Across the world, few brands resonate as Hermès does : the French luxury brand has been for decades a brilliant, cherished, innovative leader in the fashion industry… though fashion was not Hermès’s trade in the early years.
Thierry Hermès, when he created the company in 1837, never intended to craft bags and clothes : he made… harnesses and saddles !
His lasting success crowned him as the best craftsman in Europe and brought him a customer base including tsar Nicolas II, and many other kings, princes and presidents from all over the world.
Thanks to this prestigious clientele, Hermès grew steady and fast as a luxury family business : Hermès’s son, grandsons, and so on took the head of the brand and opened its collections to fashion one item at a time.
The great force of the French luxury leader is a taste for simple rather than tacky, innovative rather than iterative, for the respect of the past and the love of answering the needs of modern life. Hermès’s soul always stayed true to itself… and this surely explains its lasting success.
Today, Hermès is an all-category winner : bags, scarves, clothes, jewels… and saddles, and furniture, and fragrances, and… well, you get it.
The maison’s luxury craftsmanship, innovation and taste for elegant, perfectly designed items is an invitation to dive into its universe… so let’s proceed !
Hermès Kelly bag 👜 : elegance embodied in fine leather
Kelly vs. Kelly, which is the most iconic ? I will surrender to Grace, for her story has something of an extraordinary saga – though Hermès Kelly’s has quite a story of its own too.
When the Kelly was born, it wasn’t called Kelly and neither was it a handbag : it was designed as a bag for riders to put their horse-riding boots and saddle.
But history made this item become more and more popular and Hermès decided to make it a day-to-day accessory in the 1930s. More feminine, smaller, lighter, the handbag becomes a must to which Grace Kelly can’t say no.
The famous picture of her in which she hides her baby bump with her Hermès bag sets the start of a new era : the Kelly is born thanks to Kelly, and it is the first ever it-bag in the (fashion) world.
Today, the Kelly is a rare item : wether new or vintage, waiting lists keep growing for those who dream to eventually acquire this everlasting piece of chic that is the Kelly.
Vidéo Unboxing Hermes Kelly
Le Bolide 👜, Hermès’s travel bag
In 1910, Emile Maurice Hermès brings back from the United States a little something that is going to revolutionise fashion, mostly the bag industry : a zipper !
The Bolide bag was created in 1923 and is the first Hermès bag made with a zip. At the time, car rides began to be popular amongst the upper classes Hermès equipped and so Emile wanted a bag to suit the needs of his travelling customers.
Bolide means a fast car, going full speed on the road : the name of the bag itself was intended to match the spirit of the first car races and rallies. Aerodynamic, very modern in its shape form a bag dating back to the 1920s, the Bolide is never going out-of-trend.
Round, easy to carry, full of space and super practical thanks to the zipper, the Bolide bag was soon a must-have. Today, it is sold mostly as a men’s bag but, girls, why should we do without when the Bolide is an even better travel companion than your boyfriend?… Plus it exists from the bigger to the smaller size, to fit all your wishes !
Video unboxing ‘B27’ Bolide bag Hermes
Hermès Cherche Midi Bag 👜, a dreamers’ companion
Named after a parisian street from the well-known district of Saint Germain des Près – not far from the amazing Hermès boutique ! –, the Cherche Midi bag has this very urban, geometric and classic yet noticeable vibe which all women look for in a handbag.
Half metal, half leather, the bag is a clever mix of all know-how of Hermès : its clasp is like a central piece of jewellery… and is as decorative as it is functional !
Intended for both dreamy and active modern women, the clasp is designed to be opened just with one hand, easily, to go grab urgently a ringing phone or diligently a book of poetry.
The Saint Germain des Prés’s woman knows no rules but hers, and the Cherche Midi bag’s design match her personnality with his both romantic and graphic look. Carry it either in your hand or let it carelessly hang at your shoulder : there you go, you’ve got the Saint Germain des Prés look !
Presentation of the Cherche Midi Bag
Evelyne 👜, a wink at Hermès love for horse-riding
All Hermès items tend to have a link to horse riding due to the story of the brand, and as a tribute – but they also all have in common that they were twisted and turned into fashion masterpieces ! Elegance and practicality are then often key words to the designs.
The Evelyne bag was originally meant to carry horse brushes and lotions… hence the little H-shaped perforations on the side of the bag : it allowed the brushes to dry after use, even when packed in the bag !
Very simple, the Evelyne bag is a demonstration of Hermès delicate and discreet luxury : two pockets, a main one and a second smaller on one side, a flap, the signature perforation shaped in a H and a handle like a strap, for a better grip on the shoulder. The key is essentiality : nothing more, nothing less.
Today the Evelyne bag has made its quiet way into wardrobes all over the world. Pro tip, if you ever acquire one : know that you must carry your bag with the H on your body side, and the exterior pocket out – it’s how you recognise an expert !
Unboxing & Comparison Hermès Evelyne Bag
Double-sens by Hermès 👜 : two bags in one !
