Is Hermès A Grand Bazaar for Us All?
Is Hermès A Grand Bazaar for Us All?
The best things at the house of Hermès are not what you think they are. A field trip to uncover what is hiding in plain sight and an attempt to buy a Plume bag.
We have (I have) reached the point of summer where we consider our seasonal uniforms to be as good as they’re going to get and yet it’s too hot to think about a winter coat. So today, a funny little newsletter about Hermès, for no other reason that I’ve been thinking about the brand quite a bit, and we all need a minute to sit with our closets as they are, to ponder the season to come.
This is not a sponsored newsletter, just a thought observation on the brand that comes up more than any other when I tell people what I do for a living. From people who have no interest in, or knowledge of fashion: Have I heard of these five figure handbags!? (Yes, yes, I have.) To the fashion obsessed: What should I buy this season? (The Plume! If they’ll give them to us. And the swimsuits. More on that below.) Yes or no to the Oran sandals? (No.) To friends who constantly ask about about gift giving when the stakes are high.
If you weren’t keen on the subject matter, you’d think Hermès was just another luxury goods brand. In which case you’re probably saying, who cares! But to me, it’s a company that has managed to maintain a sense of whimsy and fun and a broad selection of generally awesome things in a way that other “lifestyle” brands haven’t quite kept up with. There are so many fashion brands that want to become or think they are “lifestyle” brands. But how many logo’ed throw blankets should one home acquire!? (None, if you ask me!) So if throw blankets and silly designer chess sets are out, than what is left?
Apparently, a lot! Hermès seems to blow everyone else’s knickknacks and key chains and throw pillows out of the water. It’s almost as if it were a super duper, impossibly high end general store.
I decided to stop into the Madison Avenue Hermès boutique last Wednesday afternoon, and it was shocking. Madison Avenue is very quiet this time of year: hot, humid and most of the locals gone beaching. But it was PACKED. I think there were more people in the store than on Madison Avenue in its entirety!? I joke…only kind of.
I don’t actually own any Hermès other than a couple hand-me-down scarves from my MIL. I bought my husband a tie once, with very cute little moons and rockets when my kid was in a lunar phases phase. But it’s a brand I’m asked about constantly: from clients who buy bags with the seasons to friends looking for the perfect present for someone they may not know all that well, but need to make clear they were giving a gift of “value”. Sometimes it really is about presenting something in that orange box (man, packaging really does matter, doesn’t it?!) But the brilliance of Hermès, is that you can actually fill that orange box with something the recipient can enjoy!
What I’ve always thought is so magical about Hermès, is all of the cool stuff they have sprinkled throughout, that you might never know is Hermès. Or you might never know they sell, if you didn’t wander aimlessly through the store. What is more fabulous than having the Hermès thing that no one actually knows is Hermès until they love it so much they ask where it’s from? I mean, the flex!
So today, five-ish things from Hermès that you might not have thought about before. The gems they have hidden in plain sight.
This is where my utter lack of fear of asking sales people to open drawers comes in handy. You should try it sometime! :) Generally, they’re happy to oblige and chit chat.
**Now, this isn’t a newsletter about finding the “best deals” or the “secretly affordable” things said designer brand has has to offer (though one of my favorite gifts they make is $25!). Starting us off with a disclaimer, because I can see the potential for conversation to head in that direction. Make no mistake, this is a luxury player that makes no apologies for their pricing and their attention to detail. But knowing, seeing, touching what the masters of the craft are doing, is an education unto itself. This is the stuff I crave to know, so I am excited to share it with you. Whew. Glad I got that off my chest. Shall we look at the goodies?