Posts with tag hermes

For anyone who wants to shrink their carbon footprint, but still look totally fashionable while doing it -- while also dropping a boatload of cash on a car that barely seats two average humans -- Hermes has designed a set of ultra-fashionable micro cars to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Smart Fortwo. The cars, available in 10 colors including gold, indigo, and Hermes' trademark orange, made their debut last Thursday at Paris' Grand Palais.

Just because you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, doesn't mean you were born with manners. Case in point: 37-year-old Mathias Guerrand-Hermes, heir to the uber-luxurious Hermes empire. The "socialite" and "polo player" is charged with assaulting an Air France captain during a transatlantic flight from Paris to New York.

Luxury handbags, how many of us own them? Not many this season if our unfortunate economic crisis has anything to do with. However, not everyone is cutting into their monthly Starbucks stipends to don the finer things in life.

According to the most recent Luxury Institute Survey, the rich are getting richer. And their accessory of choice? Judith Leiber handbags.

1,048 wealthy women, "wealthy" meaning they take in an average of $348k a year and have a average net-worth of $3.5 million, were asked which handbag brands the coveted the most. While Jimmy Choo, Hermes, and Tod's ranked fairly high on their lists, it was Judith Leiber's clutches that are the undisputed favorite amongst the bougie set.

As the survey espouses: "The Judith Leiber brand is rated as much for being a work of art as it is rated a luxury by the only pundits who count -wealthy consumers who can buy the brands. Our impartial surveys are based on the principle that highly educated, discerning luxury consumers have the ultimate expertise and trustworthiness in luxury consumption. The Luxury Institute conducts its research with independent panels, and uses third party analytical firms to tabulate the results so that the true voice of luxury consumers is amplified for the benefit of their peers and industry executives alike."

And now you know. So the next time you have a big red carpet event, choose Judith Leiber, darlings.

If there's one thing Vogue is good for, it's stirring up a controversy. This time Vogue India has gone and done it with a photo shoot featuring lower income Indian families using accessories by exclusive -- read expensive -- designer brands.

If you like paying $125 for a pocket square, or $360 for a ball cap, you'll be glad to know that French boutique brand Hermes is opening a men's store across the street from the Madison Ave flagship next fall. Like most all of the boutique's shops around the world, the new 6,000 square foot space will be decked out by legendary interior designer Rena Dumas and her RDAI architectural firm from Paris.

Many of their stores carry a limited selection of men's ties and silk accessories, but this one's going all-out with custom and made-to-measure menswear. It'll be the first men's specific store for the company. We always thought of Hermes as brand that mostly sold to women, but supposedly 45% of Hermes' sales come from the men's department. Guess they sell a lot of ties.

[via HauteConcept]

While retail sales in the US and Europe are slumping, China's consumer class is just hitting the scene -- and they're willing to shell out some serious money on fashion. Designers like Prada, Armani, and Louis Vuitton are having a bonanza with newly rich Chinese who are hungry for the status symbols of conspicuous consumption. Yet, there's also a rising demand for $10,000 cocktail dresses and brands like Hermes from the growing ultra-rich class.

Traditionally, the Chinese market has been mostly dominated by accessories because of the limited space in China's crammed shopping malls -- which has led to the ridiculous level of knock-offs and forgeries. But that trend is starting to shift as retailers are steadily getting access to space where they can branch out. Coach is planning to open 50 retail stores in the mainland this over the next few years and tons of others are on the same kind of track. As you can imagine, renting a prime location for you flagship store in Shanghai is a royal rip -- but apparently it's paying off big time.

Well, it beats spending time on a decades-long waiting list for an iconic Kelly, doesn't it?

New York blogger Karyn Bosnak drew our attention to a new feature on the Hermes website which shows you how to make your own Hermes bag, just like the real thing. The only downside? You have to make it out of paper... a fun craft project, perhaps, but not likely to withstand the first rainy day of summer.

If you'd like to make something a little more substantial (but only a little more substantial), why not try your hand at making a bikini?

Recession, schmession. We're not tightening our belts for any looming economic downturn.

Er, rather, we're not tightening the straps on our handbags.

When it comes to handbags, some of us seem to live in an alternate universe where there is no such thing as "budget." Forbes has picked out this (and next) season's "It" bags - those bags for which we won't be shy about taking out a second mortgage on our homes.

