Kelly bag

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Hermès Kelly bag made of ostrich leather in a light green color, displayed upright
Hermès ostrich Kelly bag

The Kelly bag is a leather handbag created in the 1930s by the company Hermès and named after the princess Grace Kelly. It is one of the brand's iconic products, along with the carré de soie and the Birkin bag.

The Kelly is affiliated with the Haut à courroies, a large leather bag for horsesmen created by Hermès in the early 20th century. Characterised by its trapezoidal shape and small padlock, it is handmade in the group's French factories. It is designed by a single craftsman and can take up to twenty hours to make, which makes it a high-quality, long-lasting piece. Its quality and reputation make it a highly sought-after product, so much so that it is one of the few manufactured products of which second-hand price can exceed that of a new one.

History

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Origins

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In 1892, Hermès marketed the Haut à courroies, a large leather bag designed to carry a rider's boots and saddle.[1][2] Its success was immediate and launched the company's reputation in Europe.[1] In 1923, Émile-Maurice Hermès created the Torpedo, which took its name from its trapezoid shape and was later renamed the Bolide.[3] It is a very simple bag designed to be placed in a car door.[3] Its shape follows the curve of a grille, an opening in the coachwork of a car allowing air to pass.[4]

In the 1930s, Robert Dumas, son-in-law of Émile-Maurice Hermès, decided to launch a smaller version aimed at women and suitable for everyday wear.[5] Simple and structured, flexible and solid, it was designed to carry a large number of objects. In 1935, the handbag was launched: even smaller, it could be fitted with a shoulder strap.[6] It was called a petit sac pour dames à courroies (small ladies bag with straps).[7]

Association with Grace Kelly

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Red Hermès Kelly bag made of crocodile leather
Red crocodile leather Kelly bag

Alfred Hitchcock has been credited with bringing the handbag into the limelight.[8] In 1954, Hitchcock allowed the costume designer Edith Head to purchase Hermès accessories for the film To Catch a Thief, starring Grace Kelly.[8] According to Head, Kelly "fell in love" with the bag.[8]

In 1956, she became Princess of Monaco and was photographed using the handbag to shield her growing belly from the paparazzi, during her first pregnancy with the future Princess Caroline of Monaco, from her marriage to Prince Rainier III.[2] That photograph was featured in Life magazine.[9] It then appeared on many other magazine covers and had a major impact,[7] with many customers pushing the door of Hermès boutiques to ask for the small ladies bag with straps.[10] In the late 1950s, Hermès decided to rename it the Kelly bag.[10]

The handbag with which Princess Grace was photographed was loaned by the palace archives of Monaco[11] and displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in April 2010, along with other notable wardrobe items owned by the princess.[11][12] The "star exhibit" of the show has scuffs and marks, as the wardrobe-thrifty princess carried it for many years.[11] As of 2010, Hermès made 32 styles of handbags, of which the Kelly was the best-seller.[9]

Design

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Kelly bags are designed in one of Hermès' twenty-three French factories located throughout the French territory.[13] For example, there is one in Héricourt in Haute-Saône and another in Louviers in Normandy which, like all the other sites, employ around 250 people.[14] The Kelly takes around 18 to 20 hours to make and is almost entirely handmade by a single craftsman.[15] Each bag is signed at the end of the process, making it possible to identify the bag and determine the date of creation.[15] Hermès leather craftsmen are trained for an average of eighteen months, with the Kelly bag being the main focus, as this model concentrates the majority of the know-how required to work in Hermès' workshops.[16]

Available in seven different sizes, from 15 to 50 cm, the Kelly bag features a trapezoid shape and a cut-out flap.[17] It is available in around twenty materials, including ostrich or crocodile leather and around fifty colors.[6] This bag is defined as "simple and impeccably made", with its linen thread stitching, characteristic two-leather strap closure and small padlock.[8] Its bottom is made up of three layers of leather[2] and protected by four large nails that raise it up so that it doesn't get damaged when it hits the ground.[6]

Perception

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Hermès is one of the few brands with iconic pieces, immediately identifiable by a first name, as would also later be the case with the Birkin bag, produced from 1984.[18] The Kelly is nevertheless considered more formal and refined, while the Birkin is more sporty and casual.[2]

Their quality, rarity and notoriety lead to strong growth in their perceived value.[2] The rarity of these bags makes them highly sought-after items on the second-hand market.[19] Some bags, for example, are estimated at auction at over €100,000.[18]

The Kelly has left its mark on the cultural landscape and is regularly mentioned in films and on television.[2] For example, in the film Le Divorce by James Ivory, released in 2003, it plays an important role in the plot: it is the systematic gift from Palou, played by Thierry Lhermitte, the seducer, to all his mistresses.[2] He is even a character in the Bollywood movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Le Haut à courroies d'Hermès : le sac qui lança la marque au galop". Madame Figaro (in French). 22 June 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Groer, Annie (28 June 2006). "Hermes v. Hermes". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Hermès condamné pour un nom de sac". Libération (in French). 21 January 1995. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  4. ^ Reisser, Sylvain (8 March 2008). "Des chevaux en selle". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  5. ^ Tissot, Capucine (5 January 2022). "Comment Grace Kelly a inspiré le sac Kelly d'Hermès". Elle (in French). Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "Un Kelly pour la vie". Madame Figaro (in French). 11 May 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  7. ^ a b Cartner Morley, Jess (16 April 2010). "Grace Kelly exhibition features famous battered handbag". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d Reed, Paul (2012). "The Kelly bag 1956". Fifty fashion looks that changed the 1950s. London: Conran Octopus. p. 72. ISBN 978 1 84091 603 4.
  9. ^ a b Cosgrave, Bronwyn (31 March 2010). "Grace Kelly's style". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Le sac Kelly de Hermès". Grazia (in French). 30 August 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  11. ^ a b c Cartner-Morley, Jess (16 April 2010). "Grace Kelly exhibition features famous battered handbag". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  12. ^ Nikkhah, Roya (22 November 2009). "Grace Kelly's wardrobe to go on display at V&A museum in London". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  13. ^ Guillaume, Hélène (7 April 2023). "Des selles d'obstacles au sac Kelly, dans les coulisses de la manufacture normande d'Hermès". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  14. ^ "Economie - Implantée à Héricourt, la manufacture Hermès, où quatre-vingt-treize artisans travaillent depuis le mois d'octobre, est inaugurée ce vendredi Héricourt : le bel ouvrage d'Hermès". L'Est Républicain (in French). 1 April 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  15. ^ a b Pouliquen, Katell (18 November 2010). "Tout savoir sur la maison Hermès". L'Express (in French). Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  16. ^ Niedercorn, Frank (5 October 2021). "Hermès continue d'implanter de nouvelles maroquineries en France". Les Échos (in French). Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  17. ^ Marain, Alexandre (3 July 2023). "90 ans après sa création, ce sac Hermès est le préféré de Kendall Jenner". Vogue (in French). Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  18. ^ a b Jacoberger-Lavoué, Virginie (14 April 2023). "En forte croissance, Hermès franchit le cap des 200 milliards d'euros en Bourse". Les Echos (in French). Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  19. ^ Pomeau-Peyre, Clémentine (23 February 2018). "Sacs à main vintage : des valeurs sûres prêtes à porter !". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  20. ^ Rangachari Shah, Gayatri (5 October 2011). "Bollywood Takes Some Style Cues". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
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