It’s high time to conclude the birthday baggie story. It’s been many months since I revealed part I or shall we say bag one (read: Bringing Home a Slice of Hermès History: PurseBop’s Special Birthday Birkin). As many of you know, I have been toting around my BARENIA® Birkin 30 with tremendous pride and excitement.
What’s in box #2? Say hello to the Louis Vuitton Dou Dou bear exclusive to Asia.
BARENIA® Birkin 30 GHW in NYC recently at the Hermès mothership.
The beautiful smell and discreet blind stamp of BARENIA® bags leave most Hermès collectors lusting for more.
The BARENIA® reveal.
Miss BARENIA® sitting pretty with Miss Ghillies Bamboo in anticipation of the new arrival.
Part two takes me back to that very special day where not one, but two extremely rare treasures were granted to me by the Hermès fairy. I had barely recovered from the sight and smell of BARENIA® when my sales associate gently nudged me to the side table.
Capturing the “lottery” with my Ghillies Bamboo Birkin 30 outside the Chicago store.
He proceeded to explain a little bit about the special leather as well as the process by which a store acquires one… it’s called a “push offer,” he said – “essentially a surprise delivery to the store.” Hermès likes keeping everyone on their toes so from time to time a store receives a special rare piece that cannot be otherwise ordered at podium or special ordered.
My dear SA then outlined the internal store diplomacy that allowed him to make this special offer to me or in his words to “a very special client”. I am sure I was beaming ear to ear. In a nutshell, I had just won the Hermès jackpot because this was beyond conceivable —BARENIA® + Box in the same day?
Read: Aging Gracefully with Hermès BARENIA® Leather and The Beauty of Box Leather
Another birkin? In box leather? The box looked much too small, so possibly it’s a small Kelly? That too seemed highly unlikely. Could it be… a Constance??? Yes Monika, it is a box leather Constance, 18 cm in size (the mini)… and it has palladium hardware.
Read: 8 Reasons We ADoré the Hermès Constance and Hermes 101: The Hermes Constance Bag.
I literally squealed with excitement as he ripped away the plastic on the box. He had me at the word BOX…
Let me digress for a moment and explain to you why this is the first Constance in my Hermès collection. Being a Chanel girl for many, many years (far more than I care to share) has given me the opportunity to tote every color, size and leather shoulder bag known to man and the esteemed House of Chanel. So, to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t so interested in or excited about carrying yet another shoulder bag. Hermes drew me in with handheld totes like the Birkin and the Kelly; something Chanel did not offer at the time. The Birkin/Kelly style was far more of a refreshing and novel feel for me.
Despite being offered several beautiful Constances, somehow I was never able to justify the expense over a Birkin or Kelly. However, in the back of my mind, I always knew that some day, somehow, one would come along that would take my breath away and find its way into my Chanel and Hermès collections.
Well, this was certainly it. Its shiny black smooth surface combined with its mini size and shiny palladium hardware captured my heart. The palladium was actually quite refreshing and I have often found myself at a loss for a bag in the evenings when silver was the desired metal. For me, this mini 18 cm size would be perfect for evenings out and the ideal nesting bag for travel (read: How To Travel With Handbags).
Excited to wear my mini box constance with my limited edition tri- colored joueuse boots from Paris.
An expensive but monumental day at Hermès. The perfect birthday baggies to commemorate a very special birthday.
My only experience with box leather at that time was my Delvaux limited edition Brillant (read: Delvaux #8… from Brussels to Chicago). I confess that as gorgeous as it is, I have not used it enough to really understand and appreciate the beauty and unique properties of box.
I previously had declined offers for epsom and swift C’s – the shape was always a bit blah to me and none of those bags felt really special…. remember I was a Chanel flap girl. The moment this box Constance appeared, however, my mind began conjuring up globe-trotting scenarios with this majestic cutie in tow. Box C would be perfect with tall black boots, winter coats, wool dresses. In other words, she would be the perfect autumn/winter travel companion: The ideal size to place in one’s lap at tight dinner settings, sling over the shoulder at cocktail events to be handsfree or carry handheld as a small clutch or strap doubled to make a bolder statement.
BARENIA® + Box in the same day, I had won the Hermès leather lottery.
This was an Hermès day to remember and cherish, as I doubt it can get any better than this!
Whew. I’m still breathless and relieved that’s this one’s done and we can move onto the next? Yes, yes… there’s another coming. Mr. PurseBop has insisted it sits under the tree till Christmas, ugghh.
Love PurseBop
XO
Explore Related Articles
- Bringing Home a Slice of Hermès History: PurseBop’s Special Birthday Birkin
- To Gold or Silver… That is the Question
- Color Snob
- The Bright-Neutral: Oxymoron or Solution to your Color Confusion?
- Hermes Special Orders: The Exclusive Horseshoe Club
- Neutral Handbag Search Continues
- Part 2: Miss Mouette Joins PurseBop’s Hermes Family
- Aging Gracefully with Hermès BARENIA® Leather
- Part II: The Beauty of Box Leather
A bride poses spontaneously with my Box Leather Delvaux Brilliant at the Bean in Millennium Park during our photo shoot. Read: DELVAUX #8… Brussels to Chicago
Stopped at the Wacker Street bridge to capture a photo of my bag of the day. Miss Bamboo, ironically another birthday baggie. Read: The Perfect Birkin: Green, Ghillies & Gorgeous.
The beauty of the Ghillies details. Read: Hermes 101: Hermes Birkin vs. Kelly
Updated: January 14th, 2018
Comments
1 Responses to “Reveal Part II: When You Win The Hermès Leather Lottery”
how I missed reading your stories!!! WOWZA you really did win the H lottery!!! What an amazing Constance, so so sooooo pretty! Totally in love with it! Congrats on this new treasure sweets! Super happy for you! I can picture you squealing with joy and excitement!!! And Oh My God, there´s another orange box beneath the tree? soooo cool!!! Any CC bags under it to? hehe xoxo