How to personal a Birkin bag with out an invitation
An anonymous seller is putting half of her wardrobe up for auction, giving high-end fashion lovers a rare chance to get their hands on a Birkin bag without an invite.
Unlike other high-end brands like Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Dior, you cannot simply walk into an Hermes store and purchase a Birkin, you have to be invited after spending thousand of pounds in Hermes stores.
As Paris celebrates Haute Couture Week, Sotheby’s in the French capital are auctioning off an extraordinary collection of over 140 pieces of luxury handbags, fashion and jewellery accessories.
These include seven Hermes Birkin bags, with an estimated maximum guide price of £21,178 each for the pleasure of having the sought-after accessory on your arm.
Some of these include an Hermes Birkin 35 in Bleu Mykonos in shiny Porosus Crocodile with Palladium hardware made in 2014 and a rare tricolour crocodile Birkin.
The collection is titled: The Fashion Collection – Private Treasures of a Refined Lady and it is one of the largest of its kind to to ever come to auction
Some Hermes Birkin bags will be on offer to purchase at the auction – and you don’t need to be invited to purchase these accessories
The collection was meticulously assembled, from the end of 1990’s and for over two decades, by a passionate European female collector based in Paris.
The collection is titled: The Fashion Collection – Private Treasures of a Refined Lady and it is one of the largest of its kind to to ever come to auction.
Some of the items range from a Chanel vintage cross brooch in gold Metal featuring turquoise and green cabochons with pearls by Gripoix made in 1993 (estimated maximum guide price of almost £1,700) to an Hermès vintage Kelly 32 Vert Emeraude in shiny alligator Mississippiensis Sellier made in 1992 (estimated maximum guide price of £15,250).
Other historical items include a Chanel golden Brown sequinned jacket, ready-to-wear by Karl Lagerfeld from 1989, a Chanel limited edition metallic gold quilted gold hardware from 2009, and an atelier Versace couture black wool and tulle dress from 1993.
A haute couture Dior hat by John Galliano during his glory years at the fashion house is also due to be on sale, along with a Chanel blue and gold mixed lurex and tweed Jacket by Karl Lagerfeld from 2011.
The whole collection carries an estimate of £627,670 to £932,000 (€741,000 to €1.1million) and will be offered in an online only auction which will run from 21 June to 3 July.
The Fashion Collection – Private Treasures of a Refined Lady sale
CHANEL – Golden Brown Sequinned Jacket, Ready-to-Wear by Karl Lagerfeld, 1989-90 – Estimate £1,522 – £2,959
CHANEL – Limited Edition Metallic Gold Quilted Embossed 2.55 Reissue Medium Double Flap Gold Hardware, Métiers d’Arts Paris-Moscou Pre-Fall 2009 – Estimate £2,367 – £3,805
CHANEL – Set of One Byzantine Belt, and One Matching Bracelet, Métiers d’Art Paris-Byzance Pre-Fall 2011 – Estimate £1,000 – £2,000
HERMÈS – Safran Shiny Porosus Crocodile Birkin 35 Palladium Hardware, 2008 – Estimate £15,223 – £21,144
CHANEL – Blue and Gold Mixed Lurex and Tweed Jacket with Belt, Ready-to-Wear, Métiers d’Art Paris-Byzance by Karl Lagerfeld, Pre-Fall 2011-12 – Estimate £2,537 –£4,229
CHANEL – CHANEL Limited Edition Green and Black Sequin Coco Cuba Timeless Classic Medium Single Flap Brushed Ruthenium Hardware, Resort 2017 – Estimate £2,368 – £2,960
HERMES Birkin 35 in Bleu Mykonos in shiny Porosus Crocodile with Palladium hardware made in 2014 Estimate £15,223 – £21,144
