Wanted to share my experience in Paris since I get so nervous every time I’m about to go to Paris for a bag! I hope that any of this helps!
I’ve been 3 times (April 2018, March 2019, and Aug 2019). I am Chinese with a non-Chinese passport. I speak pretty good French (~8 years of schooling). Before April 2018, I did have some purchase history at FSH in 2015 - maybe two 90 silk scarves and two scarf rings.
April 2018
I didn’t even know about the new online system and tried to queue up the first time. It didn’t work but I think I bought a 140 cashmere/silk scarf, a scarf ring, and Oran sandals that day. I tried for the following 5 days and I got an appointment the day I was supposed to leave (10:30am on a Saturday). As a note, I also lined up for Sèvres (once when it opened and once in the afternoon) and went with my boyfriend. They said they didn’t have BKC stock and showed me less popular and new edition bags.
I went by myself. With your appointment, they have you check in upstairs and you line up and get matched with an SA. I was put with an ethnically Chinese SA but I spoke to her in French. To be honest, there’s never been a lot of chit chat with any of the SA’s I’ve talked to. She asked me what I was interested in and I said a Kelly 28 in a dark color or neutrals. She asked if there was anything else. I said maybe red or orange. She said ok and left me by the shoe area on the second floor. 15-20 minutes later, she came back and took me upstairs in a stairway area. Did you know there’s a salon at the top of the FSH store? She brought a Kelly Retourne 35 Togo in PHW in midnight blue and some accessories to match with it (organizer, wallet, etc). It was the first time I ever held a Hermes bag and I was just really excited that it was an easily wearable color. But there was no mirror in that stairwell so I couldn’t tell how it looked and she revealed to me that she was actually from the Sèvres store and I think substituting for someone that day. She was very discreet about making sure that no one else saw that I was being offered a box, and asked another SA who worked regularly there if there were any other rooms that were available. She brought me to the fine jewelery area by first and then separately went back to get the orange boxes. I told her I liked the color but wanted a smaller size. She said they didn’t have any, and maybe next time I could get a 28 in a brighter color. She also told me that 35 is a very classic and popular size, and they tend to make more of the larger sizes and the smaller ones are harder to come by. I’ve read online a lot about how people are scared if they turn something away they won’t get offered something else, since when you say no to a bag, they actually take the orange box away and don’t necessarily keep it there to give you options to decide between. Anyway, I decided to get it and bought two twillys, an organizer, and another 140 cashmere/silk scarf. The second time she came back to the new room, she also brought a matching Kelly wallet, a Rodeo, and a pink 2002 bag (like a constance but with a different buckle). I remember her telling me if there’s something specific I want, it’s still easier to have a good SA in my home store. We also did switch to speaking in English halfway through when I was deliberating whether or not to purchase the bag. Also, I feel like the SA’s do look at what you’re wearing to determine what your “style” might be like. I was wearing a casual short sleeve and jeans and she said it seemed like I would like the Retourne style more and that maybe I wouldn’t like the Rodeo because it was too “cute” and not matching what I was wearing.
March 2019
Fast forward one year - I had put myself on the waitlist for a smaller bag (25 or 28 Birkin or Kelly Sellier) in San Francisco but no luck. I had also travelled to Honolulu for a family vacation that year which I heard is easier for tourists to get bags but they didn’t have any stock as the store was still being renovated. This time I tried for 8 days in a row and didn’t get any reservations! One day, I went to FSH to see if they had cancellations, and they told me to come back in the afternoon. When they looked me up oddly, they told me they could only see that I had made 3 attempts. I tried to show them the rejection text messages for 8 days and they weren’t very sympathetic. She said 3 days wasn’t long enough usually to get a reservation and to try again. I thought that was weird and suggested maybe there are other criteria to the lottery... but anyways maybe I messed up and mixed up some of my info when filling the online form... double check everyone!
