The Kelly or The Birkin: Which Hermès Bag is the One for You?
With the similarities in style between Hermès' Kelly and Birkin bags, it can be difficult to pick the right one for you. Here's our guide to deciding between the two.
Hermès was founded in France in 1837, and from the early days, the brand focused mainly on serving the upper class and has always been associated with the symbol of luxury. The average price offered by the brand is around $2k and up, with their two oldest and unique bags, the Kelly and the Birkin, even going up to several tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore, owning a Hermès bag is always a dream of many brand followers when they have to wait on a long list to buy them.
Therefore, it is necessary to consider carefully when choosing between the two lines of Kelly and Birkin bags to best suit your style and individuality.
Kelly Hermès, the classic bag with long roots
Launched in 1930, designed by Robert Dumas and handcrafted by the skilled craftsmen of Hermès, this bag became the focus of attention when it was worn by Grace Kelly in Alfred Hitchcock's movie in 1954. As a brand specializing in horse racing products, the predecessor of this bag was the Haut à Courroies bag produced with the aim of saddles and riding boots. Later on, before the invention of the car, Hermès redesigned it to be smaller, more comfortable and renamed it Sac à Dépêches (now known as Kelly).
Available in six different sizes (25, 28, 32, 35, 40 and 50 cm), the Kelly features a removable handle and crossbody strap, that when not in use, comes with a handy safety lock cap. With sturdy material and extremely sturdy resin edges, this model allows them to keep their shape when put down. Because of their sleek design and neat and elegant design, Kelly's have always been popular since their debut.
In addition to the classic line, Kelly Sellier, the "relative" of this accessory also includes Kelly Lakis, Kelly Danse or So Kelly with updated designs, however, the Kelly Sellier line is still a sought-after version.
The accidental inspiration for Birkin Hermès
Thirty years after Kelly was born, a chance meeting between actress Jane Birkin and Hermes chief executive, Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight to London in 1983 created the idea of the Birkin. The inspiration to create a bag that can hold a lot of things for women was born here. Four years later, Birkin was born and became the most famous bag model to this day.
Unlike the Kelly, the Birkin bag has a larger size, only 3 sizes (25 cm, 30 cm and 35 cm) and has two sturdy handles without a strap. Made of calfskin, alligator or ostrich, this bag can hold "the whole world" in your hand and is quite handy for busy women.
2 bag patterns, 2 styles
From the history of the two Kelly and Birkin bags, it can be seen that depending on the purpose and style of the user, it's best to choose the most suitable bag for themselves. The Kelly is elegant and sophisticated for luxurious parties with its opening and closing design to create tension for the bag to be more elegant and modern.
As for the Birkin, it's an everyday bag created to help women carry all their essentials. Designed as a luxury tote bag, Birkin uses a zipper to open and close the bag, making it more convenient and easier to take out anything in the bag. A beautiful and luxurious bag when used for its intended purpose. It all comes down to what you want in a bag.
