To those that said "With the increases, I'll just save for Hermes"

IntlSet

Bonjour!
Jan 29, 2006
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I've read multiple times on the forum the phrase (and its variations): "With the price increases I might as well buy Hermes" or "I'll just save a little more for Hermes" and I wonder why? (No, really, am honestly curious.)

Hermes has a completely different aesthetic than Chanel does. It seems strange that these two seem somehow interchangeable to so many of you... I love both brands (although I am not willing to do a song and dance for a Birkin, which is why I don't have one!) but in my mind I see them as completely different. Because a Hermes bag and a Chanel bag may be similiarly priced would not make me automatically choose the Hermes.

I am just curious... maybe you gals can explicate!
 
i'm not entirely sure
(im def not an expert)
but i was reading around and i remember reading that hermes bags were made by ONE person
so like... one bag was only touched by one person, you know?
which obviously makes that bag even more special and pricey
 
A lot more craftsmanship is placed into a birkin. However, I love Chanel so much more. I acquired my first and only Birkin in June, and unless I can get my hands on a diamond croc Birkin, I do not believe I would ever purchase another. My gold togo sits in it's box and does not see the light of day. Meanwhile, I am purchasing more and more Chanel. I understand the quality aspect, however very little by Hermes overly impresses me. The scarves and belts, I love. However, I would take a Chanel over a Birkin any day. JMO.
 
even if Chanel and Hermes cost the same price I would get a Chanel because I prefer how it looks and I find I am too young for Hermes and I feel that Chanel suits my lifesyle better as a student and parent.
 
For myself, I don't own a large number of bags. I don't see the point. And I don't have money to collect bags for the sake of collecting (wish I did, lol). My style, taste has ALWAYS leaned towards the simple, elegant lines, classic and the best of the best that money can buy. To explain that; I grew up in a household/family where you bought the orginal of something, never a copy. You don't need to have a huge wardrobe, you just need to have the highest quality, best fitting, classic items that flatter you; don't skimp on that. Jewelry is the same. You only need a few amazing pieces. Get the best. It many not be a huge diamond, but it will be the best qualilty, finest diamond there is.

That's how I was raised, my mother was raised, her mother and so on. To me, Chanel was a classic (still is in many ways), but the name/look HAS changed. Not always for the better. I want a purse that will always be in style and is an investment. I don't buy on a whim; I'm looking for a specific look. I don't see that in Chanel, for the most part. There are some gorgeous bags, but they are not my "style" and they are, for me, not worth the money. Add to that the constant price increase and the quality issues and I'm just not impressed any more.

I spent over $4000 on one of my Chanel bags. CLassic, I use it often. That bag is now over $5000 due to the price increase (1 year later). Investment. But many of the classic bags also tend to look alike (when you own a few of them, lol). The birken or kelly is a different look. Also well made, also timeless, also elegant. As CHanel climbs up there in price, I think I'll just start waiting, saving and purchase a Hermes. It's different, different look but still fits the "look" I have.
 
Status shoppers. The feeling that you don't get *that much* back from your purchase with the increase and that you'd get way more back from Hermes with just a little more money.
 
Hermes is much more than a Birkin or Kelly. There's a Bolide, Evelyne, and THE LINDY (BEST EVER).
Within each type of bag, there are differing sizes, many more types of leather, and color, that expand beyond the scope of what most companies offer for their bag selections. There is even a different feel between rigide and souple, etc.

I'm not saying that this makes Chanel crap or that Hermes is god, I'm just pointing out that people tend to only think of one thing when they hear of Hermes, and they do a LOT more than a Birkin. Even their agendas are immaculately created.

There are many styles of bag that can appeal to the more casual person, dressy, or funky.

Chanel and Hermes fill different niches and to me they are not interchangeable. It just depends on how you want to spend your hard earned money.
 
