Hermès Bags Second Hand

Between tradition and cult

One of the most popular products, alongside the Hermès Carrés, are the Hermès handbags. Although some models have been around for a long time, they are still highly sought-after and have become cult collector pieces.

The Hermès Birkin Bag

The most well-known handbags are surely the Hermès Birkin and the Hermès Kelly Bag. Both bags have ascended to become classics in the fashion world thanks to their timeless design. Jean-Louis Dumas is alleged to have come up with the idea for the bags when he met the actress Jane Birkin on a flight from Paris to London. Her bag was torn and she complained that she couldn’t find any weekend bags that she liked. Dumas immediately sketched his first design for Jane Birkin. This was later developed to become the legendary Birkin bag. To this day, they are hand-made in Paris, exclusively to order. At auction, the bags regularly sell for extremely high prices, and the most expensive bag ever sold at auction was a Birkin bag.

The Hermès Kelly Bag

In 1953, Hermés introduced the “Petit Sac Haute á Courroies” (also known as the “Sac à dépêches”), which was later renamed the Kelly bag. The Kelly bag was designed in a trapezium shape, tapering out towards the top. The Kelly bag is available in five different sizes and in various exquisite types of leather. The exotic leathers are particularly popular, such as shark or snake leather. The original “Petit Sac Haute á Courroies” became known as the Kelly bag, as Grace Kelly was often photographed with the bag. Such as after the announcement of her engagement to the Prince of Monaco, among other occasions. According to legend, she supposedly tried to hide her pregnancy with the help of a Kelly bag.

The corporate history of the Hermés brand

Originally, Thierry Hermès studied how to produce saddles. Soon after marrying the Frenchwoman Christine Pierrart, he opened his first shop in Paris. Initially, he sold saddles and accessories for horse-drawn carriages. However, his son later expanded the product range to include Hermès travel bags and handbags.