This Hermes Birkin bag is available at 1st dibs for $85,000. Can we figure out why?
You could get this pink one for only $65,ooo. That’s a whopping savings of $20,ooo. But maybe you’d feel like a cheapskate if you bought the pink one. Why quibble about $20,000 when you’re shopping at this level? Grey Himalayan Crocodile says you really care. It says “Classy!”
But!
You could have this blue one for only $12,500! With your savings, you could buy a luxury car or feed all the orphans in Haiti. But now the blue one looks like crap, right? Who wants a crap Birkin bag?
I’d love to hear women justifying the purchase of a Birkin bag, or any bag that telegraphs wealth. “It’s so iconic!” “It’s an investment!” “I’ve always wanted one!”
The only honest explanation is that some consumer goods signify status to other consumers. Other women will admire and envy your wealth, or so you think.
How much of an asshole do you have to be to buy one of these stupid bags?!? It’s almost unfathomable. The only people who would be impressed would be other assholes. If Louis Vuitton made bags that didn’t look like Louis Vuitton bags, would anyone buy them?
From now on, when you see someone wearing anything with a big, high-end logo, point at them and laugh, “HAHAHA, Chanel!” (or Prada, YSL, Dior, whatever.)
Sister Wolf Says: Even a tiny act of subversiveness can brighten your day.
Oooh you’re making me feel stupid over a big shoe purchase. I really really love the shoes though. But the Birkin? Only if I had a ton of money. And since I’ll probably be working class for the rest of my life, it’s looking like a great big “no”. Plus, that silly girl from the hills started toting one. Bad celebrity press has a way of ruining everything. But at $85,000.00 , I think even if I was pooping dollar bills, I would still look back and want to kick my own ass over spending the price of a house in most states on a bag. So no, I can’t justify it. Timeless. Iconic. Ridiculous.
Yep. Yep. Yep.
I often sit and ponder exactly how rich I would have to be before I’d pay over 10 thousand bucks for a bag. I think I would have to be pretty fucking wealthy before it seemed normal and even then…
No I cannot imagine buying one of those stupid bags. How they can possibly think they are fooling people by telling us they are hand made by artisans and it takes over a month for each bag blah etc blah, when they are selling them by the thousands every day/week. They are not even well designed, when you see people carrying them they are never done up because the buckle system is complicated and the interior is just a big cavern.
Bags for STUPID PEOPLE (wow I didn’t know I had so much hermes rage!).
You got to me too late; I’ve already been sucked into their web of marketing, status-driven, luxury item, timeless, iconic, OMG LUST/NEED/WANT/COVET/DROOL
But I’ll never be want it enough to actually BUY one.
So many better things to do with my hard earned money.
That being said, gifts are always appreciated.
As for LV, I’d rather shit bricks than carry one of their logo bags.
Cybill, I’m not sure any amount of wealth would justify it. Ever. I have friends who ooh and aah over $20,000 Chanel bags and say ‘oh, if only I had the money, I’d buy it right away,’ and I think, that is exactly like me paying $50 for a Mars Bar. I can afford it, it doesn’t make much difference at all to my savings, but it’s still a fucking stupid price and only an idiot or someone blinded by money/status would fall for it. Then I wonder if designers aren’t playing a big prank on dumb rich people and can only conclude that this is likely.
I am not only out off makisms, but brought up my girls not to wear anything with logos. As a matter of fact I buy most of my clothes y second hand market and thrift shops, and I thik we do have a great style, our style!!!!
oh couldn’t agree more. I live in a poor country, where there’s poorest of the poorest of the poor. Each time i read people especially Filipina or some stupid middle aged “rich” woman that lust for this bag is a moron. On the first place there’s always doubt of the authenticity of the bag. You live on a paycheck after paycheck and you have a birkin? You nuts?
One of the reason i never liked those logos, cos everyone here has an LV or chanel of gucci, from the beltbag of the beggars, to students, to street food vendors. Counterfeiting baby! I live in a 3rd world country. Poor me.
At Hermes in Australia, before they let you even touch a birkin they make you put on white cotton gloves. Really.
