I subscribe to many female stereotypes, one of them being, I love bags. Small bags, big bags, designer, and not so designer bags. If it’s pretty, I can usually justify its purchase, and the ultimate storage in our closet for eventual rotation. (My husband has yet to understand that I need to change my bags seasonally. The ever-growing leather populace has him eyeing me sombrely when I say I need more hooks to be drilled into our wall.)
That being said, I covet more than I buy, splurging on designer bags only when occasion dictates, i.e. the Coach outlet store in Vegas, where I walked—no, floated—as if weightless, with several fine bags in my white-knuckled grasp.
So consider my interest piqued when I heard that Calgary’s Hermes boutique was home to Canada’s only, red crocodile Birkin bag, retailing for an astounding $198,000. (For comparison's sake, my first house cost $178,000.)
What, you are most definitely asking, makes a shoulder accessory worth $198,000? Well, for one, it’s a Birkin, the holy grail of luxury bags. But while most Birkins start at around $5000, this bag has the distinction of being adorned with almost 10kt’s worth of diamonds on the clasp, and ornamental padlock. Plus, it’s made of crocodile, which means only a craftsman who’s proven himself for at least seven years with regular leather is allowed—as per Hermes edict—to work with crocodile skin.
Is the bag stunning? Quite. Craftsmanship like no other? Undoubtedly. But as my fantastical imagination runs wild (yes, I have carried this bag in multiple dream episodes of ‘Yes, I Am Now a Billionaire Starlet’), I want to know what you think.
A beautiful piece of art? Or an out of touch extravagance?