I really was upset that I didn’t get the SA’s name who helped me. So two days before I left, I tried my chances at Sèvres in the afternoon. When I went to the appointment desk, I happened to see the SA that helped me. In French, I asked if she remembered me. I was carrying the K35 she sold me and she looked me up in the system and verified that it was really her. I asked if she could give me an appointment and told her I was looking for a Birkin 25. She checked her schedule and said that I could come around 11am the next day and she could see if she could fit me in. The next day I got there before the store opened. In the past at Sèvres, when the store opens there’s a mad rush of all the people lined up and they line up again at the reservation desk to give their passports and phone numbers to queue up. Some people used to not obey the order they lined up outside so hence the rush downstairs (oy!). I told the reservationist that I actually had an appointment w my SA, and she took my information and told me she’d let me know when the SA was ready. Around 11:30am (I saw her running around with a client), she finally found me and took me aside to a couch near the shoes. She was very straightforward and said in French “Tell me what you want”. I told her I wanted a Birkin 25 in red, beige, gold, orange - some type of warm color. She said, “And nothing else? If we don’t have a Birkin 25, I won’t be able to bring you anything else then. You don’t like any of the constances, picotins, lindys, etc? ” I said that I was specifically looking for B25, but I might be ok with a B that’s smaller than the K35 I got last time - since I have a hard time wearing that often since it gets really heavy and it’s so big. She leaves and comes back 15-20 minutes later and brings me into one of the changing rooms. She leaves again and comes back with a small orange box. I almost thought it wasn’t a bag because the 25’s box is half the size of the 35. She brought me a B25 Togo PHW. She said she also had a B30 if I wanted that instead, and that she didn’t get the craze over small bags! She also brought me two matching wallets, some twilly’s, and an organizer that was silk and had a print on it. Super smitten that it was exactly what I wanted - I also got the two twillys, the organizer, and a thicker strapn for my K35. I was wearing a white long sleeve sweater and a beige skirt that day which I think matches exactly with the Gold B25... just saying! Doesn’t hurt to match the bag you want? Also just to reiterate that my SA and I honestly didn’t talk much. Again we also switched to English very quickly. I tried asking questions because I heard it’s good to have rapport. But other than learning that she’s worked at Hermes for a long time (I don’t remember how long, but more than 5 years), we didn’t really talk about much other than the bag.
August 2019
I happened to be back in Europe on vacation so I extended the tailend of my stay across the pond with 3 days in Paris. I actually wasn’t even sure if I could get offered a bag again since I got one in March but I read that the 6 month break up is Jan-Jun and July-Dec so I decided to try anyway. I did get my SA’s information in March and sent her an email 3 weeks in advance to try to make an appointment. She said she could only see me at 5pm since because there are so many clients right now, the store only allows them to make personal appointments after 3pm since the earlier ones are all for people who queue up in the morning. Nevertheless, I made the appointment. Because I had such bad luck with not getting reservations for 8 days last time, I tried making reservations when I wasn’t in France. Not sure if it added up from the previous 8 days or what, but I got a reservation 3 attempts in. Which would have been great... except I wasn’t going to be in Paris for another week. I was pretty unsure what this would mean... since there’s really little to no information how random the lottery is. So at 10:30am the next day, I called the store and cancelled my appointment (the appointment was for 5pm). Hopefully someone else took that cancellation! They didn’t really say much over the phone and just told me ok. I asked if I could change it for another day and she said that I’ll have to try online again.
Anyway, I was so confused if maybe I would try again and would get the appointment right away the next day, or if I was on some sort of banlist... but I did end up trying 4 more times and I didn’t get a reservation. The first day in Paris I tried to see if there were any cancellations at FSH. I bought a scarf and browsed some shoes and clothes and tried to make friendly talk with one of the SA’s but there were none. The next day (the day I had the 5pm appt) I decided to line up for when the Sèvres store opened. I felt like the stock would be gone by 5pm... and I had consistently been reading online how people weren’t getting any offers because the artisans were gone on vacation. I read somewhere that they had returned around 8/15 and was hopeful there would be stock. So the new system for store opening line up’s at Sèvres was as soon as you walk through the door, if you’re the first 10-20 customers, you get automatically matched with an SA. I originally was going to ask for my SA but it was so hectic when the door opened that I just went with it. He brought me down to a table where the accessories were, and asked me what I wanted in English. I spoke back to him in French, and to be honest, I do think his tone got lighter and friendlier. He did notice the B25 I was carrying and commented on how cute it was. I told him I wanted a Kelly 25 Sellier - preferably in red, pink, orange, yellow, or neutral colors like beige or grey. I actually have never used the Hermès color names when describing the color I want. He asked if I was strict with the size and I admitted a K28 was fine too. He also asked if I was looking for anything else that day and lowkey trying to seem like a bigger spender I said I was also looking at RTW and another strap for my Kelly and maybe a Bearn mini wallet.
