Paris trip for Hermes

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Please try to stay on topic. I realise because of the complexity of some of the posts members may veer off but in answer do not 'go there'.

For info and questions on US customs please post on the thread below: post https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/us-customs-discussion-airports-importing.905560/

Detaxing (to US from Europe) https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/best-way-to-detax-after-h-in-europe.178302/

or non-US destinations: https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/does-h-store-paris-wants-to-ship.605014/page-3

For questions relating to prices https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/reference-hermes-current-prices.102567/page-357

For traveling with boxes https://forum.purseblog.com/threads...me-hermes-boxes-when-traveling.1044553/page-5




I will leave this reminder as a sticky because tthis is often a thread that new members (or new Hermès lovers) post on - hopefully temporarily.
 
Unfortunately I was unsuccessful at FSH!
Apparently no deliveries til end of year...

I was there on 24th Dec, my DH had an appointment at 12pm. Was also told the same thing.. no stock no deliveries since last Sat. The entire second floor which is usually full of people coming for bag appointments was almost empty. Was offered an Aline which I found quite cute so we took it. Saw another couple being offered a Lindy 26 with a croc strap, but could tell they were disappointed too. Our SA asked us to try again in January if we happen to be in Paris.
 
Long time lurker, but wanted to share my happy news! In short, I was very lucky to get a reservation on my first try and was offered a Birkin, albeit a larger 40 size (I'm a guy). Read on for details and pics!

I've been following this topic religiously ever since we made plans to come to Paris over Christmas and New Year. I luckily got an appt on my first try for today 12/26 at 11:35am. My partner and I got there a little early and checked in with the leather dept. Many people trying to get a walk-in appt, slyly asking SA's from other departments to see handbags and even saw one lady swearing up and down that she got a reservation confirmation even with them triple checking for her and stating she unfortunately did not get an appt for that day.

We were quickly introduced to our SA and all of my preparation and mental lists quickly went out the window. After exchanging pleasantries, I'm not sure why l didn't reference my notes on my phone (or outright just given to her) that I had honed down for weeks with preferences for leather, size, color, hardware, etc.

I cautiously started blurting out Birkin or Kelly, larger sizes preferred, classic neutrals or vibrant colors, I could only pull out Blue electric as an example even after I had studied current colors, colors I had seen on the forum making a comeback, etc. She asked what other colors I had to which i had to meekly reply that this would be my first (and hopefully not last) Hermes purchase. She left to check availability and I was just mentally preparing myself for bad news, kicking myself for letting my nerves get to me and starting to think about registering for the next day.

She came back about 10-15 min later. She did not have several orange boxes, which I felt did not bode well but she was holding something covered in a dust bag and motioned for us to move to a different, quieter part of the store. She nonchalantly pulled out a Birkin 40 togo in black with gold hardware. I was partially in shock that I was offered something on my first try but also wishing it was a different neutral other than black. I had ranked the lighter colors (gold, gris, etain, etoupe, etc) much higher in my head. I think she could sense my indecision and even before I could plead for other options she stated there were sadly no other colors available but she did have the same bag with palladium hardware that she felt would suit me more and she left to get the other option.

While waiting for the other bag, I was talking to my partner that if it didn't speak to me I should just take the risk and decline both and try on the rest of the days we had left. To my happy surprise, the change in hardware really does make a difference! I happily accepted a Birkin 40 togo in black with palladium hardware. I instantly knew i wanted twillies to play off the black background. One pair in the same print in contrasting colors, another set a matching pair to play off the colors of a rodeo charm she was able to find for me. I happily paid fornmy purchases and have been on cloud 9 ever since.

Thank you for letting me share

81eb3a253ea904af94b7876359054633.jpg
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Long time lurker, but wanted to share my happy news! In short, I was very lucky to get a reservation on my first try and was offered a Birkin, albeit a larger 40 size (I'm a guy). Read on for details and pics!

I've been following this topic religiously ever since we made plans to come to Paris over Christmas and New Year. I luckily got an appt on my first try for today 12/26 at 11:35am. My partner and I got there a little early and checked in with the leather dept. Many people trying to get a walk-in appt, slyly asking SA's from other departments to see handbags and even saw one lady swearing up and down that she got a reservation confirmation even with them triple checking for her and stating she unfortunately did not get an appt for that day.

We were quickly introduced to our SA and all of my preparation and mental lists quickly went out the window. After exchanging pleasantries, I'm not sure why l didn't reference my notes on my phone (or outright just given to her) that I had honed down for weeks with preferences for leather, size, color, hardware, etc.

