Style Forum member's H experience...

[Lyanna Stark]

Thank you, EH. This definitely explains some things. I would still say it is appropriate to at least TRY to familiarize oneself with a specific forum's rules, customs, and tone before posting. At least, before posting a lot. An awful lot. And I do feel that different flavor or not, unkindness, pomposity, and verbosity are recognizable whether chocolate or vanilla. And Merry Christmas, EH!

ETA: And yup, I think this should apply to members of our forum going elsewhere, as well as to members of another forum coming here.

Definitely agree with this, and that repetition of bad behavior is not excusable. Sorry about my previous post, I assumed wrongly that most knew what's going on. I do think that some of the newbies are just impetuous in nature and just barge in and shoot their mouths off before checking out the culture of the place.

Most of the newcomers here are ok. cakey is a great example of how to go about doing it the right way. Icarus, thou, is exceedingly argumentative; or, he may be chuckling behind the monitor to see who takes his bait.

Don't let such posts get under your skin. I do look to the mods for their directive. If they play nice to the newbies, I'll continue to play nice.

 

[cowbelle]

Icarus Doppelganger, I am only on page 9 of this thread but wanted to say, at the risk of jeopardizing acceptance at this forum, I think you are right on some of your points.

 

[cowbelle]

I've been reading this thread for the past 2 days and I guess I'm one of the few that doesn't find ID's posts offensive but intelligent. But that's just me.

ID - Even though I buy into the whole luxury handbag thing (I just recently bought my first Birkin), I agree with A LOT, if not with everything, of what you said ... And yes I'm a woman. Just saying, you've got atleast one fan

I consider myself a semi-fan. And I was not at all offended by ID's posts.

 

[latigresse]

I don't know who this guy is, but if this is a true account, then the service is appalling indeed.

ITA. Sorry to say, but out of all the Hermes boutiques I've shopped at, Madison Avenue is the worst. SA's are snooty, unhelpful and unfriendly. The only exception is Moussa in the jewelry dept., who is an absolute doll! Otherwise, they behave like they're doing the customer a huge favor by waiting on them. The runaround this guy got is not surprising. He has a LOT more patience than I have. I would have slapped that woman after the third *it all depends*

 

[duna]

Geez, I WISH my significant other would buy me a high-end thing or two or my father (when he was alive) for that matter.....but, alas, I buy them for myself. The upside of this is that I get exactly what I want!

I guess I'm in some other demographic or marketing report....

Well said S'Mom, I do exactly the same!

 

[Mindi B]

I do have to say though, we get obnoxious posters here now and then anyway. It can't be helped, but that's the joy and unexpected spark it adds to the forum sometimes.

As for members of the other forum coming here and being obnoxious (and/or strutting other forms of man-ly behaviour )... ...it all comes down to men defending their turf. it's in their cavemen genes.

btw all this talk of pompous and arrogance and style reminded me of this. I can't help it.
hornetskensington.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/louis-xiv-hornets.jpg?w=422&h=600

Love the picture! And I certainly support your right to feel however you like about the posters here, positive or negative. But (and here again, it's merely my opinion) the "boys will be boys" excuse just doesn't fly with me: Fortunately, I know boys/men who don't find obnoxious behavior to be an essential component of their gender identity. And I will only accept the evolutionary argument if the nasty posters are genuine neanderthals, not just wannabes. It is certainly true that a vigorous difference of opinion makes for some interesting reading, though.

 

[PoodleDaddy]

ITA. Sorry to say, but out of all the Hermes boutiques I've shopped at, Madison Avenue is the worst. SA's are snooty, unhelpful and unfriendly. The only exception is Moussa in the jewelry dept., who is an absolute doll! Otherwise, they behave like they're doing the customer a huge favor by waiting on them. The runaround this guy got is not surprising. He has a LOT more patience than I have. I would have slapped that woman after the third *it all depends*

But, but Hermes doesn't work like any other company. One cannot just walk in there...

http://www.abload.de/img/hermes33qpd.jpg

To the OP, It sounds like you are "somebody", because they didn't know it was "you!"
Trust me, H doesn't care a fig who you are if you give them attitude. Perhaps, they didn't know what the heck a breast pocket was. You went in there annoyed to begin with. And, you were not educated in Hermes to understand that you just can't go into an H Boutique and ask for a green pebbled calfskin wallet. They could have shown you a pebbled bullskin wallet or a pebbled goat skin wallet, but you asked for calfskin. You asked for a color that is most likely not in the SLG (small leather goods) collection currently.
Judging from the dialog you memorized you well, you know what you want so much.
As for the wallet costing so much. They are handmade, as you must know. Some cost as much as an inexpensive bag. The wallets are a work of art. They are as much a piece of art as a Birkin or a Constance.
I believe green is going to be a big spring/summer color. Perhaps you could wait until then.
I didn't know this forum existed until somebody on my beloved forum posted your silly post for the pure craziness of it. To own a piece of H is to love it, to have a relationship with an H SA is also important. There is so much more to H than the actual piece of leather. Maybe you are just not "worthy," whoever you are.

