After years of perusing this thread, and living vicariously through all of you with the highs and lows of getting your dream bag from Paris, I can finally contribute with my own post! A fair bit of warning, it’s a long ‘un!
I have been trying to get a Mini Lindy in London for the past year, with the search intensifying in December - partially as a Christmas present to myself, a bag for 2022, and to also avoid the rumoured price increase coming in January.
I spoke to my S.A. about it, and he said, leave it with me. To be frank, that was the same thing he told me all year, and I wasn’t really filled with confidence, and it really didn’t seem like it was going to happen for me. If you’ve read the London thread, you might have seen that I tried my luck with NBS and Selfridges on multiple days.
Each time, I was met with disappointment - being told that the Mini Lindy was akin to a quota bag, it was almost as rare to find in store as the Big Three. I was also fed the party line that they were not expecting any deliveries between Christmas Eve and January. I was doubtful that this was the case, as I can’t imagine a store saying that they had absolutely no stock during the highest retail footfall period. All of these disappointing experiences culminated in a terrible evening where I was pickpocketed outside the New Bond Street store just before Christmas Eve.
That put me in such a funk that I stopped trying for a few days.
My friend cajoled me into trying again when we were going to Harrods. I tried to get there in time for opening, but the tube had other ideas, and I ended up being 8th in line. When we got to my turn, I asked the S.A. for a Mini Lindy. She went away for a while, and came back, I’m sorry, we had one in Cassis GHW Clemence, but we literally just sold it to the customer before you. I was so disappointed I almost banged my head into the desk with frustration. We tried Selfridges again later that afternoon, but as expected, nothing was forthcoming, and again, was told there were no deliveries between Christmas and New Year, despite me being shown new bags that I hadn’t been shown on previous days.
My friend then messaged me late that evening, with a screenshot of two tickets on the Eurostar to Paris! She felt so bad for me that she surprised me with a day trip to Paris! She truly is an incredibly thoughtful person.
We decided to give it a shot with the three Paris stores despite not having any appointments, hoping that some good luck might result in some good news.
We got to FSH for opening time, and I approached the S.A. in charge of leather appointments to see if there were any cancellations. The S.A. raised an eyebrow and asked me what I was looking for. When I told her I was looking for a Mini Lindy, she paused. She said that getting a Mini Lindy was pretty much like a BKC, there’s just not enough stock. She asked me where I was from, and how long I was in Paris for. When I told her I was only here for the day, she considered for a moment, and said, there were no cancellations. But then she said, maybe come and find her in the afternoon and she’ll see what she can do. This was predicated on a non-Big Three request, and with absolutely no promises that she could fit me in. I was immensely grateful to her for this, as I had noted many other people had been dismissed completely out of hand when they asked for an appointment - being directed to the website. I thanked her, and left the store. The store was absolutely heaving, and I could hear a lot of people having meltdowns about not getting an appointment.
We then tried Sevres and George V - but in both those stores, we were given the same spiel regarding only online appointments are available, and that at this time of year it is immensely difficult to fit any more people in, as they have to maintain stock levels for people who had secured online appointments.
Suitably chastened, we moseyed on to some of the other stores, but all I had in my mind was Hermes, so I didn’t really pay much attention to the other boutiques. We had brunch at the Plaza Athenee to refuel, and relax before my afternoon attempt. My friend was disappointed that we didn’t get any appointments but I told her I had faith and hope, given the invitation to come back to FSH that afternoon.
We went back to FSH for 2pm, and I went to look for the leather appointment S.A. When I went to see her, at first she gave me the spiel of no appointments, no service. When I said I was looking for a Mini Lindy, recognition dawned on her face. Ah yes, she remembered me. She asked me if I had a profile here with FSH - and I told her I only shopped for a pocket square there 15 years ago! LOL. She told me to put in my email anyway - and I saw that she could see my London profile. She tapped away for a few moments, and then she said the magic words. Come back in an hour, we’ll have a non-QB leather appointment for you then. She took my mobile number and I went on my merry way, smiling like a nun with concussion.
We ended up at the Crillon for tea while we waited for the appointment, and I had one eye glued on my phone staring at the confirmation message that I had an appointment, still not quite believing it.
We went back to FSH exactly an hour later, and the appointment S.A. introduced me to the leather specialist who was going to help me. She was polite, but not particularly friendly, which didn’t faze me. I asked her if she had a good Christmas, and that warmed her up a little bit, thanking me for asking her that.
She took me up to a semi-private area on the second floor. I presume this is where they put everyone who’s not looking for the Big Three. We sat down and went through my preferences, which were GHW with either neutrals, or bright jewel tones in yellows or blues. She asked if I would consider a Lindy 26/30 or any other bag if she didn’t have any Mini Lindys, as the stock level was very low that day.
I stuck to my guns, if you don’t have a Mini Lindy, there’s no point in bringing any other styles, as I know exactly what I’m after.
She noted that, and left me with my thoughts (a scary proposition at the best of times). She was absent for a good 25 minutes, and every time an S.A. appeared from around the corner empty-handed, I nearly had a coronary incident and fell off my chair.
She finally re-emerged with a solitary small box. I hadn’t appreciated how small the box was, and was initially confused thinking she brought me a shoebox.
She sat down and said, “it was very difficult, but I found you something. I’m not sure if you’ll like it, given that it is PHW.”
I was almost going to pass out from the stress of anticipation. She slowly unpacked the box to reveal an absolute stunner of a Mini Lindy in Lime with PHW in Clemence. I looked at my friend in stunned silence, as we saw a bag in this exact shade being offered a few days ago by a reseller, which had incensed me even more with my lack of success.
I was surprised it was called Lime, as it looks like a true yellow to me, and I couldn’t see the green undertones in the leather.
The S.A. said “I don’t know if you’d like this, as we wouldn’t have this combination in GHW, and I think it works better with PHW.” I could barely hear what she was saying as I was doing jubilant cartwheels in my head. I took all of my composure not to jump about with excitement. I thanked her profusely for the offer and said I would take it!
She escorted me to the cashier to get payment and the detaxe forms filled out while she went to get it wrapped up. She beamed with pleasure as she handed me the bag, saying how happy she was to be able to fulfil my wishes.
I was smiling like a Cheshire Cat all the way on the Eurostar home, and made sure to stop by Fortnums to get my friend a bottle of champagne, as a tiny, tiny gesture of my immense gratitude for her helping me fulfil my bag dream for 2022!
Presenting my new little drop of sunshine!
Apologies for the lengthy read, I do hope you enjoyed my little journey!
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... after such a disappointment, I will probably stick with my home store for my future purchases.
