🎙️New on the Back Row podcast: Sociologist and branding expert Ana Andjelic joined me for a semi-emergency pod about Gwyneth Paltrow’s latest controversies.
LOOSE THREADS
Vogue’s Head of Editorial Content Chloe Malle sat down with NPR to promote the summer issue that celebrates the 250th anniversary of the US. She’s not worried about backlash, she said: “As long as Vogue is representing people that we really passionately believe in, if some people don't like that, then that's a choice we've made.”
The Guardian has a preview of the Yves Saint Laurent and Photography exhibition at New York’s International Center of Photography that looks fantastic.
Emilia Petrarca rounded up some hilarious Father’s Day gift guide recs for Shop Rat that confirm none of us have any idea what to buy the dads in our lives, including those who are supposed to know professionally.
Speaking of Father’s Day, Hairmaxx is promoting a “laser hair growth device” that looks like a bike helmet. (Women can wear it, too, and actually I wonder if someone can make this for eyebrows.)
Why are there so many ridiculously odd shoes on the market right now? Like Chanel’s sandals with no sole or these terribly compelling, fully functional collapsed heels. The Washington Post searches for answers.
And now, today’s big story…
Breaking Up With Birkin
Priya* has always liked Hermès.
A thirtysomething who works in finance in New York, she started researching how to get a Birkin bag by reading tips on Purseforum and Reddit. Having educated herself on the Hermès “game,” in which clients strategically spend a certain amount of money at the boutique with the goal of being invited to purchase a Birkin or Kelly, she started shopping in New York. She bought scarves, then a Lindy bag, all with the same salesperson.
Then, a few years ago, she got the call. A Birkin 25 in a versatile, milky brown shade called Chai was available. She decided to buy it for around $10,000 to celebrate getting promoted to the head of her department.
She had wanted the bag for as long as she could remember. Only, when she carried it, it didn’t feel right. She felt old. She worried people wouldn’t think she bought it with her own money since, of course, she wasn’t actually old. She found its lack of a shoulder strap inconvenient for commuting. And the bag itself, which can weigh two or three pounds empty, was just heavy.
After taking it out around five times, she left it on the shelf to preserve it in case she decides to sell it one day. Instead, she takes out her Kelly or Lindy, bags that draw less attention than the Birkin. “They’re more low-key,” she said.
Priya is among a growing cohort of Birkin buyers who have developed, if not quite regret for the purchase, a distaste for what it represents. They worry it signals a willingness to buy into the Hermès game. They fear being perceived as placing a premium on status symbols. And they feel like they’re playing into the Birkin’s sheer overexposure, which has made it feel less special in the social media age.
Plus, I would make this argument about the bags:
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