 

[Katel]

this was funny on SF, and it's funny here too....



and a late p.s.:

Welcome, men from SF!

 

[Jadeite]

Katel...ahhh..ahhh!

 

[blueberryjam]

Oh Katel that's hysterical!

 

[Balto Bag Lady]

Both are quite handsome men, but I did say fur trimmed overcoat

Also, I never pulled girls hair in school! I wrote little notes where you had to circle the answer; "do you like me, YES/NO". *awaits, "must have said no too many times" comments...



My go to guy to ask has been on Christmas leave, but if prices from 1 year ago are close to correct, you are off literally about 100% regarding the price difference for bull calf/Vache Ligee and box calf.

Hermes gets 95% of its crocodylus porosus and crocodylus niloticus from farms it does not own, located in Africa and Australia. It does have more significant tanning operations, but the majority of it's skins are not tanned in house.

Hermes is a joke in watchmaking circles, no one would work with them to develop new movements, nor did they really understand watchmaking (a company making mostly machine sewn leather bags and wallets making watches? That's like someone from the local jiffy-lube designing the sputnik). The had to grossly overpay for a stake in a small company that had microengineering competency, and even still, most of their watches are basic ETA calibers or Valjoux 7750 with Dubois Depraz modules. You say "automatic watches" like this is some sort of benchmark of connoisseurship; mechanical watches are either automatic or manually wound, neither is better than the other.

Do you ask Hermes to substantiate its statements? Do you believe everything elected politicians say, too?


No goat even comes close to box calf in price, though leather workers do praise it for its pliability which makes it easier to work with than calf.



I did not reply to Paris Hilton because she keeps posting without really saying much, just wanting for me to respond to her.



Call me daddy. Or, call me what you want, as long as you call me

The first thing you notice about Arnault in person is how incredibly short he is, so no I am not him, I'm more than a head taller than him.


You have done that? Then I am genuinely sorry for you.

I would rather have blown my brains out than go to business school or do management consulting. I have yet to feel insulted on here, but being called a consultant comes close.


I specially pointed out very early in this post that I have never told kids there is no santa claus; what a horrible thing to say to someone! I thought Santa was real until I was in middle school I think.

To reply to something Paris Hilton/Mandy wrote when she said, and I am paraphrasing, "You clearly have disdain for everyone here and don't like anyone's posts, so why do you post here":


The closest thing to disdain I have for very few people in the world, and I assure you, I would never have those feeling towards someone because they like handbags or hermes. What one buys does not necessarily define who someone is, and I'm sure you're all fantastic people. I'm sure we would have a fantastic time meeting up for lunch or something along those lines.

As to why I first posted? I guess I was caught up in the madness. Why did I continue to post here? Because not everyone was blindly defensive (for no reason) of Hermes, and actually were interested in knowing more about the business behind the pretty retail stores. It is not true that I do not like everyones posts, I think it's a forum difference, as I see here a lot of you post things like "good post", and I'm just not used to doing that on sf.

Happy Holidays to everyone here, I wish you all a happy and healthy New year!

PS., Apparently some of us share a mutual appreciation of seinfeld and George costanza. Very good to know! Any Larry David fans here?

Okay, Daddy,

So, who is your so-called source? How do you know what we, who actually buy Hermes products and know the prices, dare tell us we have been buying into a giant scam for years? Really. We are all incorrect about the leathers we choose for our bags. Please find your source and out him/her so we can see something in writing. Also, please back up your data about how the bags are mass-made by machine.

You like Larry David? There is hope for you yet. Apparently the healing can begin. Just let us know where you get your so-called information.

Good night and good luck.

 

[baggrl]

Bristol is on here too? What a riot!


