Looking for a Kelly or Birkin for my mother

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taichipanda

Member
Dec 9, 2008
10
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#1
My mother is looking for a Kelly (Black) or a Birkin (30cm etoupe) now and asked me if I can get one for her as I live in London.

I have visited Hermes stores in London quite a few times, but have never seen those - well i have seen crocodile ones with diamonds which cost over 100,000 pounds but not the "normal" Kelly or Birkin.

I really wanted to get one for her but don't quite know how to and London doesn't seem to be the best place to buy them... I presume even if I ask, SA wouldn't go back to the famous back room and get them out for me... Would I get more luck in Paris???

Any advice and helpful tips would be greatly appreciated. I know about the boutique in Knightsbridge (Salou), but would rather like to get one from a Hermes boutique...

Thanks for your help in advance!!
 
#3
you can try selfridges. i saw one birkin 30 there about 1to2 weeks ago. i was surprised too so maybe if you keep checking back you may get lucky! or paris where it much easiler to get and faster if you r lucky!
 
#4
snoopytx, angelicskater16,

Thank you so much for your advice!!

Whenever I am in Selfridges, I go to the Hermes shop, but have never been lucky so far..
I guess I just have to keep trying.

I was actually traumatised at FSH shop nearly 20 years ago...
It was my first trip to Paris from Japan ( I was a teenager) and my mother asked me to get a black kelly (she already had 1 kelly then which was bought by my sister at FSH on her business trip).

I walked into the shop and saw a black kelly on the shelf and asked if I can purchase it. SA just said "No you can't but it. There is a long waiting list." I just thought they didn't want to sell it to me because I probably looked like 12, wanting to get a Kelly bag. So I said, "No, no. It is for my mother not for me". But she just said "No, you can't but it"..

It was quite humiliating and I phoned my mother and told her the story. She was really disappointed. So whenever I popped in to FSH, I slightly feel intimidated by the experience even now!! Now I am in my late thirties. Maybe they will sell it to me.

I would appreciate more info on London shops!!
 
#5
i went to fsh like 3 weeks ago and i was looking for a kelly too and they had a couple kelly selection, and they were more then willing to sell me the bag. You can also try George V. They had a small selecion of kellys but the colors that they had were so pretty. I am so sorry to hear about your expirence at fsh but i believe it has changed alot in service. I am 22 years old and when i was there nobody asked to help me but luckily i found a sa who treated me decently and was more then willing to get all the different kellys out and show me the bag that i wanted. Dont let them intimadate you ,you are there to spend $$$ so they should be respectful to you!
 
#7
^^^ I second that!

London is very hard to get a Birkin even when you already have an SA, you need to get on the list and it only just closed in March/April and won't open again until around September
 
#8
angelicskater16,
THank you so much for your advice again!
You are absolutely right, i shouldn't get intimidated by rude SAs!!

Can I ask you something? When you went to FSH, did you take one of your hermes bags with you just to prove that you are one of the usual, loyal customers? My friend told me that it would give me more chance to get the bag I want if I take one of my hermes bags and otherwise SA wouldn't show you the bags in the back room. Is that the case?? In which case, I might have to ask my mother to lend me one of her kellys!!

ladyhermes & mooks,
Thank you so much for your tips!!
hmmm, I love Paris, so I don't mind going there any time! But I don't want to go and come back with nothing.. If I am sure that I can get one, I will go even tomorrow!

I actually phoned the Bond Street shop and asked about the list last December but the SA (male) said it only opens once a year and it will be February and they still don't know the exact date. He also said he couldn't tell me the date because even he wouldn't know until a day earlier. From what you told me, he just lied to me then... How can I get on the list?? Should I just keep phoning them??
 
#9
taichipanda said:
angelicskater16,
THank you so much for your advice again!
You are absolutely right, i shouldn't get intimidated by rude SAs!!

Can I ask you something? When you went to FSH, did you take one of your hermes bags with you just to prove that you are one of the usual, loyal customers? My friend told me that it would give me more chance to get the bag I want if I take one of my hermes bags and otherwise SA wouldn't show you the bags in the back room. Is that the case?? In which case, I might have to ask my mother to lend me one of her kellys!!

ladyhermes & mooks,
Thank you so much for your tips!!
hmmm, I love Paris, so I don't mind going there any time! But I don't want to go and come back with nothing.. If I am sure that I can get one, I will go even tomorrow!

I actually phoned the Bond Street shop and asked about the list last December but the SA (male) said it only opens once a year and it will be February and they still don't know the exact date. He also said he couldn't tell me the date because even he wouldn't know until a day earlier. From what you told me, he just lied to me then... How can I get on the list?? Should I just keep phoning them??
Click to expand...



Acutally i did take one of my hermes bags but only because i had never carried the evelyne gm II before and thought it would be easiler to travel with. I honestly just told my sa that i wanted a 28 or 32 sellier kelly and while she was searching for my bags i ask her about the birkin. Natually i think now sa knows whose really in there to buy rather then just play around with the bags. But i did get to play with alot of kellys and one 30cm birkin (which i was really tempted to buy but i didnt). anyways my point is to walk in as if you own it and honestly dont be scared to ask for help and the sa there will be glad to assist you!
 
#10
TaichiPanda,
Definitely go to FSH as the others have suggested. Paris is so close to London and so easy to get to. I was there in April and was shown many Kellys and a Birkin and HAC. I did carry my Birkin so maybe that's why they brought the bags from the back. The SA also realized I knew what I wanted and was familiar with Hermes and not novice when I started talking about specifics (leather, colors, styles, etc). Paris always has Kellys and if your mom wants black, you should be able to find it. The Birkin in etoupe on the other hand may be a little tough. I did see one about a month ago in the US. You can always SO the etoupe Birkin. It'll probably take 6 months to a year if you want it in Togo versus other harder to come by leathers. Good luck!!!
 
#11
angelicskater16,
thank you so much for your response and encouragement!!
from what i leant here, i have decided to go to Hermes in Paris with my mother next time she comes to Europe and just try our luck. from what i learnt from you and this forum, it seems quite likely that we will be able to come across a kelly in Paris.:-)

sfshopgirl,
thank you so much for your suggestion!!
yes, i have decided to go to Paris with my mother and try FSH rather than keep trying my luck in London. I will probably ask her to bring one of her kellys. :-)
I hope we can come across the birkin that she would like to get,,, but she should be happy if she can get the kelly she wants.

can I just ask you what "SO the etoupe Birking" mean? Do you mean I can order it at the shop?
 
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