I cautiously started blurting out Birkin or Kelly, larger sizes preferred, classic neutrals or vibrant colors, I could only pull out Blue electric as an example even after I had studied current colors, colors I had seen on the forum making a comeback, etc. She asked what other colors I had to which i had to meekly reply that this would be my first (and hopefully not last) Hermes purchase. She left to check availability and I was just mentally preparing myself for bad news, kicking myself for letting my nerves get to me and starting to think about registering for the next day.

She came back about 10-15 min later. She did not have several orange boxes, which I felt did not bode well but she was holding something covered in a dust bag and motioned for us to move to a different, quieter part of the store. She nonchalantly pulled out a Birkin 40 togo in black with gold hardware. I was partially in shock that I was offered something on my first try but also wishing it was a different neutral other than black, i had ranked the lighter colors (gold, gris, etain, etoupe, etc) much higher in my head. I think she could sense my indecision and even before I could plead for other options she stated there were sadly no other colors available but she did have the same bag with palladium hardware that she felt would suit me more and would I like to see it.

While waiting for the other bag, I was talking to my partner that if it didn't speak to me I should just take the risk and decline both and try on the rest of the days we had left. To my happy surprise, the change in hardware really does make a difference! I happily accepted a Birkin 40 togo in black with palladium hardware. I instantly knew i wanted twillies to play off the black background. One pair in the same print in contrasting colors, another set a matching pair to play off the colors of a rodeo charm she was able to find for me. I happily paid fornmy purchases and have been on cloud 9 ever since.

Thank you for letting me share

81eb3a253ea904af94b7876359054633.jpg
e71cd1ec9e761fbd058d4302f4050ae2.jpg
0d2e0093f0eb57c5acfb47b80cb4505a.jpg
2ad170de25a18b692ee0586dfdaf0d00.jpg
2498cc7af7a2c958c64a3079eda45dbc.jpg
11fddfc7ed3e5b549357718c75e57a79.jpg

Congratulations and enjoy your new beauty!!!
 
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Long time lurker, but wanted to share my happy news! In short, I was very lucky to get a reservation on my first try and was offered a Birkin, albeit a larger 40 size (I'm a guy). Read on for details and

Paris... Paris at Christmas... PLUS a Birkin! Congratulations! I love these story-like reveals, so I can live it vicariously. I think you made the right decision to go with black, and change it up with twillies. Beware... silks are addictive, in the best way.
ETA: Are you flying back with the box (if you’re flying)?
 
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Please let me share my latest beauty from FSH, Kelly 25 in Etain togo PHW! Still cannot believe my SA offered me this as I feel it's such a rare combination. I came with a little hope but I was very firm in my choice. Thanks to the H fairy for giving me the best XMAS present :smile:
So beautiful, congrats.

And then she proceeded to apologize for not having any K or B (didn’t want a B but she said just in case) but had something she thought I might like.

tada!

View attachment 4285489

It’s a C24 in Bleu Hydra. I was totally not expecting this bag at all. In fact, I wasn’t aware such bag existed. While not exactly meeting my expectation of blue (I think I was imagining myself with something more navy bluish) I did want hydra mini K when they first came out. And as my most used H bag is Rose Jaipur C24, I thought this total opposite color would be a nice addition. Even though I really do like Ks, in reality I use Cs more and lastly, this would be my first Evercolor bag. So I said yes (as already can be told from the pic) and now done with H shopping for the trip.

Of course, sis is still very BITTER so I guess at least one more visit before going back home? Hopefully she gets an appt for tomorrow.

Hope other members in Paris all get what they wanted!
This is truly beautiful, my dream bag. Congrats.

First, I’m the DH (not totally sure what that stands for though. LOL) of my wife and just had to post our experience given how much this thread helped in my finding the perfect bag for her. Yes, this was a very happy ending! I decided to modify a work trip and head to Paris for the weekend in an attempt to buy my wife her dream bag for Christmas. I had already went to a couple Hermes stores in the U.S. asking about a Kelly or Birkin and got the glare like I had asked for their first born. I knew they were hard to come by, but figured what was the harm in asking. Well it turns out, what a jerk I was for even thinking I could ask :smile:.


