my month with birkin

So, for the time being, I’m the proud owner of TWO Hermes Birkin bags.

I really don’t know what to do with them, if I’m being completely honest. 

A brief history of the Birkin. In 1981, the head of Hermes, Jean-Louis Dumas, was sitting next to Jane Birkin on a plane. She was carrying a straw bag which she put into the overhead compartment and apparently, during the course of the plane ride, it’s contents fell to the floor of the plane. She complained to Dumas about not being able to find a leather weekend tote that she liked. Shortly after, the Birkin bag was developed exclusively for her, based on an 1892 design.

Since it’s development, the Birkin bag has become a massive symbol of wealth; mainly due to its high cost and its popularity. Every Birkin is made by hand, with leather obtained from different tanners throughout France. Each bag takes roughly 48 hours to make. Birkins range from $7,400-$150,00 – which make them pretty much only available to the most elite of society. Fun fact: the most expensive Birkin ever made costs $1.9 MILLION. Hermes justifies the price due to the bag’s meticulous craftsmanship. In past years, there was a six year waiting list to obtain one of these bad boys. These days, however, Birkins are easier to obtain – but only if you have the cash to get one.

SO – after they were obtained for me, I sat around trying to figure out how I would portray them here on the blog. I could post them with outfits and try and convince all of you that I had $15,000 to spare to spend on a Birkin, but then I realized, that it’s all so ridiculous. So many celebrities are out there dropping HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars on these purses (cough cough Kim Kardashian cough cough). And why? Does it make them any happier? Does it make them better people? Does having a Birkin bag make them any more superior than to you or me? The answer is, obviously, NO. 

But I figured it would be interesting to write about what holding one of these bags for a month feels like. How does it affect me? Does it change the way I feel about myself and my own personal style? Questions that most of us mortals (aka, non-celebs) will never really know because none of us really have access to accessories like these – a piece of leather that can cost more than the car we drive (plus gas). And let me assure you, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me, as well. 

It just all seems so silly. The fact that people get SO excited over bags that, combined, literally cost more than my college education. (NO JOKE.) Just carrying them around stresses me out. I mean, who in their right mind would willingly go and spend all that money on a BAG when you can spend that money on far more important things like an education, or traveling, or helping out local charities. 

I can already tell you that carrying a Birkin is SO STRESSFUL. I set it down for five minutes and then freak out because it’s been out of my line of sight for too long. I haven’t even been able to carry it to work (I work in the fashion industry) because I’m afraid of what people will say. I brought one to the Dentist’s office last week and when I went to set it down, the woman cleaning my teeth told me: “A lady never puts Hermes on the floor.” Um. Okay. 

So, with that said, I’ll keep you posted.