When did Kelly's get a shoulder strap?

[melisande]

Unfortunately, it isnt that simple. I have a 1999 Kelly with a single ring and it has the original strap. I would guess that all double ring Kelly's have the strap but not all single rings do.

Of course it wouldn't be as simple as that! I thought it sounded too good to be true.

 

[melisande]

Kellys with double rings only started being produced in 2000, before that they came with shoulder strap but no double rings (which was much better IMO)

Thanks! Obviously the rings are no guide at all, then. So much for that idea. I appreciate the information.

 

[cheapfrillnorth]

Of course it wouldn't be as simple as that! I thought it sounded too good to be true.

Melisande, it is never simple with Hermes. Ever. I feel dim for asking such a basic question but unless you have been buying for years you just don't know.

 

[Hermes Nuttynut]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I fear that the Kelly I was looking at has lost its strap. Can't understand how someone can buy an expensive bag and then lose a significant part of i and just forget but they do.

I bought my 2006 Kelly, with the double rings but no strap, on the secondary market. I don't think the bag was ever used, but I've always wondered how the strap could go missing. Anyway, it was too good a deal to pass up, so I made my own strap.

My olive canvas Kelly with pigskin trim came with the wide fabric strap from NY Hermes in 1987.
I ordered a black box Kelly at same store following year . It arrived in a few months without a strap.Asked for a strap and months later (again) i received narrow leather strap with Herm Sprenger scissor clasps. Strap was $ 185. - I think. Bag at that time was $2500.
Most recent Kelly from NY Madison Ave shop has strap as does my pigskin Kelly (Sandia Exchange ) . Does anyone know when hardware on straps was changed ?

I have an olive canvas Kelly, too!! Mine's from 1985 and the leather trim is veau gras.

 

[melisande]

Melisande, it is never simple with Hermes. Ever. I feel dim for asking such a basic question but unless you have been buying for years you just don't know.

I've definitely been learning this. Had been wondering about this whole issue myself, which is why my initial thought was phrased as a question rather than as an answer (am still learning myself . Am glad to see all of the responses here.

 

[QuelleFromage]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I fear that the Kelly I was looking at has lost its strap. Can't understand how someone can buy an expensive bag and then lose a significant part of i and just forget but they do.



chincac, you are right. I think £400-£500 may buy you a strap these days but lord alone knows how long it would take.

I have been looking for a strap for my rouge H Kelly and this is the wisdom I have gleaned from a few conflicting SAs and store managers:
You can order a strap, but the wait now can be as long as two years. Even for canvas straps it is long now. H will not sell you a strap without seeing the bag, and may very well take the bag for a period to ensure a match.
Some stores (FSH, Madison) do have straps in stock, especially of current common leathers and neutral colors. They are patchy on whether they will tell you this. And again, they will NOT sell you a strap without seeing the bag.

If you have a damaged strap, however, even if it's in shreds hanging on, H will repair it

 

[chicinthecity777]

I have been looking for a strap for my rouge H Kelly and this is the wisdom I have gleaned from a few conflicting SAs and store managers:
You can order a strap, but the wait now can be as long as two years. Even for canvas straps it is long now. H will not sell you a strap without seeing the bag, and may very well take the bag for a period to ensure a match.
Some stores (FSH, Madison) do have straps in stock, especially of current common leathers and neutral colors. They are patchy on whether they will tell you this. And again, they will NOT sell you a strap without seeing the bag.

If you have a damaged strap, however, even if it's in shreds hanging on, H will repair it

Not necessarily. I was in Paris in June and went through their "straps drawer" for a vintage BBK but they didn't have it in stock. I didn't have the bag with me and at no point they said they needed to see the bag. She was more than happy to sell me one if only the colour leather was what I was looking for.

 

[QuelleFromage]

Not necessarily. I was in Paris in June and went through their "straps drawer" for a vintage BBK but they didn't have it in stock. I didn't have the bag with me and at no point they said they needed to see the bag. She was more than happy to sell me one if only the colour leather was what I was looking for.

As always with H you don't know, but the rule and this is especially with vintage bags is they are not supposed to sell a strap without matching it to the bag. Who knows what may have happened at checkout, or perhaps they are more comfortable with black, who knows?

 

[chicinthecity777]

As always with H you don't know, but the rule and this is especially with vintage bags is they are not supposed to sell a strap without matching it to the bag. Who knows what may have happened at checkout, or perhaps they are more comfortable with black, who knows?

That is my point. This isn't the first rule we have heard that have been broken. I doubt very much anybody would have stopped me from pay for it at check-out.

 

[chicinthecity777]

With H, rules are made to be broken.

 

[chicinthecity777]

As for OP's original question, I highly suspect the previous owner mis-laid the strap.

 

[chicinthecity777]

And the straps available at Paris starts at 500 euros, which is totally insane!

 

[chicinthecity777]

I have managed to find a piece that said straps were optional and changed around 1990. A member here bought a Kelly in 1980 and it didnt come with a strap yet the one bought in 1991 came with one. There are many vintage Kelly 28's without straps that it makes me wonder if all sizes of Kelly's came with straps or whether they were phased in. Or maybe the older they get the more likely it is to lose a strap.

I don't know whether you still want to buy this Kelly or not but I know my friend bought a strap off eBay for £15 or something and I couldn't tell the difference from an arm's length.

 

[thyme]

Not necessarily. I was in Paris in June and went through their "straps drawer" for a vintage BBK but they didn't have it in stock. I didn't have the bag with me and at no point they said they needed to see the bag. She was more than happy to sell me one if only the colour leather was what I was looking for.

As always with H you don't know, but the rule and this is especially with vintage bags is they are not supposed to sell a strap without matching it to the bag. Who knows what may have happened at checkout, or perhaps they are more comfortable with black, who knows?

i was in paris fsh aug 2012 and was trying a canvas red strap with my orange kelly! i was told all the straps are for sale..no restrictions..why would they be any? all the straps were made for customers who didn't pick them up i was told.

 

[cheapfrillnorth]

I don't know whether you still want to buy this Kelly or not but I know my friend bought a strap off eBay for £15 or something and I couldn't tell the difference from an arm's length.

What a great idea. I will try this and also Paris too although I guess that its the blacks and browns that are the hardest to find as they were most popular.