When Jane Birkin – the late actor who inspired the Hermès Birkin – carried her namesake bag, she made it even more her own by embellishing it with a motley gaggle of adornments: charms, key chains, prayer beads, stickers, bits of ribbon, luggage tags. The Birkin is widely considered the world’s most difficult handbag to procure. The opportunity to buy one at retail, for upwards of £7,800, is offered only to the French house’s most valued customers; on the secondary market, some Birkins have been known to fetch more than £345,000. But Jane Birkin’s daring, haphazard styling knocked the ultimate It bag off its pedestal and made it lived-in, well-loved, real. That’s the tack we here at GQ advise you take with all bags, be it the hottest designer crossbody or a workaday nylon gym duffel: you define the bag, not the other way around.
Dangle a miniature version (four shown on opposite page) of Hermès’ legendary purses – scaled-down Kelly bags, some with smiley faces and wheels – from your full-size carryall. Bag accessories, from top: £2,425, Hermès; £4,950, Hermès at Hirshleifers; £3,750, Hermès; £2,425, Hermès.
We added Chrome Hearts’ righteous heavyweight chains to amplify the hardcore vibe of this Balenciaga (£13,500) bag’s pre-weathered leather and abundance of zips. Bag accessories from Balenciaga (included with bag), Chrome Hearts at Hirshleifers, and Chrome Hearts.