ITA with cjj. i'm probably a lot younger than the usual hermes demographic but i'm thinking about getting one (with my own money) in the near future. and when you're willing to spend a certain amount of money on a bag, you expect the craftsmanship to be there and with the amount of time/effort hermes puts into each birkin, you know it will be. i love balenciaga and chanel and they both look very different. not to say that they are interchangeable but (imo ;)) it works with my wardrobe. in that same way, instead of spending another 7k on a few chanels, i rather save it up and buy a birkin. i think my collection is somewhat complete, there are a few more classics i would like but if prices keep going up and quality heads the other way then i would rather spend my money elsewhere. just my 2c :flowers:
 
Hermes is much more than a Birkin or Kelly. There's a Bolide, Evelyne, and THE LINDY (BEST EVER).
Within each type of bag, there are differing sizes, many more types of leather, and color, that expand beyond the scope of what most companies offer for their bag selections. There is even a different feel between rigide and souple, etc.

I'm not saying that this makes Chanel crap or that Hermes is god, I'm just pointing out that people tend to only think of one thing when they hear of Hermes, and they do a LOT more than a Birkin. Even their agendas are immaculately created.

There are many styles of bag that can appeal to the more casual person, dressy, or funky.

Chanel and Hermes fill different niches and to me they are not interchangeable. It just depends on how you want to spend your hard earned money.

I agree that they fill different niches, but as I said, it seems from posts others have made that because they are both expensive luxury lines, they're interchangable. I may have just misinterpreted what was said.

This is just my personal opinion and I bet it will change as I grow older (and acquire more funds and more patience), but I don't find any of those bags appealing. The only bags I like from Hermes are Kellys and Birkins, but I am completely and totally turned off by the process of acquiring what one wants. I am unwilling to let a sales person determine whether or not I am fit to be put on some kind of waitlist and I don't want to buy scarves and agendas and bags I don't really appreciate in the hopes of someday being deemed worthy enough to purchase a Birkin. (And yes, I realize some people are "lucky" enough to score a Birkin immediately.) I really blame status-seekers for turning Hermes into "god" because it's just silly. I wonder if these people who say "I will just get an Hermes instead" are talking about the Bolides and other like bags that are less recognizable or if they are talking about the Kellys and the Birkins...
 
Interesting post. I think alot of great points have been brought up. I think some people said that because, while it's great to own a Chanel, it's somehow much more mystical and rare to own a Hermes. A Hermes Birkin is considered by most to be the Holy Grail of purses. Maybe it's because it's so expensive to buy one, that it's the ultimate status symbol or maybe it's solely for quality, either way, why spend a fortune on just a "purse" when you can buy the Holy Grail of purses for just a tad more?

I personally love Chanel and feel it fits my lifestyle and personality better. However, if someone gave me the choice between a Chanel and a Birkin for only a negligible difference, I sure would take the Birkin. I would not spend $10,000 on a Chanel, but I might on a Birkin. Part of it is the quality and the fact that very few others have the same bag, but I think the other part is that I've gotten Chanel for much cheaper in the past. Chanel is the best designer purse brand to me short of Hermes, but there is a big gap between the two in my book. I don't think anyone will ever be in the same league as Hermes until they start making their bags the same way- hand made one by one with the strictest quality control. That, to me, sets it so far above every other brand that I feel it's ridiculous to spend the same amount of money on a bag that was mass produced. Just my opinion....
 
While I think Chanel and Hermes are very different, they are similar in some ways. They are both exclusive, classic, timeless, and claim high quality craftmanship, not to mention they are such status symbols. While parts of Chanel bags are indeed handmade, they are put together in an assemblyline. Hermes bags are only made by a handful of craftmen in the world, they have to have a certain number of years experience, and they work on the bag for about a month. It does make it understandable that the price is pretty high. Chanel's markups arent as justified in people's minds. Everyone seems to be speculating about "why Chanel is raising their prices". Chanel's markups are now closer to Hermes so its natural they'd compete a bit more. I have Hermes bags (kelly and Birkin) and while I love them, I dont find them as comfortable to carry as my classic flaps and reissues. I do admit that I too indulged in a rouge Kelly recently instead of a metallic reissue.
 