So I surprised my wife with a weekend in Paris and started my research on how to obtain one of these elusive bags. This site and this thread was invaluable for understanding the process and what to expect. But it also helped me set my expectations. Just getting an appointment seemed hard enough, let alone being offered a Kelly or Birkin. I signed up for an appointment the day before I arrived and had my wife do the same. Sadly, we both received the message “... Due to a large number of requests, we can not respond to your request...” So we arrived in Paris, checked into our hotel, and fell right asleep due to Jet Lag, even missing our reservation for lunch. We woke up around 5pm and I said I’d like to walk over to the Hermes store (FSH). Our hotel was down the street, not by accident ;). Also, I read on this thread that they would sometimes allow you to get an appointment due to no shows.


We arrived at the store around 6:30pm. When we arrived, we browsed around because I was too nervous to even ask about getting an appointment. My previous experience in the U.S. certainly didn’t help. After roaming around for 15min, I worked up the courage to ask for an appointment in the leather department. Thank god for this thread teaching me that vocabulary! They pointed me to a desk which pointed me to another desk which a lady then walked us to the correct counter. I asked if they might have any availability and explained that I previously attempted online to no avail. They seemed pleasant and began some small talk. Within a few moments, one of the ladies ask me for my passport. I figured, this is a good sign :smile:. Sure enough, they said to wait and an associate would be with us momentarily. I was so happy and said I hadn’t expected that. One of the associates explained that the slow day was due to the protests. Keep in mind, the store was packed! She said that the store closed for 10-15 min and none of the subways were running. We had no idea, having slept through the day. I just read the previous post about how bad the protest was, I’m so glad we had no idea. When we walked over at 6:30pm, the streets were quite with people just out walking and shopping.


But we got an appointment! When the associate arrived, my wife and I were quite nervous. The associate asked us what we were looking for. My wife said a Kelly and the associate asked what size. My wife was so nervous she said 30 LOL. I quickly stepped in and said she meant 28 and that a 25 would do as well. But now the attention was on me and I couldn’t remember the leathers or even the name of the other bag (a Birkin). So my wife started explaining that she liked the more neutral tones and went to show her an example in the display case. While they did that, I quickly looked at my phone to remember the types of leather. The associate asked if there was anything else we might like. I said if they had Barenia, that would be fantastic. The associate cracked a big smile. I immediately assumed I asked for something that just was not possible and said, based on that smile I’m assuming that leather just isn’t popular (I meant to say it was rare). The associate said, no that leather is very popular and sought after, it is a classic. Rather than correct my mistake, I just said, yeah that leather is very nice and something my wife would love. The associate asked if there was anything else again and I realized we didn’t mention the Birkin, which was my wife’s first choice! Dang we were both too nervous! So I quickly said a Birkin 30 as well. The associate then said she’d look and see what she could find.


After about 10min, the sales associate came over to us with a huge smile and asked if we could follow her. I knew this was good but my wife didn’t realize yet what was happening. I had the advantage of knowing due to reading this thread :smile:. She had a single box and explained to my wife that she found a bag she thinks she’ll like. She then explained that it wasn’t Barenia but Barenia Faubourg and explained Barenia Faubourg in more detail. As she was opening the bag, I could see the insane anticipation on my wife’s eyes. I was very curious myself as to what was going to be in the box. It was a Birkin 30 Barenia Faubourg!!! The absolute perfect bag! If my wife was able to choose any bag, this would have been the one!

Thank you to everyone on this thread that have shared their stories. It made a huge difference for us and made for an incredible experience!
Thank you for sharing your wonderful h journey. Congrats to both of you.

Long time lurker, but wanted to share my happy news! In short, I was very lucky to get a reservation on my first try and was offered a Birkin, albeit a larger 40 size (I'm a guy). Read on for details and pics!

I've been following this topic religiously ever since we made plans to come to Paris over Christmas and New Year. I luckily got an appt on my first try for today 12/26 at 11:35am. My partner and I got there a little early and checked in with the leather dept. Many people trying to get a walk-in appt, slyly asking SA's from other departments to see handbags and even saw one lady swearing up and down that she got a reservation confirmation even with them triple checking for her and stating she unfortunately did not get an appt for that day.

We were quickly introduced to our SA and all of my preparation and mental lists quickly went out the window. After exchanging pleasantries, I'm not sure why l didn't reference my notes on my phone (or outright just given to her) that I had honed down for weeks with preferences for leather, size, color, hardware, etc.