85,000$ = 3,910,000php, almost 4 million pesos? wow!
well the wife of a famous Filipino boxer, Manny Pacquiao has 9+ birkin bag. And numerous trip to plastic surgeon. But her choice of apparel is BEBE. hahahaha!
Those bags look like shit! (literally in the case of the first one) It looks like something I would find, and pass over, retailing for $25 at Burlington Coat Factory. What is wrong with people? How could someone spend such an exorbitant amount of money on ANY accessory/article of clothing and be able to sleep at night? That amount of money could change someone’s life and be an actual investment, and people just throw it away on some bullshit and then call it an “investment piece” — investment in what exactly, their own assholes? The reasoning behind this is just a continuation of everything that is wrong with society, like why we don’t have a Gulf of Mexico anymore.
Also those are real crocodile, right? It’s shameful that a poor innocent animal died to make something so dumb and pointless. People suck, you guys.
@Denise: same here i also live in poor country Indonesia (if u live in Philippine then we’re neighbor) but i am stranded in its capital Jakarta where status is like god even when u have to buy Louboutins,LV,etc in installment,crazy. Believe it or not we even got a rental place of original luxury bags such as birkin bag,and other brands in which each could costs hundreds of dollars per day, and many teenagers here are willing to be part time prostitutes just so they can buy blackberrys and other stuffs,yes it’s sad and truly happens 🙁 and u know what,here is also flooded with tons of fake designer bags from China and they always sold out! people came to the city in hopes to raise their economy and status. On average Indonesian people live with only two dollars per day,the gap between rich and poor in the city is huge,but Jakarta has many rich people compared to other regions esp. in eastern part of the country where malnutrition is rampant thanks to our moron govt.
The 100k himalaya with diamond hardware is RIDICULOUS and looks so tacky and fake. I think the one pictured doesn’t have diamonds so I don’t understand how they can justify the 85k pricetag when retail is “only” 40k or so.
I just read an interview with Tim Gunn yesterday where he basically says the same thing –
“I frankly have serious difficulty understanding the appeal of really expensive (and by that I mean over $600) bags. Six hundred dollars is the bare minimum when it comes to those stratospheric bags. The Hermes culture of “Well it’s made by 60 people in an attic in the countryside of France” – to be blunt, who cares? And all these matching pelts. Who fundamentally cares? It’s a big slouchy hobo bag. It’s not as though it’s a tailored piece of luggage. I just don’t understand it. I say to people who really want to reach and are looking at $5,000 handbags, “Spend half that amount and give the other half to charity.” I just don’t like conspicuous consumption. I find it distasteful. ”
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/11/project-runway-tim-gunn-carries-on-to-season-seven.html
This was a reality check for me because I have 2 hermes purses (no birkin). Justification? One was a gift and the other one I got at an antique auction for about the same price as a brand new Coach bag. I don’t feel guilty about either because of the circumstances/price I paid, but at the same time I don’t think I’ll ever be in a place in my life, no matter how much money is in my bank account, where I’ll feel comfortable buying or carrying a brand new birkin.
The culture of wanting a birkin freaks me out – people who write in their blogs “I’d die to have this bag” or “my life goal is to have this bag”. Idiots. Nothing changes when you get an expensive bag except you have to deal with the hassle of having something valuable – your insurance agent will secretly laugh at you when you want to add an 85k bag to your rider, and you have to pay attention when you’re carrying it and how to store it.
Thanks for being the voice of reason, as always. Apologies for comment length.
Even if they were free I wouldn’t want one. These bags are only for assholes, to buy from assholes to be appreciated by other assholes.I bet Victoria Beckham has them in every colour.
“The only honest explanation is that some consumer goods signify status to other consumers. Other women will admire and envy your wealth”
Hehehehe, Sister, to me you´re not a “blogger”, you´re a XXI century philosopher!
By the way, I would love to have a black birkin, its just THE BAG, but i dont think i could get one ever, even if i had the money, cause i would feel so guilty spending this money in a bag.