I used to love Louis Vuitton, and I remember (way back when) I paid $700 for an LV bag and thought it was expensive. I gradually moved up the LV chain to their suhali line of bags, which were about $2000 plus. After a while I graduated to Chanel, paying around $1600 a bag, and they slowly started creeping up (maybe not so slowly, LOL). Now I see a jumbo flap costing a full thousand more just one year later. I realize this price is nowhere near a Birkin, but as I see Chanel prices rise so quickly it makes me rethink buying any new bags from them. Had the increases been smaller over a larger period of time, I don't think we would have felt it as much, but to have huge increases so fast, just makes me see the brand as greedy. I don't care if they didn't increase when other brands did, I feel that they find they are quite popular right now, and want to take advantage of it. And that's fine because all businesses are in it for the profit. But when I now see Chanel bags costing $3000 and up (for bags that used to cost a lot less just a short while ago, or for new style bags) I start to do some math and see that they are starting to creep close to the price of a Birkin.

I have always loved the look of a Birkin, even though it looks nothing like a Chanel. I love my suhali bags from LV, even though they look nothing like Chanel. Plus I have many other bags from other lines that I also love, and they look nothing like Chanel. A Birkin is a bag I have always wanted, and as Chanel prices rise, it makes a Birkin seem that much more attainable.

I am not putting down Chanel, because I really do love the Chanel bags that I have, and I don't blame the company for raising prices, because that's what business is all about.

So even though an Hermes Birkin is quite different than a Chanel bag, I still love the look of it, it's timeless quality (much like a flap), and the price now does not seem as high as it used to. JMO
 
I agree that they fill different niches, but as I said, it seems from posts others have made that because they are both expensive luxury lines, they're interchangable. I may have just misinterpreted what was said.

This is just my personal opinion and I bet it will change as I grow older (and acquire more funds and more patience), but I don't find any of those bags appealing. The only bags I like from Hermes are Kellys and Birkins, but I am completely and totally turned off by the process of acquiring what one wants. I am unwilling to let a sales person determine whether or not I am fit to be put on some kind of waitlist and I don't want to buy scarves and agendas and bags I don't really appreciate in the hopes of someday being deemed worthy enough to purchase a Birkin. (And yes, I realize some people are "lucky" enough to score a Birkin immediately.) I really blame status-seekers for turning Hermes into "god" because it's just silly. I wonder if these people who say "I will just get an Hermes instead" are talking about the Bolides and other like bags that are less recognizable or if they are talking about the Kellys and the Birkins...

:yes:
And some people do want a Birkin 'because it's a Birkin', not because they give a crap about what actually goes into one, the beautiful craftsmanship, different colors and leathers, etc. There's actually a thread on the H forum titled http://forum.purseblog.com/hermes/dilemma-someone-asks-for-help-in-getting-birkin-210632.html , it is a ridiculous story about a lady who obviously just wants to use this poor guy to get a Birkin because she thinks she should have one and he helped a mutual friend before. People's sense of entitlement is really aggravating sometimes.
I'm only 24 but I've loved H since I was a kid, ever since I saw that picture of Princess Grace with her Kelly bag...the more I learned, the more I loved. I don't currently own anything from H, but I educate myself on styles I like, colors, etc. I will be well prepared and will get exactly what I want. It probably doesn't hurt that I don't really want a Birkin or anything - I want a Lindy and a Jige clutch (so dang adorable). That being said, I am into history and classic things, so I also want a Chanel jumbo flap, ballet flats and a suit.
Am I anywhere close to acquiring any of these? Just a short deployment away :lol: But in the meantime, I admire a lot of different styles. Chanel's price hikes don't necessarily make me say 'OMG HERMES ALL THE WAY' automatically, it just makes me think that I can try to be more creative about acquiring the classic pieces I want from the company.