My rant, if you will, is not sexist. If you know the textbook definition of sexism, and also know the modus operandi of the big "luxury" companies, it is they who are sexist. Relaying this information to you does not make so. It's important to note that I have a mother, sisters, and perhaps one day will have a daughter; would I think of them in that way? I work with some extremely intelligent and innovative individuals who are women, so I have no negative opinion of the potential and realized intellect of women. I do not think of women who do not work badly either, as a women's biological calling in life is very different (and more consuming) than a man's.

The fact of the matter is, if you yourself are an accomplished woman, you dislike the type of women I mention (celebrities, and those born with money but no taste) more-so than I do.

However, the luxury companies know exactly who their customer is, and I have seen demographic reports and marketing strategies. Their "bread-and-butter" customers are the wives, girlfriends, and daughters of successful men.

When you keep in mind why the aspiring professional women want to buy Hermes, we are back to step one (of the Luxury Brand marketing juggernaut). Those professional women aspire to be like celebrities and wives of wealthy men.

This isn't some giant conspiracy here. Hermes became popular in the states (and therefore, the world) after actresses started to buy their products. These actresses were usually farm girls from the midwest who came to Hollywood in search of fame and fortune; the ultimate aspirational story.

Now, regarding the whole "He should have done his research first!!" attitude:

Guess who is Hermes' #2 customer group after Wives and daughters of the wealthy? The men who shop for them.

Is Hermes really not going to take their business because they do not posses the arbitrary and useless information that is Hermes' product line? Of course not. So, this is not a valid argument whatsoever.

You many call my previous post sexist and drivel, but I challenge anyone of you to refute any of the information I wrote about the "luxury brands". I'm sure people in the various industries mentioned read this site, and they are nodding their heads. It's just not "sexy" marketing to show an Arabic north African immigrant doing sewing work that anyone with a free arm industrial leather sewing machine can do.

edit: Also, my username on styleforum is Icarus, hence my name here. And S'mom, you need better heroes

Not sure of the basis of your assertions about why and how women purchase Hermes goods. But, for a man who seems to be at least somewhat educated, your statements come off as simply silly. There are many women represented on this forum and elsewhere who are professionals (including myself) who have acquired Hermes and every other good owned through their own hard work. Further, those goods have been acquired because of genuine appreciation for the style and workmanship without regard for wanting to be like a celebrity..

 

[Ammietwist]

First, I have never experienced anything but helpful, intelligent service from Hermes. But *if* there is any truth to this account (and I stress *if*) are you not in some way offended by the treatment? Think about it ... the sales representative of a luxury brand (ie the "face of the brand") who does not know, or isn't sure of, the brand's product. Customer service training is long overdue.

If you're going in for something basic, or you're ecstatic that an item you love is right there in the store, then the SAs can be great. If, OTOH, you're looking for something in particular, they may well have never even heard of the product. While I've had many great experiences at Hermes, I've also run into a lot of clueless SAs that haven't been trained properly and won't take the initiative to learn on their own. It's happened everywhere from Beverly Hills to Charlotte so it's not that isolated.

 

[Ammietwist]

There are many women represented on this forum and elsewhere who are professionals (including myself) who have acquired Hermes and every other good owned through their own hard work. Further, those goods have been acquired because of genuine appreciation for the style and workmanship without regard for wanting to be like a celebrity..

Let's be brutally honest though. Hermes markets the Kelly and Birkin as the type of bag to show that "you have arrived," and it's priced accordingly. There's a certain amount of "I have one, too" when you carry a known status item of this type. It's not just a luxury item, it's a STATUS item, and the fact that they can still sell what they produce with double-digit increases each year shows that people want it that badly. Regardless of the quality, it screams what it is just like a Chanel 2.55. Now if you really didn't give a darn, you'd go exclusive with your own design. There's a company in Paris that will produce the bag of your dreams where you choose the leather/skin, color, details, hardware...etc., and the only way you're getting one is to be referred by a current customer. And yes, it will be every bit as costly as Hermes.

 

[Ammietwist]

Poor Mr. mafoofan was trying to gain entry to the Hermès club without knowing the secret handshake. He admitted himself in the first bit of dialog that he was not particularly familiar with the brand nor the various designs.

I'll have to disagree a bit. They are indeed called a "breast wallet," and anyone who sells SLGs would or should be familiar with the term. I'd also say in this case that there would be no need to gain entry to the club because the SA should want the commission if nothing else. They're willing to spend the money so, duh, cultivate a new client for your book. If she has to do a search, she gets on the computer to do the search. If a special order is required, then she checks into that option if she's not up on the latest facts. I really do see asking for a "breast wallet" to be on par with wanting a credit card holder. That shouldn't be a problem either.