@backspace i don’t understand the stupidity our people do. It’s really really sad.
I associate LV bags with suburban moms in tracksuits. It says: “look, you can wear anything and have no innate sense of style, but people will still find you impressive if you carry me.”
And then Sea of Jane posted pics of herself carrying one in Florence– funny that, were her other bags not logo-forward enough that she needed the LV crutch while her Dallas ass was in Italy, Florence?
The Birkin…old women in Bergdorf’s? Rich ladies who need that bag to distract your gaze from the Botox spill on their face?
Hey peeps, hallo from singapore, recently even the universe was angry at hermes and sent rain to actually destroy hermes store here, look at this article: http://sg.theasianparent.com/articles/rain-floods-luxury-store-hermes-singapore
HA HA HA HA HA
Oh yeah and as a follow up to my first comment, I just want to say each and every time I go into Hermes my shopping experience is delightful. Seriously sweet employees. Will take anything out of the case to show you without so much of a sigh or eye roll. Still not enough to justify a Birkin because now the “status” behind the bag has reached a point of being something I’m never want to be . . . but I could still see myself buying one of their watches (I love the Luxor) and their lovely perfumes.
Totally agree! When a handbag costs more than many, many people’s annual income, something is wrong. If you really want your head to explode, you should take a look at this stupid POS website: http://www.bagsnob.com.
Sister Wolf, I love you, and now I’m loving Tim Gunn. The man shows a common sense and humour very rare in the industry. You have to be demented to buy even a 12K Birkin. Yes, I watched the documentary about “60 artisans making them by hand” yadda yadda yadda, and Tim Gunn is right – who cares? Since I’ve seen Andre Leon Talley in September issue” swathed in yards and yards of LV towel (no doubt a real one – or maybe not???) telling the world “look people, I’ve ARRIVED” I can’t stop laughing when I see their logo.
I love Tim Gunn even more – finally, finally someone said it about Alexander McQueen “pincer” shoes:” It not only looks ugly – I don’t believe it’s something you get used to and then think is pretty – it looks like the individual has a deformity”. Thank you so much Tim!
Aja – I was at a wine festival with a winemaker friend. A guy came up and began peppering the winemaker with questions. The winemaker could not have been more solicitous or concerned. He answered at length and seemed like he really cared. The guy walked off and the winemaker said “Rich people. I fucking hate them but you have to be nice to them to get to do what you want to do.” There’s a REASON the staff at Hermes is far nicer than the staff at Old Navy. There’s a lot of money on the line.
And Sister Wolf, thank you for giving me permission. I may go hoot at some logo bags today, since I will be in Santa Barbara.
I find that the icon/status bags have been ripped off so much that even the originals look cheap now.
I usually get one good purse, beat the hell out of it until it dies then move on to another.
I don’t understand collecting purses. I always forget something if I switch around.
IF though, somebody donated a leather woven Bottega Veneta bag to me, I wouldn’t say no!
85K … Just stupid.
Those Birkin bags are HEAVY. And stodgy looking. And the price is shameful. Not interested at all.
SW, please put me off the Goyard shopper. Because I kinda like the large black one.
xo
Suebob – The thing is, I’m not exactly the average Hermes customer. I’m black and sometimes (though rarely) I wear Old Navy. I have very been snubbed by sales assistants in other stores before where they make a living kissing ass. It was a regular thing when I was in my teens and early twenties. A little less since hitting 25. But yes, I’m aware that sales assistance are nice to rich people. And I’ve had my beautiful pretty woman moment where you go into a store and drop cash on an item to the shock of the sales assistant who wouldn’t give you the time of day last week. It’s marginally satisfying. The problem is to the every day snob, I don’t look like rich old money. And I’m not rich. I just like nice things 😉
Oh yeah, and you can also receive great customer service at Old Navy and snobby looks. I’ve had both before on separate occasions.
I LOVE THIS POST! What I can rant for hours about, and work myself up so much I require a nap, you said relatively succinctly.
But basically summed up as this:
‘The only people who would be impressed would be other assholes’.
