin. It is the people who are into fine products, fashion, who read articles about what is "in" or "hard to get" that may know. Remember this is a passion we all share. There are many people who wold never spend that kind of money on a bag and then there is us...we wouldn't think twice if our bag of choice was in front of us at Hermes.
When I carry my Kelly it slips under the radar. If I go to an upsacle area where the women are more fashion conscious or some of the women a bit more uppity (yes, they are like that too) they may spot it.
I kind of like the fact I know and others don't. I would hate for someone to try and steal my bag. It would break my heart and to replace it just gets tougher and tougher these days.
It is like losing a pice of very fine jewelry.
 
#7
Only people like ourselves will be able to tell that its a birkin LOL!
I see that as a good thing because that cuts down the unwanted attention.
I would never take a birkin on an interview.
I remember a friend of mines went on an interview dress in Chanel from head to toe, the women that interview her gave her an intense lookover the second she walked into her office, needless to say she did not get the job.
 
#8
There are an increased number of jealous people out there. I find it quite sad, but oh so true. People sometimes perceive the nice things as flaunting the wealth. Maybe some people do flaunt, but it truly can be used against you in so many ways and the above is just one example. People are jealous point blank, some judge you and feel you spend foolishly so they don't want you on their team so to say, and then others think you have too much money and don't feel you'd work hard...hence, give it to the poor man/woman.

It is a very fine line!
 
#10
Hardly anyone around me knows what a Birkin is. In fact, I think I would be more self-conscious about carying it if everyone knew how much it costs.
I think of my Birkin as a "beautiful and enjoyable" investment.
 
#11
It may be cultural since I live on an island with a high concentration of tourists from Japan, or Japanese nationals living here, but a LOT of people notice. There are many who don't, but more often than not I can see people staring. I haven't even had the birkin that long but that was one of the first things I noticed about carrying the bag. I don't mind, as long as no one tries to grab it again :lol:
 
#12
Noriko said:
It may be cultural since I live on an island with a high concentration of tourists from Japan, or Japanese nationals living here, but a LOT of people notice. There are many who don't, but more often than not I can see people staring. I haven't even had the birkin that long but that was one of the first things I noticed about carrying the bag. I don't mind, as long as no one tries to grab it again :lol:
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I think you're right about where you live - it's far more fashion conscious than where I live. I remember being grateful that I'd brought my Ferragamo shoes and bag when I went to Tokyo - they were instantly recognized and I felt as if I got better service than I might have otherwise. When I wear them here, people just notice I'm a little dressier than everyone else.
 
#13
I didn't even know what a Hermes bag was until I joined this forum. I remember hearing about bags that cost a fortune but I didn't know how they looked! Of course, after joining this site, I learned a great deal about Hermes and can easily spot one!
 
#14
Noriko said:
It may be cultural since I live on an island with a high concentration of tourists from Japan, or Japanese nationals living here, but a LOT of people notice. There are many who don't, but more often than not I can see people staring. I haven't even had the birkin that long but that was one of the first things I noticed about carrying the bag. I don't mind, as long as no one tries to grab it again :lol:
Click to expand...

My SA said that there are no Hermes bag catalogues except for the Japanese lookbooks. Is that true?

The only people who stare at my birkins in Downtown Manhattan seem to be the Japanese tourists shopping near Century 21 (a discount department store that sells designer stuff, Carrie Bradshaw shopped there when she served jury duty). It seems every time I go Uptown, almost every other woman is carrying a Birkin in the Uptown area near Hermes.
 
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