The year is 1892: Ellis Island opens in NY, the first official basketball game is played in a YMCA, and the Hermès family label releases one of the first ever leather handbags: the Haut à Courroies. Today, that equestrian bag archetype has transformed into a status icon, making the french luxury brand a main player amongst It-Bags.
We’re talking about the Hermès Kelly bag.
The First Hermès Bags: The Haut à Courroies and Sac à Dépêches
The Haut à Courroies (used to carry riding gear) underwent a transformation in the 1930s, which introduces us to the Sac à Dépêches. With a smaller size, more refined shape and top handle, it was worn by prominent names (JFK, as rumour goes) and businessmen as a briefcase.
It wouldn’t become an international sensation and pillar of the fashion world until the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Grace Kelly’s Favorite Bag: The Hermes Kelly
Enter: Grace Kelly, actress-turned-princess, who had just starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch A Thief (1955). The story goes that Edith Head (costume designer) included an Hermès Sac à Dépêches in Grace Kelly’s wardrobe*, and after playing the role of Frances Stevens in the film, she loved it so much that she just wouldn’t give it back.
*Supposedly, the Hermes Sac is part of this chicken-and-beer picnic scene, but after re-watching the movie myself, I couldn’t spot it anywhere. But her love of the bag has plenty of evidence, often photographed on her while travelling and even as an appendectomy acccessory.
A couple years later, the new Princess of Monaco brings her beloved Hermès bag into the spotlight, when she’s photographed holding the bag to shield her pregnancy from the paparazzi and published in Life Magazine.
Because of Grace Kelly’s lifelong love for this bag, Hermès officially renamed the bag after her in the mid-’70s, designed for a fashion-forward luxury market. And lo’, the Hermès Kelly bag was born.
The Hermès Kelly Bag: Details to Look Out For
When we think about today’s Hermès Kelly, there are a few recognizable details that define the bag’s character:
The most important features to me are:
- Shape – Trapezoidal and structured with a top handle and flap opening.
- Sangles – an Hermès-specific detail, named after the straps on a horse saddle. They’re the thin leather straps that cross the flap opening of the bag.
- Touret – a piece of hardware that locks of each end of sangle in place, securing the bag closure.
- Clochette (key holder) + Lock (bag charms can easily replace this detail)
Buying a luxury bag from Hermès is quite the process – you’d likely have to join a waitlist, and oftentimes establish loyalty or build a relationship with the associates before being offered a bag (when available). If you’re after the Kelly specifically, FRWRD has a selection of pre-owned (but they’ll run you $10K-$30K):
7 Everyday-Designer Alternatives to The Hermès Kelly Bag
So, if you want to skip the line (and save yourself a few several thousand bucks in the process), scroll onwards for 7 bags at a range of price points (under $1K) that I’ve deemed similar to the Hermès Kelly and give off that classic, refined and iconic vibe.
1/ Le Tanneur: The Emilie
Le Tanneur, a French company, is an expert in craftsmanship and detail. The Emilie comes in a pebbled leather with an envelope flap which, though more dramatic than the Kelly, is stunning. The two leather straps hug the sides of the bag, with a signature “T” hardware holding them in place — this one wins first prize for a timeless statement-maker.
2/ JW PEI The Elise Top Handle Bag
at Nordstrom | at Macy’s | at ASOS
Number one pick for most affordable: the large Elise bag from JW Pei. (There’s also a mini version, for under-$100) Silhouette? Check. Shape? Double check. Strappy sangles? …kinda check. The Elise Bag only uses one strap to secure the bag closure, but it does actually connect to the flap and locks in place at the center. Also comes with a removable shoulder strap.
3/ Veronica Beard: The Dash Bag
at Veronica Beard | at Bloomingdale’s | at Nordstrom | at Saks | at Shopbop
Veronica Beard’s Dash bag has just the right shape, but with a different belted hardware to secures the straps, instead of a touret which would lock them in place. It comes with a removable shoulder strap, makes it an easy day-to-evening option. It also doesn’t have a flap closure, which I think leans more common use-friendly. Elevated, and the simplicity will never go out of style.
4/ Quince: The Italian Leather Top Handle Satchel
Although this top-handle bag from Quince doesn’t have the same bells and whistles that the luxury Kelly bag does, it holds up in essence: the silhouette (though softer and rounder) stands true, and it has a flap closure that secures to the bag itself. I think in its simplicity, it hits the right vibe — classic, elevated, and wearable with anything. Also comes with a removable shoulder strap.
5/ Teddy Blake: The Ava
at Nordstrom (on sale, 10% off) | at Macy’s (on sale, 20% off)
The Ava bag from Teddy Blake has a really similar flap to the Hermes Kelly, is the right shape, and even includes a lock and clochette. The straps across the flap of the bag are a little different from the Kelly’s sangles – instead of connecting to each other over top of the flap, they secure to each sides of the flap under hardware like a belt loop, without meeting in the middle. Comes with a removable shoulder strap.
6/ Tory Burch: The Lee Radziwill Shoulder Bag
at Tory Burch | at Saks | at Bloomingdale’s | at Tuckernuck (on sale) | at Neiman Marcus
Ok, no top handle on this one — but dang, is she sleek! And the flap + straps that connect in the middle (looks like they “buckle” into a button-release) are totally giving off Kelly vibes. Most colors are available on the Tory Burch site, but there’s one on sale at Tuckernuck in a pretty, versatile ‘wild mushroom‘ color (somewhere between gray and brown).
7/ Coach: The Eliza Top Handle Bag
Coach holds a special place in my heart (they’re bags last forever – my everyday bag is a little number from the ’80s). Just like the Kelly, the Eliza bag has that same structured, trapezoidal shape with a front flap closure — although, no straps holding it down, and the logo is pretty prominent. Still, it’s got refined details (I love how the stitching blends in with the bag color, plus that signature leather luggage tag), and it gives off a little ladylike charm. Also comes a removable shoulder strap.
Hope this post helped, especially if you’re in the market for a love-of-your-life bag! Let me know in the comments if I missed any other really good options. I live to swoon.
xo,
Jeni
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