I cautiously started blurting out Birkin or Kelly, larger sizes preferred, classic neutrals or vibrant colors, I could only pull out Blue electric as an example even after I had studied current colors, colors I had seen on the forum making a comeback, etc. She asked what other colors I had to which i had to meekly reply that this would be my first (and hopefully not last) Hermes purchase. She left to check availability and I was just mentally preparing myself for bad news, kicking myself for letting my nerves get to me and starting to think about registering for the next day.

She came back about 10-15 min later. She did not have several orange boxes, which I felt did not bode well but she was holding something covered in a dust bag and motioned for us to move to a different, quieter part of the store. She nonchalantly pulled out a Birkin 40 togo in black with gold hardware. I was partially in shock that I was offered something on my first try but also wishing it was a different neutral other than black. I had ranked the lighter colors (gold, gris, etain, etoupe, etc) much higher in my head. I think she could sense my indecision and even before I could plead for other options she stated there were sadly no other colors available but she did have the same bag with palladium hardware that she felt would suit me more and she left to get the other option.

While waiting for the other bag, I was talking to my partner that if it didn't speak to me I should just take the risk and decline both and try on the rest of the days we had left. To my happy surprise, the change in hardware really does make a difference! I happily accepted a Birkin 40 togo in black with palladium hardware. I instantly knew i wanted twillies to play off the black background. One pair in the same print in contrasting colors, another set a matching pair to play off the colors of a rodeo charm she was able to find for me. I happily paid fornmy purchases and have been on cloud 9 ever since.

Thank you for letting me share
Gorgeous, congrats.
 
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First, I’m the DH (not totally sure what that stands for though. LOL) of my wife and just had to post our experience given how much this thread helped in my finding the perfect bag for her. Yes, this was a very happy ending! I decided to modify a work trip and head to Paris for the weekend in an attempt to buy my wife her dream bag for Christmas. I had already went to a couple Hermes stores in the U.S. asking about a Kelly or Birkin and got the glare like I had asked for their first born. I knew they were hard to come by, but figured what was the harm in asking. Well it turns out, what a jerk I was for even thinking I could ask :smile:.


So I surprised my wife with a weekend in Paris and started my research on how to obtain one of these elusive bags. This site and this thread was invaluable for understanding the process and what to expect. But it also helped me set my expectations. Just getting an appointment seemed hard enough, let alone being offered a Kelly or Birkin. I signed up for an appointment the day before I arrived and had my wife do the same. Sadly, we both received the message “... Due to a large number of requests, we can not respond to your request...” So we arrived in Paris, checked into our hotel, and fell right asleep due to Jet Lag, even missing our reservation for lunch. We woke up around 5pm and I said I’d like to walk over to the Hermes store (FSH). Our hotel was down the street, not by accident ;). Also, I read on this thread that they would sometimes allow you to get an appointment due to no shows.


We arrived at the store around 6:30pm. When we arrived, we browsed around because I was too nervous to even ask about getting an appointment. My previous experience in the U.S. certainly didn’t help. After roaming around for 15min, I worked up the courage to ask for an appointment in the leather department. Thank god for this thread teaching me that vocabulary! They pointed me to a desk which pointed me to another desk which a lady then walked us to the correct counter. I asked if they might have any availability and explained that I previously attempted online to no avail. They seemed pleasant and began some small talk. Within a few moments, one of the ladies ask me for my passport. I figured, this is a good sign :smile:. Sure enough, they said to wait and an associate would be with us momentarily. I was so happy and said I hadn’t expected that. One of the associates explained that the slow day was due to the protests. Keep in mind, the store was packed! She said that the store closed for 10-15 min and none of the subways were running. We had no idea, having slept through the day. I just read the previous post about how bad the protest was, I’m so glad we had no idea. When we walked over at 6:30pm, the streets were quite with people just out walking and shopping.


But we got an appointment! When the associate arrived, my wife and I were quite nervous. The associate asked us what we were looking for. My wife said a Kelly and the associate asked what size. My wife was so nervous she said 30 LOL. I quickly stepped in and said she meant 28 and that a 25 would do as well. But now the attention was on me and I couldn’t remember the leathers or even the name of the other bag (a Birkin). So my wife started explaining that she liked the more neutral tones and went to show her an example in the display case. While they did that, I quickly looked at my phone to remember the types of leather. The associate asked if there was anything else we might like. I said if they had Barenia, that would be fantastic. The associate cracked a big smile. I immediately assumed I asked for something that just was not possible and said, based on that smile I’m assuming that leather just isn’t popular (I meant to say it was rare). The associate said, no that leather is very popular and sought after, it is a classic. Rather than correct my mistake, I just said, yeah that leather is very nice and something my wife would love. The associate asked if there was anything else again and I realized we didn’t mention the Birkin, which was my wife’s first choice! Dang we were both too nervous! So I quickly said a Birkin 30 as well. The associate then said she’d look and see what she could find.


