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

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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

. 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

. 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!