The Best Birkins Ever

Paper or plastic? Somehow we manage that decision quickly, almost reflexively. But Kelly or Birkin? That is a far more serious matter, and not just because it involves three or four zeroes. Choosing between these two iconic bags is far more complicated.

While both styles exude money (old, new, discreet, flashy), each signals to the world, or at least to an international pack of fashion hounds, a very different aesthetic and vibe.

The classic Hermes handbag, known as the "Kelly" since 1956, was joined in the early 1980s by the 'Birkin.' 'The Kelly is a touch more formal, a little more appropriate for an evening out, a business dinner, as a more refined look. The Birkin is more sporty, more casual. Often people use it as a briefcase, throw in a change of shoes,' says Trina Sams-Manning, manager of the Hermes shop in Fairfax Square, which recently reopened after a major facelift.

Inga Guen, who sells gently used Kellys and Birkins at Inga's Once Is Not Enough, a high-end consignment shop in Northwest Washington, is even more emphatic about the difference. 'A woman who is going to wear the Kelly is of very erect stature, she comes from money, very good background, is extraordinarily educated, and life to her is one where she will be very inconspicuous,' says Guen, an avid Kelly carrier. She cuts a bit of slack for the Birkin femme, who 'wears Manolo mules, a pair of jeans, a little Chanel jacket. She is the younger woman.'

Both bags have made their marks on the cultural landscape ... The Birkin became an intense object of desire on 'Sex and the City,' when Kim Cattrall's Samantha told Hermes she needed one instantly for a client. Yes, it was a big fat lie, but morally defensible in social circles where owning a bag that can cost as much as a car is, like, truly, seriously important.

Conversely, a Birkin may have worked against Martha Stewart, who schlepped her well-worn Hermes to court during her 2004 insider trading trial, to the derision of critics who thought the super-expensive bag might not play well with a middle-class jury.

For the uninitiated, these bags, which start at about $7,000 and can top $25,000 depending on hide and hue, are named for a duo of beautiful actresses.

Philadelphia-born Grace Kelly -- so blonde, so patrician -- had been wed less than a year to Prince Rainier of Monaco when she deftly obscured her royal pregnancy with a structured, crocodile Hermes purse on a 1956 Life magazine cover. Created in 1892 as a large saddle carrier -- the French fashion house started out as a saddlemaker -- the bag was downsized for daywear in the 1930s. But after its moment in Life, it was dedicated to Her Serene Highness, and, as legends often do, lives on after her.

By contrast, it was during a 1981 airplane flight that the effluvia in British-born actress-singer Jane Birkin's overstuffed purse spilled in the vicinity of Jean-Louis Dumas-Hermes. Three years later, the venerable firm introduced a bag for Birkin's more bohemian lifestyle based on an 1892 design. In a splendid bit of irony, Birkin recently confessed she barely used hers because it had proved hazardous to her health.

'I told Hermes they were mad to make it. My one was always full, and it ended up giving me tendinitis,' she told the Scotland on Sunday newspaper in March.

Like the Kelly, the Birkin is crafted entirely by hand by a single artisan from start to finish, and embellished with a petite padlock, keys and gleaming hardware made of white or yellow gold.

Why, exactly, are they so expensive, so obsessively coveted? For starters, they are beautifully made ... The bottom is built of three layers of leather. A single artisan can spend up to 25 hours painstakingly constructing a Kelly or Birkin.

And oh, the hides: silky smooth or pebbly textured calfskin; exotic lizard, crocodile and ostrich, in colors that span the spectrum. The immutable laws of supply, demand and merchandising are also at work here. Make something fabulous, in fabulously limited quantities, and people will clamor to own it ...

Such controlled scarcity explains why the resale market is so strong. --www.washingtonpost.com.

She was married from 1965 until 1968 to John Barry, an English composer who wrote the musical score to the James Bond movies. Their daughter, the photographer Kate Barry, was born in 1968.

She had a very passionate and creative relationship with her mentor Serge Gainsbourg - they met on the set of Slogan and married in 1968. They separated in 1980. Their daughter is actress Charlotte Gainsbourg.

In 1982 she gave birth to her third daughter, Lou Doillon, from her relationship with the director Jacques Doillon.

Martha Stewart arrived in federal court on Tuesday [January 20, 2004] to begin her trial on charges that include conspiracy, obstruction of justice and securities fraud. She was carrying two handbags.

One appeared to be the typical working woman's carryall. It was made of dark, sturdy leather and was roomy enough to hold a significant amount of paperwork and the various electronic organizers that are part of a professional woman's arsenal. The bag, with its double handle and curved lines, was the sort of accessory a woman might carry if she wanted a tote that was softer and more versatile than a basic briefcase. If there was any subliminal message in her bag, it was that Stewart is a working woman, just like so many others.

The second bag was a warm shade of brown with a rounded double handle, tiny metal feet, a fold-over top and a beltlike closure that wrapped around its body. It was an Hermes Birkin handbag. And for a certain breed of woman, it is the handbag equivalent of a Rolls-Royce or a dozen illicit Cuban cigars. It is a bag that announces that one has achieved a breathtaking level of success. It can declare its owner's wealth and status from a distance of 50 paces ...

Stewart's handbag ... is at least 11 years old and is a favorite handbag because it is so roomy -- perfect for files, said one of the people in her camp. It closely resembles a camel-color leather version that's offered on eBay for $10,999. For such a significant outlay of dollars, one receives a bag that is handmade by artisans. Its hardware is gold-plated. It comes with a small padlock and keys ...

Women who are interested in purchasing a Birkin would do well to go to the Internet auction site to do their shopping. It is virtually impossible for the typical shopper -- even one brandishing a platinum American Express card or a large wad of cash -- to walk into an Hermes boutique and purchase a Birkin. The bag has a waiting list that has grown to the absurd length of 2 1/2 years and so the French company has closed it. Now there is a wait to get on the waiting list. Unless, of course, one is a celebrity with all of the privileges that affords ...

For Stewart, carrying a bag that is surrounded by such a thick cloud of wealth and privilege was ill-advised. Appearances play too important a role in a jury trial. In Stewart's case, polls have shown that while some observers see a successful businesswoman who is unfairly under assault, others see an arrogant woman who believed that in her rise to the top she also rose above the law. Stewart's decision to accessorize her businesslike ensemble with a Birkin was the equivalent of a male mogul arriving at the courthouse with an expensive stogie clenched between his teeth. Stewart's Birkin was a hand-stitched symbol of the underlying issues -- the privileges of success -- that have so agitated her detractors. Her advisers have weighed in on a host of issues related to her image, but her choice of handbag was not among them.

Yesterday, her second day in court, the Birkin was not on display in front of the cameras. But Stewart had the bag with her and reportedly said that she plans to use it frequently throughout the trial. Eleven years ago, the Birkin was just an expensive, classic bag. For Stewart, it may have been a talisman of her hard work, dedication and perseverance. Now, she may see the bag simply as practical. But over time, the Birkin has become a cultural emblem of elitism, privilege and celebrity. It is the bag that money alone cannot buy. And it is a reminder to everyone else that those who are famous always seem to have the advantage. --www.washingtonpost.com.

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Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work ... it is just NOT cool so don't do it!