After about 10min, the sales associate came over to us with a huge smile and asked if we could follow her. I knew this was good but my wife didn’t realize yet what was happening. I had the advantage of knowing due to reading this thread :smile:. She had a single box and explained to my wife that she found a bag she thinks she’ll like. She then explained that it wasn’t Barenia but Barenia Faubourg and explained Barenia Faubourg in more detail. As she was opening the bag, I could see the insane anticipation on my wife’s eyes. I was very curious myself as to what was going to be in the box. It was a Birkin 30 Barenia Faubourg!!! The absolute perfect bag! If my wife was able to choose any bag, this would have been the one!


Thank you to everyone on this thread that have shared their stories. It made a huge difference for us and made for an incredible experience!

thanks for sharing mike! I had to show your post to my husband (another husband who owes his wife a B/K ) who failed to get me a B/K for push present! your story was so cute =)
 
Very nice and thanks for sharing! May I ask what did you scored earlier this year? Was that also a Kelly? Was it from the same passport account?

Does anyone know if Petite K also count as a quota bag?

Thanks a lot!

In February my husband was offered and purchased a Birkin 35 De Camp Dechainee Toile. It was a beautiful bag, but I was looking for my first B/K and wanted something more simple. So I exchanged it for a Kelly Retourne 35 Swift in Bleu Saphir with PHW. At the time they also offered a Birkin 35 Togo in Etoupe with GHW. But the Bleu Saphir in swift was stunning.


As for the passport, they gave us the option. But we did use my husbands who also purchased the Kelly in February.
 
Beautiful and thank you very much for sharing! It looks it’s raining Constance at FSH atm! Btw is the Kelly next to your new C24 your previous purchase at FSH?

Nah, I got that Magnolia K from Waikiki couple months ago. I went home with no bag from FSH many many times in the past. Without support from members here, I think I would've given up couple years ago.

Congrats on your C! We are bag twins! It’s my most used purse, I just love it!

Oh! I've seen your pic many times but didn't realize it was same bag till you mentioned it! Glad to hear you use it well. I love bright colors, so I've always secretly admired your collection.

Congrats and glad to know I'm not the only person doing these crazy status runs in December. I usually go to Paris but since the stores were closed the weekend I was there I went elsewhere. And its just my luck that its raining C24s! Ah well. Glad you scored and good luck to your sis.

I did think about you as we obviously went through raining C days at FSH. Too bad you skipped out this time but if I got it this time, you would get yours the next time. Don't you remember all my bad luck in Paris?

Where did you end up with your mileage run? For my last trip, I had to book connecting flights through LHR when direct flights were available. Just so I can get that minimum of 500 miles rule for flying CDG-LHR! As I was taking the bus and doing security again at LHR on the way home, I thought never again. But most likely I'd end up there again soon. Ah, the crazy things I do for little perks like free upgrades and Cathay noodles!

Congrats on your lucky and smooth bag acquisition! Seems like we are in Paris the same time once again, except I was in the store one day before you. Blue hydra is such a lovely blue.

Hi, dear!:nuts: It's so funny how we keep end up in Paris at the same time. It would've been so nice to run into you at FSH this trip.

Congratulations on your lovely C24. What a beautiful color

Thank you! I have to admit though, when SA first took it out, I asked "Is this Bleu Zanzibar?":P Still learning H colors.

How lovely Nanami. I am glad it is finally getting better for you at FSH. I remember how many times you have tried in the past. I hope your sister gets something nice as well so you can have a pleasant journey home.

Yes, your luck with FSH is blooming! So happy for you!

Thank you, dear! I wanted to let you know I really appreciated you cheering me on and don't give up when I kept getting rejected.

love this card holder. do you happen to have the sku?!

H076757CA is what it says on the receipt. It is listed as "Porte-cartes les petits chevaux horizontal." SA also showed the vertical version at the time, with just one much prominent sized "cheval" in the middle instead of my two horsies. She referred it as the daddy horse, and one I got as mommy and baby horses, lol. I chose mom and baby as rose azalea is one of my fave H colors. Vertical one shown was blue themed, also in different leathers for each layer like mine, with daddy horse in I think bleu nuit.

 
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