In France, we call the kind of bag the Double-sens is a “fourre-tout” – a name you can literally translate into : “put everything (in it)”. And, yes, the Double-sens is the perfect fourre-tout!
Basically, this Hermès bag is two piece of leathers sewed together and a handle. Think of it as a luxury totebag… with a perk : completely reversible, you can change bags from one day to another without ever really changing.
Witty, supple and moreover suited for women who don’t like monotony, the Double-Sens is a day-to-day partner that will carry the most precious of documents as well as your groceries – with style always.
Last but not least, an advice : this kind of bag is to be diligently thrown upon the shoulder and not be cared for – that’s how you make French realness happen.
Hermès’s Birkin 👜 : a woman’s design for women
Just as the Kelly bag, the Hermès Birkin is maybe even more famous than the woman he takes is name from, Jane Birkin. Story says that this brilliant design is Jane’s idea.
On a plane with Hermès’s director, she told him she needed a bag to carry her daughters and her things but she couldn’t find any elegant one. So she was asked to draw and design it : there it was, Birkin was (re)born.
Made only by one specific craftsman who personally signs each piece that comes out of his workshop, the Birkin might well be the rarest it-bag of all.
Bohemian but graphic, cool but chic, Jane Birkin made a bag for herself and it looks just like her, easy but outstandingly beautiful and precious without a hint of pretentiousness.
Many celebrities made it their go-to it-bag, amongst which Victoria Beckham stars as the main muse this last decade. Though the waiting list is enormous be it at vintage stores or at Hermès, the Birkin remains – and might well always be – an icon more than a mere handbag.
Vidéo Hermes Birkin Unboxing
Silkcity by Hermès 👜 : when scarf meets bag
Far less known than its sisters Kelly and Birkin, Silkcity is a clever and colourful handbag that carries a holidays in Italy/South of France/Greece – pick your drug – vibe that is simply to die for.
Made of leather and silk, the Silkcity is the perfect mergure of the famous silk scarves the French maison has been producing since the 1920s and their well know leather bags.
Silkcity is a spring and summer bag : combined to light blouses, wavy skirt and wild hair, Silkcity is a real accessory that adds something to an outfit. Many colours and matches exist and each piece is unique in a sense that the silk can’t always be sewed together the same.
Sparkling French women free-spirited lives, Silkcity fits as much Saint Germain des Près, Tokyo or a beach on a lost island…
Video Unbox Hermes Silkcity Bag
Victoria by Hermès 👜 : a queen’s name for a queen’s bag
Born in 1997, Victoria was named after the famous African waterfalls. Indeed, in this particular year Hermès dedicated its creations to the continent and developped many items and creations around it.
Recognisable to his rectangular shape, zipper, little bell and metal lock, the Victoria is an elegant and easy to wear accessory intended for any time of the day, any place, any situation.
“Victoria” calls out to the famous British queen too, and definitely suits women of her style: independent, always on the go, with many things on her mind and her agenda – women who know where they are going and thrive in action.
The Victoria bag has a style and a practicality which make it the ideal modern women’s bag : you can put every little thing you need with you without ever being hindered by its very well-thought shape and size, as well as you’ll never look dull thanks to the variety of colours and details you can add to Victoria when buying it !
Vidéo Victoria Hermès Bag Review
Bridado by Hermès 👜 : a backpack for women with style
Versatile and adaptable to your whim – with style! Here is the Bridado by Hermès, a backpack in veal leather made for women. In truth, Bridado has an even cooler side to it : it can be worn either like a backpack or a shoulder bag.
If you shift the handle, your backpack turns into a sweet bucket bag – a brilliant idea that can take you from your workplace to your favourite night club.
Ideal for your daily errands, the Bridado is designed to ease your movements and let your hands free at all time : definitely back in trend, backpacks have this huge advantage of being less tireful for your back muscles and was easier to carry around without ever thinking about it.
The perfect style match for the Bridado? A rock’n’roll/sportwear outfit, to be comfy all over and stylish as ever !
Clic by Hermès 👜 : paroxysmal chic
Luxury is in every part of the Clic handbag, from the slightest sewing to the jewel-like clasp. Rectangular, more graphic than any other bag in the collections at Hermès, Clic is ingenious, elegany, tragically beautiful and so definitely chic.
The metallic clasp and rail closing the bag a masterpieces of craftsmanship : hidden like a signature, an H for Hermès finished the metal piece giving its structure to the Clic.
Rather small, the Clic is made for big outings, nights out with trendy friends to whom sobriety is the real luxury. As French as it can be, the Clic is definitely designed for women who wear tuxedos and open-back black dresses.
Vidéo Unboxing Clic Hermès Bag
Hermès, a house of it-bags and it-quality
Hermès is a house of success and discreet yet sublime luxury : buying a Hermès handbag is often both a style-addict achievement and an investment for your daughters, grand-daughter and more. Indeed, many vintage pieces are decades old and still perfectly stand.
The french saddler became the first brand to ever create a it-bag and have a it-bag designed by the woman which name it carries – and in the same way, became the most representative brand of French mastering of leather and luxury manufacture of fashion, lifestyle… and horse-riding items !