Honestly, if we had a dime for every time we scoured the earth for the perfect way to carry one of our favorite snacks, we'd have ... well, like, a dime. But still, don't you love apples? And wouldn't you love a cute, handy way to carry your apples?

It took me a few days to realize that this photo was not a photo-shopped image torn from the pages of The Sun but a real actual photograph a gigantic Hermes Birkin bag from outer space carrying Katie Holmes down the street.

I know Katie Holmes has been entering bobble head territory with her recent weight loss but I think it's safe to say that Katie is the normal sized one here and it's the bag that has the problems. Perhaps she used her hocus pocus Scientology skills to make an average sized Hermes Birkin bag turn into a super-sized version of itself.

Well, enough of my conspiracy theories, do you think Katie's bag is super-chic or a super-sized fashion don't?

See the bag in all it's glory here>

Los Angeles socialite and couture junkie Susan Casden has received quite an honor -- an honor once reserved for such fashion royalty like Grace Kelly and Jane Birkin.

You guessed it (or maybe you were stumped). Susan Casden has gotten the ultimate fashion status symbol the Hermes Birkin bag named after her.

The "Susan" or "Susie Casden" has an adjustable shoulder strap, the signature Birkin closure, a multitude of storage compartments, including one outside pouch, one zipper pouch inside, and four additional pockets and a zippered key pouch on the side.

Why did she design it? "All the Hermès bags are so formal. The shoulder Birkin was quite cumbersome. This one I can take anywhere with ease." Susan Casden waited one year after meeting with Hermes designers and traveled to Paris a handful of times to monitor the bag's progress. The price is unknown but rest assure most of us can't afford it.

The handbag is gaining popularity fast (you can see it in the September issue of Harper's Bazar) and will be available to order but only with the permission of Susan Casden. Now that's power.

You might call it "garage sale."

You might even call it "used."

In the fashion world, we call it "vintage."

Over at Resurrection (www.resurrectionvintage.com), founder/owner Katy Rodriguez gives Chanel, Hermes, and other luxurious designer labels a second life after "resurrecting" them. She has stores in New York and Los Angeles, and also sells rare items from her collections online.

For the month of December, Resurrection is holding its second annual Chanel sale. Proceeds from the sale will go toward the Chihuahua Rescue Fund of Los Angeles. (Chihuahua? I know, I didn't get it either, but it seems to matter to Katy Rodriguez).

Yesterday, I expressed my disdain for Paris Hilton's Heiress fragrance. Now let me dish out the love for another fragrance that is hot for the holidays, Elixir des Merveilles is the new companion to the much-loved Eau des Merveilles and Parfum des Merveilles from Hermes. The Elixir has been described as a "gourmand" scent by various website reviews based on its many foodie notes (middle notes of orange and citrus and a drydown with chocolate tones). It does have a pleasantly spicy quality, not so much kitcheny as the scent of an a gourmet food shop: spices, tea and warm wood.

I love it because it's not heavily sweet, it's an adult scent. And it lasts. Hours later, it lingers with a pleasantly soft sandalwood tinge. It is the scent of a well-rounded woman, fancy but not fussy, sophisticated and not overly snobby. Robin from Now Smell This gives an excellent in depth review even though she is not as big of a fan of this scent as I am. It sells for around $65.

Leggings, skinny jeans and tunics and even asymmetrical haircuts have all returned from the graveyard of my youth known as the 1980s and now it looks like the skinny tie is offically back too. Ties have been narrowing for the past few years but this year they seem to have hit a new slimness. At first the skinny tie was mainly popular with retro-loving hipsters but the trend seems to be gaining solidity with designers such as Paul Smith and even Hermes embracing the trend. The skinny tie was also mentioned as a trend to adopt in a recent article in Forbes which means that that the skinny tie is now safe for the business world once again.

The Birkin might be Hermès most famous bag, but it's the Kelly that has the most famous namesake. Named after the American film star turned Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly, Hermès' Kelly bag ranges in price from $5000 to up to $50,000.

But the Hermès bag isn't the only accessory named after Grace Kelly. The classic head-cover of a silk scarf crossed under the chin and knotted at the side or nape of the neck is universally known as the "Grace Kelly." Used by stars when they want to be ignored by the paparazzi, Sharon Stone, Madonna, and Annette Bening have all been known to sport "The Grace Kelly."