I have been around the block with bags, tried so many different Brands and I still fell back into the lap of Hermes. There is a reason it has the prestige that it has been given.
I started my designer bag obsession with Balenciaga, I loved the silver hardware and all the beautiful colors and how edgy they were as well as not having their name plastered all over the place on their bag. I like a little discreetness with my designer items. I had about 31 Balenciagas at one time.
When I had my daughter, carrying a Bal Bag became hard because they really didn't have a cross body that was big enough to put anything in and trying to run after a toddler with a diaper bag in one hand and my Bal in another was hard. Around that time, I started to become obsessed with Hermes bracelets, still am. So one day, I went to my Hermes and looked at the Evelyne...And I loved it!! The GM was big enough to carry the stuff I needed to have taking care of my child, I could carry it cross body, the colors I got were beautiful (my SA, who quickly became my new friend, was great at finding me things I wanted), and with the people I knew, Hermes wasn't a brand they were that familiar with.
Fast forward a few more years and my sister's wedding is coming up and I really don't want to carry one of my 8 Evelynes because they aren't super dressy and a little big for a wedding. So, I started looking at Chanel, I wanted to go smaller. Sold a bunch of my Evelynes and bought a few Chanels. After using them I little while, I realized I wanted more colors of bags and that Chanel bags, for the most part, were too small. So, I sold a few Chanels, and bought Givenchy, LV Almas, a
Prada, a St. Laurent and Lady Diors. So after trying all these different brands, buying and selling bags, I finally decided that I wanted less bags but the best and bought my first Birkin (and my only Birkin for now). I'm in love. Just touching it or even looking at it makes me happy. To get the Birkin, I had to sell most of my other brands, including the Almas (although it wasn't hard). My huge 31 bag collection is now only 9 bags including a Birkin, 2 Evelynes, 2 Lady Diors, 2 Chanel Boys and 1 Chanel Double Flap Maxi, and 1 Balenciaga Work for travel.
So, I have tried so many designer brands, including LV, and my heart just beats for Hermes. Going into an LV store is so different than going into an Hermes store. LV stores are crowded and loud and sales girls acting like bimbos (I'm sure they are smart but they probably act like bimbos to sell more stuff) who are either ignoring you because they are too busy or pushing products on you that you don't want. When I go into any Hermes store, the store is elegant and quiet, the SAs act like grown ups and not bimbos. And the products they offer me are things I'd be interested in. And the idea of being offered a Birkin is been so blown out of proportion it's ridiculous. With all the fraud out there, they should only offer something like that to people they know and trust. Today, people buy bags, swap them with fakes and return them. Now, what if the bag was $15000, would you want to deal with that? Also, when you have a relationship with your SA, they know what to offer you. My SA knows the colors schemes I love and hate. He would never offer me a red Birkin because he knows I hate red. And, these Birkins will last generations, so you can bring them in to your store where your SA will be and ask about getting something fixed or getting your bag cleaned. You can't do that at other stores. They don't even remember the people they help. Going to the Hermes store is like you are all from the same town and they know about your kids and husband, about your job or what you do for fun. It's just a very different feeling that any other shopping I've ever done.
Lastly, about the Almas I had. I had two, one in hot pink and one in turquoise. I kind of liked them but I hated that immediately everyone knew they were LV, because everyone has them. And, I hate LV monogram anything!! This is what I hate the most about LV is that they plaster the monogram on everything ruining the look of a product that could be nice. I feel like LV does this to cater to an immature, insecure market that has to show that they know how to buy things and that they want to look like they have money. To me LV is like a teenage girl, so desperate to get the attention of anyone who also is looking for attention, plus I assume that half the people I see carrying a LV is carrying a fake. Any other designer brand is better than LV to me. Prada,
Fendi, St Laurent, etc. When I seen someone carrying LV my opinion of them changes, a lot.
This is just one Hermes girls opinion of LV. The bags are just ugly and desperate.
I should have made a separate post to share my musings on LV and H products and services as a response to OP.