20 minutes later, he comes back with a box! Box looks a bit bigger than last time, so I assume it’s the K28. It’s really crazy to note that almost at the same time, there is this older asian couple next to me with a SA. The SA tells them that there are no BKC available except some that are on reserve for some “French ladies” (verbatim) and brings her a clutch (not a popular one) and tells her if she wants he can tie a scarf to it so she can use it as an evening bag. I’m not sure if it’s just the tone sometimes people have when speaking not in their native tongue, but it sounded a bit rude. While I was waiting earlier, he had looked them up on his phone and said “You have no purchase history at all at Hèrmes in France?” Anyway, I’m positive the couple saw the SA bring me the box as we walked to the changing room. And I’m not a “French lady” except that I can speak some French. My SA noted that I must know the store well because I was walking in front of him to the changing room and I told him I had gotten the B25 there as well. I’m a little surprised he didn’t first come to get me, bring me to the room, and then come back with the bag to the room. It feels more discreet and what the other SA had done in the past and it also feels nicer to the other clientele than to lie to their face. He said he didn’t have any K25 but he did have a K28 epsom Sellier GHW for me. It was a color they used to have and brought back recently - Anemone. To be honest, blue-based purple (as opposed to red-based like wine or burgundy color) is the one color I did not want since I find it so hard to match with clothes. He said he brought me this one because it was GHW and maybe I wanted some variety with my PHW. I tried it on but I really couldn’t get over the color. He asked how the size was and I said I didn’t mind the 28 since I’m fairly tall and it doesn’t look that big on me. I asked if there was another color, and he said he also had Rose Azalee K28 Sellier Epsom but it was PHW. I said that was fine. He packed everything up and I think said something about “releasing the bag back” (probably to show other customers) then in another 5-10 minutes came back with the new bag. He joked there was no surprise since I knew exactly what was inside. I was actually very happy that the SA didn’t bring any other products to sell me on and just the bag the whole while. When he asked if he could help with anything else, I asked to look at bag straps, mini wallets or card holders, and twillys. I ended up getting a card holder and a twilly along with my new K28! As a note, I learned that this SA had been working for Hermès for just about a year. I was wearing a bright colorful silk print dress.
Anyway, I didn’t get the chance to tell my other SA to cancel the 5pm appointment so I thought I would just come back to find her later because I felt guilty for canceling on something I booked so long ago... I arrive around 4:45 and awkwardly the SA who helped me that morning sees me and asks if he can help. I felt like I was two-timing and sheepishly admit that I had a 5pm w another SA. He says not to worry and that he’ll find her for me. He comes back later and says that she’s still with a client and to wait. I wait for 20-30 minutes and the SA I have an appointment with comes to me and apologizes. I tell her it’s ok and I got a bag I wanted already this morning (she says she heard from the other SA already). She asks if she can still help w anything else. I tell her I’m interested in a Picotin 18 and she goes to find the morning SA to help me. I’ve seen and heard people buying multiple bags on the same day - one BKC and then like a garden party or a picotin. So I was kind of surprised when the morning SA comes back and tells me that unfortunately because I already got an “exceptional bag” today he actually can’t show me more and they’re for other clients, but I can try again tomorrow. I’m actually pretty relieved at this point because I feel like I’ve spent a lot of money and can move on! Maybe it’s because it needs to be on the same purchase to buy multiple bags on the same day? Who knows!
Anyway, I also checked out the Hermès at the airport just to see what their stock was like. It feels very easy to get a non BKC bag (didn’t ask though). I asked for Picotin and Bolide but SA said they were bought this morning. SA showed me a nice dark green swift Lindy 26. I saw another lady who had been looking at a bunch of bags - her bag, garden party, halzan, and some others. I did enough damage so I didn’t get anything.
Well if you read everything — hope it helped!