Brilliant. A great lesson for a lot of things.
They should be embarrassed to sell something for this price, and people should be embarrassed to pay it. I can’t for the life of me figure out how anyone, no matter how much money they have, could justify paying this kind of money for a purse. A purse. Seriously. People are hungry, children can’t get medical treatments for their leukemia because their parents don’t have insurance, people live in boxes on the streets (if they’re lucky enough to have a box), schools have to lay off teachers because the states are out of money. To me, this just represents everything that’s wrong with a capitalist society, especially when someone can carry this “iconic” representation of their selfishness and greed without shame.
I’ve never gotten the fuss behind the Birkin (or the mad prices), it looks stupid on the arm of anyone under the age of 35 for some odd reason. BUT I appreciate the fact that Hermes generally makes decent logo-less bags which are better quality than many designer brands out there, though the Birkin has gotten so recognisable it’s nearly as bad as any of the logo-spattered shit now.
And those LV/Gucci logos are a scourge. I could write pages on the awfulness of the monograms themselves and the idiocy of the nouveau-riche who carry them around these parts, but the Third World loves itself a logo- apparently the LV store in Delhi was so inundated by orders and purchases paid for in cash, they had to get themselves a bigger in-store safe.
*shakes head*
To be 100% fair, if I had 85 grand I’d probably be quite selfish with it- though I wouldn’t spend it on a bag, I would take a nice long luxurious holiday- I’ve never had one, ever.
Even spending it on material goods isn’t out of the question- if someone offered me a first-edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, I’d be handing over the cash before any of you could say “SUCKER!”.
And I’m going to play resident party pooper here and ask what you guys would think if Hermes justified the high prices of the bags on the basis that they want to pay their leatherworkers and people who make the bags, a decent living wage- enough that they could live somewhat comfortably while not churning out bags like a factory. Those people have families and need to make ends meet too, I don’t really mind the thought of some rich chump doing at least some good by helping out with that.
^note, inadvertently helping out with that- I didn’t mean to make it sound like it’s an act of charity!
And Sister, Louis Vuitton is apparently going to make temporary tattoos for all the sheep who’d love to spatter their skin with it for less than the price of a bag (though I bet they’ll be way overpriced anyway). I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts on that!
If I had $85K I would pay off my student loan and go live in London for a year. I would not spend it on a fucking purse.
To ward off the threat of my fabulousness being tainted by the scourge of lower-net-worth individuals with counterfeit bags — I mean look what’s become of Burberry — I’ve come up with the idea of simply replacing all my logo-heavy luxury goods with a blazer silkscreened across the back with my husband’s tax return.
In all seriousness, this New York Times article made a big impression on me eleven years ago, and is pretty much the first thing I think of when I think of high fashion. I was glad to find it archived:
“Sonoko Sakai, a 21-year-old student from Tokyo, said she was shocked that the workers were so poorly paid and believed that Ms. Spade should do something to help the workers.
But give up the bag? Never.
‘I still really love the bag,’ she said.”
http://nyti.ms/9ocl9f
This really makes me hate the world. My boyfriend’s family needs about $6000 to get out of debt and keep their house, and it’s so . Knowing that there are assholes in the world who pay $85000 for a stupid bag that’s not even THAT pretty, that makes me want to cry… while punching someone in the face.
Fuck… and why do you need an $85000 bag for anyway!?! So you can carry all your expensive makeup and iPhone around? You could do that in a cute $20 purse…
Anyway, the stupidest thing about this bags is that to buy one, you actually have to be in a waiting list. WTF?!
Hahaha, i noticed i never finished the first sentence. It was meant to say “…and it’s so fucking hard, now that his mom lost her job and his dad started working in the goverment and they pay him about a quarter of what he used to earn…”
Since I read this post this morning and during a long day in studio, I forced my brain to find ONE GOOD THING about this bag. Being expensive, unpractical, ugly with all slimy things it represents, it wasn’t an easy job.
The one good thing about this bag is that ,considering how highly it is priced, this might, I repeat, might mean that even the dude who fed the crocodiles was fairly paid for his work.
