MAYS MODECOLLEGE
It is the queen of all bags (okay, tied with her sister the Birkin, fine). A bag that opens doors, rolls out red carpets, and makes eyes pop out of their sockets. Especially for the connoisseurs, as the Kelly Bag exudes restrained elegance and class.
Has the bag always been called that?
No, unofficially since 1954 when Grace Kelly, also known as Princess Grace of Monaco, was seen with it. She received the bag while playing in Alfred Hitchcock's film ‘To Catch A Thief’ and immediately fell in love with it. Later, she used it to hide her pregnant belly from hungry paparazzi. That particular bag is actually on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Since 1977, the bag has officially been called the Kelly Bag.
What makes the Kelly Bag so special?
It is truly designed to be an elegant bag for ‘princesses of the world’. With the single handle on top of the bag, you carry it very elegantly. The Birkin Bag has two handles and you carry it much more casually in the crook of your arm. Furthermore, it takes 25 hours to make the bag and 2600 embroidery stitches are sewn by hand. And there are huge waiting lists because they are not stacked up ready. No more than 120,000 Birkin and Kelly Bags are made per year.
Who do you think has the most Kelly Bags in the world?
Victoria Beckham is a strong contender, but the Asian businesswoman Jamie Chua is also quite close with 200 pieces.
That Hermès orange, there was something about that, right?
Yes, the unique signature house color of Hermès was once ecru. But when there was scarcity during the war and the ecru ran out, the box maker turned to orange, because he still had plenty of that. And so it became the famous house color.
Where else can we see the Kelly Bag?
Aside from in the hands of celebrities and fashion people, the Kelly Bag has a leading role in the film Le Divorce with Kate Hudson and Emma Watson.
What does such a bag do?
Shame on you, talking about money is not polite. The most expensive one was sold for 120,000 euros and the ‘cheapest’ you can get for 9,000 euros. But let's not talk about it further, okay?
