The Bizarre World Of Birkin Bags... *a rant*

“How brands use influencers to normalize $3000 handbags” made me think of how say yes to the dress made me think it was normal to spend thousands (like tens of thousands) on a wedding dress. Like oh she has a low budget of $3000, like $3000 is a chump change amount of money.

I like how you said that seeing a Birkin in real life was like seeing a unicorn, because the whole acquisition process sounds like some surreal fairy tale quest. Like "on a stormy night, collect five different apples from five different trees and throw them at a wizard, then walk backwards all the way to the bridge in the forest and summon the bridge troll, who will give you three riddles to solve, and if you solve the first and third one correctly but not the second one, he will turn into an Hermès sales associate who will hand you a Birkin"

Smokey: “$2,000 was a lot of money for a handbag in the 80’s.” My broke ass: “……… In the 80’s? 👁👄👁”

I believe the appeal is: when you have that much money as like say a Kardashian, and can buy everything, nothing is special anymore. But when there is a challenge to get something, the thrill returns a little bit.

Birkin bags remind me of NFTs.. Something that has little to no value in itself and it only gained value because people are lusting over it!

rich people are actually INSANE

it’s fun to imagine a rich person kissing up to a specific sales associates for years to try and get the bag and then just losing all their quest progress when that employee quits first lol

So I use to be a personal shopper amongst 200 luxury brands. And when I tell you that sourcing a Birkin bag was some black market, insane, drug deal type of thing. I’m not lying. I saw bribes, I saw someone drop $250,000.00 in one go to get on a LIST a LIST!!!! Oh the stories I could tell you about these bags…

I mean, when the legend who inspired the design herself says the bag is too inconvenient and heavy, you know there are better luxury options out there ;)

The world of Birkins amazes me! I found it hilarious that Jane Birkin herself wasn’t fond of the bag inspired by her 😂 At least Grace Kelly carried her inspired bag!

The most expensive thing I brought myself was a $500 winter coat. And it took me 4 months to convince myself it’s worth it.

tell me how my coupon clipping, chicken and rice eating mother walked into an Hermes store on a trip to Paris a few years ago and walked out with a Kelly bag with all of her preferences and didn’t even know what she accomplished

the fact that birkin herself doesn’t like the bag absolutely sends me. the hermes designers clearly didn’t care about utility at all

karl marx wrote “the communist manifesto” book because hermès didnt have a red colored bag in stock

“I’m sorry that’s how much my MASTERS DEGREE costs” 😂😂😂 I learned about the Birkin a long time ago when I randomly bought this book called “Bringing Home the Birkin.” It’s about a guy who made a living off of buying and reselling Hermes products starting with the scarves eventually working his way up to Birkins. It’s a fascinating look at the culture and hype around the bag and what it takes to get one.

“It’s one handbag, Michael. What can it cost? Five thousand dollars?” But in all seriousness, the DIY bag company Popsewing has a kit to make a Birkin-esque purse for $120. So if someone really wanted one of these bags solely based on their appearance, they could get one. But honestly, they aren’t even that cute

I’m French and Hermès is a bit more well known here than in the US, which makes sense since it’s a French brand. The brand is rather infamous here because they’d rather burn their unsold stocks than offer discounts. They’re trash :)

In short: owning a birkin bag is the equivalent of buying a really expensive elitist dog whistle 🙃

I learned to pronounce Hermès as a kid watching The Princess Diaries when they tied Anne Hathaway to a chair for her posture and she says, “Grandma, is it customary to tie up your guests with her-mees scarves?” And Julie Andrews sighs and goes, “They’re air-mez!”

I think the Birkin handbag is like any collectors item. It’s really for only a niche market. You would be surprised how much people are willing to spend to mod their cars in the car enthusiast community, how much people will spend on trading cards for Magic the Gathering, and how people will collect specific furniture for their houses.