What happened AFTER you got your Holy Grail?

[ItsKindaCrazy]

For a while, my HG bag was a Birkin. I was going to Paris last summer & decided to rent a Birkin for the trip to take with me. I felt like a million bucks at first walking down Champs-Elysses! I couldn’t wait to go into Hermes. Every time I’m an Hermes store in the States they’re always busy but I falsely assumed if they saw I’m carrying a ~Birkin~ maybe they would prioritize me as a customer. It made no difference. And while I was excited about carrying the Birkin, I wasn’t obnoxiously showing it to them. I was discreet.

What really got to me was in the airport on the way home. I was in line to check in & there was a beautiful mom with her kids. It looked as though they did not have much money. I felt guilty & angry with myself. Why was this Birkin so special? It was actually impractical having to unhook & open the flaps to get inside every time I needed something. Why was I of all people worthy of carrying this $15k handbag around Paris but this hard-working mom wasn’t? The fact is, I’m no better than she is. I wanted to put the Birkin away at that point. I didn’t want to buy one anymore. I was actually a bit disgusted with it & what it stood for, & I was angry at myself because for me, it is entirely impractical. :/ This is not meant to offend Birkin owners, because the bag may be very practical & work for others. But for me personally, I am self-supported & it would be too large of an investment for me to be profitable. I am glad I realized that beforehand.

The reason I’m posting this is because I urge you to invest in a bag that you love because YOU love it— not because of its value on the market or the current trends. I also recommend renting your HG bag first to see what you think. I hope that helps.

 

[JenJBS]

For a while, my HG bag was a Birkin. I was going to Paris last summer & decided to rent a Birkin for the trip to take with me. I felt like a million bucks at first walking down Champs-Elysses! I couldn’t wait to go into Hermes. Every time I’m an Hermes store in the States they’re always busy but I falsely assumed if they saw I’m carrying a ~Birkin~ maybe they would prioritize me as a customer. It made no difference. And while I was excited about carrying the Birkin, I wasn’t obnoxiously showing it to them. I was discreet.

What really got to me was in the airport on the way home. I was in line to check in & there was a beautiful mom with her kids. It looked as though they did not have much money. I felt guilty & angry with myself. Why was this Birkin so special? It was actually impractical having to unhook & open the flaps to get inside every time I needed something. Why was I of all people worthy of carrying this $15k handbag around Paris but this hard-working mom wasn’t? The fact is, I’m no better than she is. I wanted to put the Birkin away at that point. I didn’t want to buy one anymore. I was actually a bit disgusted with it & what it stood for, & I was angry at myself because for me, it is entirely impractical. :/ This is not meant to offend Birkin owners, because the bag may be very practical & work for others. But for me personally, I am self-supported & it would be too large of an investment for me to be profitable. I am glad I realized that beforehand.

The reason I’m posting this is because I urge you to invest in a bag that you love because YOU love it— not because of its value on the market or the current trends. I also recommend renting your HG bag first to see what you think. I hope that helps.

Thank you for being so honest, vulnerable, and self aware. Excellent advice.

 

[QuelleFromage]

I love this question! MY HG is a bag you have to be "in the club" so my chances of procuring are not immediately high. I'd love a 28 black box Kelly GHW. I saw a young lady wearing one at the O'Hare Airport recently which reinforced my wish. If I were to purchase one, I don't know if I'd look for another for quite a while. My current collection is satisfactory to me and if my HG doesn't materialize I still consider myself a very fortunate person. Another bag I'd love to have is a black distressed Chanel reissue. I guess that once a HG is at hand, there will still be other bags we desire. Car collectors will say the same thing about cars. I'm married to one, so I know!

So true likening it to car collectors! Incidentally, my total dream HG is a 28 Kelly too, but I’ve pretty much put that to bed. I’d want a newer color with palladium hw and the ones I like that come up on the resale market are still much too expensive.

Would you not consider a vintage? There are a ton of BBKs on the resale market with gold hw. I did have a black porc Kelly for a while, but black has never been a favorite bag color for me so I let it go. Still kinda kicking myself for that!

My HGs were Rouge H and Black Box calf Kellys and I found both at vintage. The black GHW especially is really not as unattainable as you would think (and in all honesty Box calf is very, very expensive new, more than most Hermès leathers, so why pay for a new bag when they are plentiful at resale and a new one will get scratched?).
You really have GREAT opportunities at resale for as little as 1/4 the price.

I still have the red Kelly but I thought the GHW on the black was not working for me so I sold it and I regret that a bit.

Did it end my desire for bags? No, but I was and am still thrilled by these bags. If they were less delicate, they would probably be the mainstay of my wardrobe. Almost all m y bags are HGs to me now and the few that are not will find new homes

 

[papertiger]

I am guilty of putting the more delicate ones the shelf and ticking that box but equally using others that are more hardy. I suppose we all need to have double-HGs - use one/keep one but the middle way is also good. Use for special occasions and not everyday.

I am not in favour of guilt-tripping women (or men) for what they choose to buy or wear. I think it's a very easy trap for (especially) women to fall into. Doesn't matter if the money is in the bank on the end of my arm, it's my money. We shouldn't think others' priorities are fashion either, most people don't think about strangers' things, they are thinking about what to make for dinner or getting home.

Don't be afraid to use your HG, look after it but enjoy it.

 

[GeorgiaGirl67]

The majority of women around here carry LV and Michael Kors. I feel almost undercover when I carry my Picotin because there’s no logo, no visible name..nothing. Just me knowing it’s Hermès

I love and prefer bags that are subtle for that very reason!

 

[keodi]

For a while, my HG bag was a Birkin. I was going to Paris last summer & decided to rent a Birkin for the trip to take with me. I felt like a million bucks at first walking down Champs-Elysses! I couldn’t wait to go into Hermes. Every time I’m an Hermes store in the States they’re always busy but I falsely assumed if they saw I’m carrying a ~Birkin~ maybe they would prioritize me as a customer. It made no difference. And while I was excited about carrying the Birkin, I wasn’t obnoxiously showing it to them. I was discreet.

What really got to me was in the airport on the way home. I was in line to check in & there was a beautiful mom with her kids. It looked as though they did not have much money. I felt guilty & angry with myself. Why was this Birkin so special? It was actually impractical having to unhook & open the flaps to get inside every time I needed something. Why was I of all people worthy of carrying this $15k handbag around Paris but this hard-working mom wasn’t? The fact is, I’m no better than she is. I wanted to put the Birkin away at that point. I didn’t want to buy one anymore. I was actually a bit disgusted with it & what it stood for, & I was angry at myself because for me, it is entirely impractical. :/ This is not meant to offend Birkin owners, because the bag may be very practical & work for others. But for me personally, I am self-supported & it would be too large of an investment for me to be profitable. I am glad I realized that beforehand.

The reason I’m posting this is because I urge you to invest in a bag that you love because YOU love it— not because of its value on the market or the current trends. I also recommend renting your HG bag first to see what you think. I hope that helps.

great advice! every time I decided on getting a big purchase, I rented the bag to be sure before I spent the money. Since getting my holy grail bags, the desire to buy bags have slowed down a lot. at this point I'm looking at 2 more bag purchases and I'll be bag content.

 

[GeorgiaGirl67]

I went backwards and got my HGs first -- a Chanel and LV bag. After that I bought three vintage Coaches. That was in 2014; then a week or so ago I bought a Givenchy Nightingale Micro.