I apologize in advance about the length of this post.
Wow! What a whirlwind experience. Exhausted and in want of a shower, we arrived early afternoon and found ourselves unable to check in. We decided to at least change our traveling clothes and walk over to FSH. As expected there was a very long line already. We (my sister, her bf, and I) decided to split up and try our luck alone rather than in a group. I started off in the enamel section and the two of them went to the leather goods line.
There were quite a few people hovering for enamels. Instead of pushing and constantly trying to get someone's attention, I stood patiently at the counter and waited for an SA. About 10 minutes later, I was helped. I was able to get a discontinued mauve colored/PHW clic-clac that I had been wanting. The SA was kind and asked if I had ever shopped at FSH and I told her no, this was my first time. She took my passport info and and asked if I was going to look at other items. I told her I would love to bring something home and she said that today may be my lucky day.
I left to queue in the leather goods line. There were a lot of irritated people as the line was moving slow. Most everyone was either talking loudly, leaning on the counters, or playing on their phone. I stood quietly and admired everything around me. My sister and her boy friend were a few people in front of me. I noticed 4 other people who were in groups that also chose to separate when it was their turn to ask for their list.
We queued for about an hour and forty minutes before it was my turn. The SA monitoring the line was very kind and offered refreshments to everyone because the line was moving so slow. I saw my sister being asked for her passport only to be turned away shortly. Her boyfriend was taken to the other side where the men's RTW was. I didn't see him walking around so I was crossing my fingers that he had been offered something.
After another 15 minutes or so, an SA asked me to follow him. He asked me what I wanted and I told him I would love a constance wallet, a K 28 sellier or retourne, or a B in 25 or 35 in either the red family or even better, something new like glycine or blue glacier. He asked me if I owned any bags and I told him I was a new collector and had fallen in love with the brand and craftsmanship about a year and a half ago. He asked me what I had already gotten and I was honest and shared my collection. He said I was very lucky to have gotten so much in a short amount of time and asked me what I loved about Hermes. We ended up talking about everything from the leathers, colors, and craftsmanship. He asked me what my HG was and I told him I wish they had still offered the box leather, barenia, and vache naturale in the B or K.
He asked me if it was my first time here and I told him yes. He did not ask for my passport. He escorted me to the front of the store where the tables were and asked me to take a seat. After about 15 minutes he came back empty handed. I started to stand and thank him when he asked me to get into the lift so he could show me something. I was sent up alone and when I got upstairs he was waiting with two boxes. I was so excited I couldn't stop smiling and laughing.
He said he had something very very special due to the scarcity of the bag. He slowly unwrapped the box and teased by only showing the handle. When I looked I couldn't believe it... the color of the leather was... BARENIA!!!! He pulled the rest of the cover off to reveal a B30 PHW in Barenia. I could not believe that I had been so lucky to have gotten this bag! We both laughed and talked more about the leathers and how a Barenia bag was so special because of how perfect the leather had to be.
I told him I would take her and love her forever. He smiled and said he had one more special item. I couldn't believe I was being offered anything else. It was a smaller box and I was thinking, just maybe it would be my constance wallet. Instead it was a graphite croc Medor with PHW. It was beautiful!!! I admired it for some time, but knew that I had my heart set on a black box Medor with GHW. I told him how grateful I was that he would offer something so special to me and how I would never forget my first experience at FSH.
I ended picking up a few household goods before I paid. They arranged to have everything delivered to my hotel and I left with the silliest grin.
When I found my sister and her BF outside, they had a big bag with them! I squealed and asked what he had gotten. He was offered a B35 Togo Colvert with GHW!!! Another beautiful bag!
All-in-all, it has been a great start to a wonderful stay in Paris. I hope all of you have tons of fairy dust luck!
p.s. i will post pics of everything as soon as I get home Sunday.
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