If everybody in the chain of production was fairly paid for their work, and I don’t speak about Chinese labor price and material costs, but the same amount of money that we get her in west, than this just might be the real price of luxury. So many things that we consume are cheap because somebody in a vicious chain of production was under-payed and exploited.
This still doesn’t change all the facts that you guys mentioned, the bag is still totally useless piece of status symbol.
Those bags, and the purchasers of the bags, make me sad.
This post is proof positive that you can be critical of something without being jealous. No jealousy here, but plenty of criticism.
I’ve never thought much of these bags. They’re lacking (and the sort of people who sport them e.g. posh spice, are definitely lacking.) Even if I had endless streams of cash I’d never spend that on an item of clothing/accessory. The people who do have lost focus on what actually matters in life. It’s depressing. They need to find better interests.
In reality, Hermes is nothing more than an elevated gift shop.
It would be interesting to know how much Hermes actually pays the artisans. Still, 85K seems a tad too much – and where is a fair deal for the crocodiles?
IMO, they charge this, because they can – there are enough stupid women with money to be on the waiting list.
@Simone: I do like the idea of your blazer. Just wait, someone will start a business doing it!
I really really really want a pair of Prada Sunglasses this year but at €167 in House of Fraser I am thinking it is a lot of money to sit on/lose/find twisted and separated from their arms after Boo got bored and found them.
Whereas my forty dollar Polaroids protect my eyes and have bionic staying powers purely because they cost very little in that inverted loss/cost pyramid that is controlled by Murphy’s law.
On that basis, what do you do the first time you use a toilet and have to put said Birkin down in the soapy water splashed all over the side of the basin to wash your hands? or does someone with 85,000 to splash out on a handbag have someone to hold it while they wash?
Either way, it is almost 3 years wages for a good behaviourist and not worth spending my child’s ability to live independently on my demise on.
xx
i am so ok with my grossness for wanting one of these bags. i reeeeeallly want one though…i would carry it everywhere. which actually makes me even grosser.
@ Dru : Chanel already made the fake tats : http://www.allure.com/beauty/blogs/reporter/2010/01/chanel-temporary-tattoos-available-february-15.html
For 74$ you can look like a classy hooker 55 times !
@ Cricket9 : have a look at this, Hermes breeds their own crocodiles to produce those bags. Its just… wrong. : http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5573QI20090608
It would be a sin to buy any accessory-or almost anything for that matter- that cost more than my house.
And so what happens if you have one of these eyesores and someone nicks off with it? Do you have to chain it to your body? Imagine watching thousands of dollars running off down the street by some crack whore! Haaaaaaaaaaa!!!
I never have understood spending loads of money on something designed to hold money. Besides, Jane Birkin with a basket will always be more iconic than Jane Birkin with the Birkin Bag. Also, apparently you can send your Birkin Bag for a ‘spa treatment’ and it can be restored to its original condition for hundreds of dollars. Might as well buy a vacation home instead, or you know, donate some of that shit. Sister Wolf, you brighten my day every day.
Am I cheap if I won’t spend over $50.00 for a purse/bag? Any more and my orthopedic bill increases astronomically because the weight of my possession filled black hole (damn it I can’t find anythng in this f’n bag) gives me a herniated disc in my neck. And believe me, those surgeons are the major backers of people carrying gigantic weights around their necks and arms. All along we thought fashion artists were designing the bags. Au contraire!
wouold rather give peole money to eat than spend it on something like that. I am cheap and poor but even if I were not, I couldn’t imagine paying that much for a purse. I wold buy it if it were 20 bucks at the local thrift though.
Moi: at least those were swallows or something, they’re stupid expensive shit but I don’t object to temporary tats on principle.
But the planned LV ones are of their logo alone, which just makes the whole thing 1000x more laughable.
@ Dru: you are right. Just so you can laugh for a good 5 minutes, here it is:
http://babillages.net/2010/06/28/tatouage-louis-vuitton-classe-ou-pas/
Its even WORST than what I expected, its full on monogramme.