Written and Image by Melissa Holdbrook-Akposoe
Hermès Birkin and Kelly bags may just be the most highly coveted bags on earth. There are so many reasons why that’s the case, but here are the main ones:
– They’re said to be a great investment
– Outwardly, it gives onlookers a small peephole into your financial status
Because of the two reasons above, they’re stupidly hard to get.
I count myself as quite “lucky”. I have two Birkin’s and two Kelly’s. A B30 PHW in Noir, B25 GHW in Beton, a Mini Kelly GHW in Noir and a K28 in Noir. A collection that makes others refer to me as “God’s favourite” which honestly isn’t the case at all.
My collection came from a lot of luck and a little bit of strategy, and I’m going to give you tips on how to score your own. It may be long winded but it’ll always be worth it.
Step 1…
Find a sales assistant and stick to them. Going into the store can be very daunting. They purposely behave in a way that makes you feel like you don’t belong but if you’re really about that icon bag life, fight the fear and go in anyway. Go into the store with a purpose. Do you want a pair of Oran sandals? Or a Hermès Apple Watch? Find an item that gives you a reason to go into store and strike up conversation with a sales assistant. Once you find this sales assistant DO NOT LIAISE WITH ANOTHER ONE (unless you hate their guts), they reward loyalty and consistency so show this in any way you can.
Now that you have this sales assistant (hopefully they gave you their whatsapp contact) buy everything through them. Message them often and ask if they’ve got your desired item in. In my case in London, I was after some china tablewear. I constantly checked in with my SA on its arrival as well as any other things I wanted from the store. Thats another thing, DO NOT BUY HERMES ONLINE. It doesn’t count as your spend in the store and your SA will be completely unaware of these purchases. If you find something that you like on the website, send it to your SA and get them to order it in for you and trust me, you’ll be on your way to an icon bag in no time.
When your SA finally asks if “you’d like to see anything else” here is your time to SHINE. Is it your birthday? Jesus’ birthday? Have you moved house? Got a new job? They love it when you have something to celebrate and when you want to mark an occasion by purchasing something of significance from them. This is when you start rolling off your demands.
Before you start reeling off all the things you want remember to do your research before-hand. Do you want a B35, B30 or B25? Or is it a Kelly? 28? 32? Mini Kelly (be realistic) Do you want a Togo leather, Epsom or Clemance? Is the colour you’re going to request even in season?
THESE THINGS ARE IMPORTANT KNOW THEM LIKE YOU KNOW YOUR NAME.
Remember, your SA most likely isn’t going to give you exactly what you want unless they’re enamoured by you (which is extremely unlikely) or you’re a big spender (buy the jewellery, they love you for that AND it’s cheaper than Cartier) but the more specific you are the more likely you’re going to get something close to what you want.
VERY IMPORTANT – the smaller the bag the higher the value it retains, b35’s don’t have great resell-ability so make sure if you want that small bag you request that small bag!
If all of the above fails, there are two wild cards you can pull out.
– For some reason the staff in Hermès LOVE men. Send the closest male you can find to the store and get them to say that they’re buying you a special gift. To be even more specific, they love husbands who are buying for their wives (birthdays, engagements etc)
– Lastly, always try Paris. The likelihood of you getting a bag in Paris is so high that it’ll be stupid not to try. If you are in London with a flexible schedule try booking an appointment at the Faubourg store in Paris here: https://rendezvousparis.hermes.com/client/register once you get an appointment you’re 90% likely to get a bag!
May the odds be in your favour fashion queens!