HERMES vintage Kelly 32 Vert Emeraude in shiny alligator Mississippiensis Sellier with gold plated hardware made in 1992 Estimate £12,685 – £15,224
CHANEL – Green and Black Tweed Timeless Classic Medium Single Flap Gold Hardware, 1988-89 – Estimate £2,114 – £3,805
CHANEL vintage cross brooch in gold Metal featuring turquoise and green cabochons with pearls by Gripoix made in 1993 Estimate £845 – £1,690
HERMÈS – Vert Jade Shiny Porosus Crocodile Kelly 35 Sellier Palladium Hardware, 2011 – Estimate £12,685 – £15,224
CHANEL one cuff and matching brooch from the 2011 Autumn/Winter collection Estimate £1,267,000 – £2,536
CHRISTIAN DIOR – Haute Couture Hat of Lace, Tulle and Rhinestone Droplets, ‘Mata Hari’ Collection, Autumn Winter 1997-98 – Estimate £1,691 – £3,805
ATELIER VERSACE – Couture Black Wool and Tulle Dress with Gilt Buttons, Fall-Winter 1993-94 – Estimate £845 – £1,691
CHANEL – Set of One Titanium Multi-Row Necklace, Métiers d’Art Paris Cosmopolite Pre-Fall 2017, One Titanium Necklace Fall 2017 and One Brooch, Ready-toWear Fall 2017 – Estimate £2,537 – £4,229
HERMÈS – Bleu Marine and Rouge H Shiny Porosus Crocodile Birkin 35 Gold Hardware, 2016 – Estimate £15,223 – £21,144
CHANEL – Navy Blue Wool and Tweed Dress with a White Collar, Ready-to-Wear by Karl Lagerfeld, circa 2012 – Estimate £ 1,522 – £2,960
CHANEL – Set of One Vintage Cross Necklace, Fall 1993 and Two Vintage Cross Necklaces, 1980s – Estimate £2,198 – £2,960
HERMÈS – Béton Matte Porosus Crocodile Birkin 35 Palladium Hardware, 2016 – Estimate £15,223 – £21,144
HERMÈS – Bleu Brighton Matte Porosus Crocodile Kelly 35 Sellier Palladium Hardware, 2009 – Estimate £15,223 – £21,144
HERMÈS – Rose Schéhérazade Shiny Porosus Crocodile Birkin 35 Gold Hardware, 2016 – Estimate £15,223 – £21,144
HERMÈS – Tricolour Rouge Braise, Rouge Sanguine and Rouge H Shiny Porosus Crocodile Birkin 35 HSS Palladium Hardware, 2015 – Estimate £15,223 – £21,144
HERMÈS – Rouge Vif Shiny Crocodile Porosus Birkin 35 Palladium Hardware, 2017 – Estimate £15,223 – £21,144
Stars such as Kim Kardashian, Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Lopez and Cardi B are among some of the A-listers that have been given the chance to buy a Birkin and ensured that were snapped with their handbags by their side at any given opportunity.
The idea was dreamed up by British actress Jane Birkin, who was sitting on a flight from Paris to London next to Jean-Louis Dumas, Executive Chairman of Hermes in 1984.
She complained that she could not find a bag suitable for her needs as a young mother, so he got out his sketch book and immediately started drawing a rectangular holdall with a dedicated space for her baby’s bottles – and the Birkin bag was born.
Highlights of the collection up for auction will be showcased in a dedicated exhibition at Sotheby’s Paris from 29 June to 3 July.
Aurelie Vassy, European Head of Sale for Handbags and Fashion, Sotheby’s Paris said: ‘Coming face to face with this extensive and exhaustive selection of fashion items and accessories, immaculately displayed in a flat in Paris, was one of those moments when I knew, at a glance, that I was looking at a truly extraordinary collection.
‘It is the embodiment of consistently impeccable taste, from a passionate collector who assembled a spectacular and timeless wardrobe, I would consider to be the most representative of the much loved ‘Parisian chic’ aesthetic that I have ever seen.
‘The perfect place to start or expand a fashion collection with some of fashion history’s most iconic creations, the sale is sure to capture the imagination of followers of fashion all over the world, with estimates starting from 1,000 Euros.’
