Hermes Kelly - a Tale of Two Bags
Hermes Kelly bags and scarves
French fashion is renowned for its timeless, classic designs and no fashion house demonstrates this more than Hermes. Our May 31st Designer Fashion and Handbag auction features a number of beautiful pieces from Hermes, including two highly coveted Kelly handbags.
The Kelly is named after one of Hermes' most glamourous patrons, Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco, who used hers to hide her pregnancy bump from the paparazzi in 1956. One of the bags on offer in the Chiswick sale is dated 1955, meaning it pre-dates the bags famous association thus making it a true collectors piece.
Chiswick also has a beautiful ox blood red 1980s version of the Kelly bag, in pristine condition, despite the bag being over 30 years old. From the same vendor are seven Hermes silk scarves from a similar period, all beautifully kept with their original orange packaging. The scarves, like the Kelly bags prove that truly beautiful, well-crafted items such as these never go out of fashion and are a stylish now as when Hermes first released them.