REPORT BY Anna-marie Solowij
My all time fashion bargain is a chocolate brown Hermes Kelly bag, found in a second hand designer boutique in 1988 for £70. Every few seasons, it comes out to make its obligatory tour, then goes back to handbag rest home during any off trend lull. This winter, the Kelly came into its own again, but I decided mine needed a little updating.
I wanted to wear it slung across the body rather than tucked close ‘laydee’ style. I have never had the shoulder strap for this bag so I went to Hermes to buy one. Following an examination of the bag, I was advised to consult Mustafa, to discuss my requirements (which I had thought were quite simple – a long strap). Escorted to the back of the Bond St store, I was introduced to M, who has his own ‘repairs’ den, a
fascinating little lair where distressed and broken bag, belts and wallets could be mended in the Hermes hospital.
M didn’t speak much English but he made it perfectly clear that I had the wrong sort of Kelly for a shoulder strap, one that predated the extra little metal loop to which the strap could be clipped. He discussed the operation that would be necessary to change the fitting - opening up the entire front of the bag, removing the lock plate, unstitching the handle anchors and the handle itself, inserting the
new d-ring and loop, then stitching the whole thing back together again. The bag would have to go to Paris and the procedure would take many hours and, bien sur, it could take many weeks. I knew this might be the case as when the strap broke a few years ago, I was without the bag for weeks and as you well know, many weeks in fashion terms is almost an entire season and I didn’t want to be without the bag for
that long. So the negotiations continued.
Me: “Exactly why can’t I just buy a strap and attach it to the existing d-ring?”
M: “Parce qu’il n’est pas correct.”
Me: “Well can I just try it and see for myself?”
M: “Il n’est pas possible, le sac va se tordre autour de lui.”
Me: I’m prepared to put up with a little twisting and besides, I’ll be wearing it across the body.”
M: “Ce n’est pas la bonne facon de porter le sac.”
Me: “You may think it’s not correct but it’s how I want to wear it.
Please can I just buy the strap?”
M: “Il n’est pas possible pour ce sac?”
When a French person tells you that something is pas possible -
twice - you just give up.
So I took matters into my own hands. The bag now has a new shoulder strap: admittedly in mismatching elephant grey leather from a Vanessa Bruno bag, but guess what? It works brilliantly, doesn’t twist around, makes the bag so much more serviceable and has gained all sorts of admiring glances this week.
All I need to do now is find the neon green plastic shoulder strap for a whole new summer look Kelly.
