The Kelly Danse is a small clutch bag designed to be worn cross body, around the waist, or as a back pack. It has just been re-released by Hermès to great excitement.   The desirability of this versatile little number is a great example of well-considered product marketing. It is something very few brands can afford to do and manage well.  This is what has happened: Hermès released the bag more than a decade ago, in small quantities, when the style and size was not at the height of fashion.  They then discontinued it, just as people began to understand its value.  This fuelled the bag’s desirability among a small following, and enhanced the brand image.  Years later, in autumn 2019, now the style has become fashionable, Hermès has re-released the piece, and voila, they have created a new bag which already has an eager audience.  And because it was designed before, Hermès can maintain its claim to not be influenced by trends.  As an added bonus, Hermès has attracted a new customer, a younger one, who follows seasonal trends, which is a new dimension in Hermès’ usual conservative  retail space.  Welcome back, the Kelly Danse!

Here is the Gris Perle Hermès Kelly Danse which we received yesterday.

The History of the Kelly Danse
The original Hermès Kelly Danse was released in 2007, in soft Swift leather, and discontinued in 2013.  It was a casual version of the Kelly Pochette, in softer leather, without the top handle, and with a long strap.  It never achieved the iconic status of the Kelly Pochette and was aimed at a younger market.  We love the name: it must be the only handbag Hermès has produced whose name hints at functionality: young ladies could dance while wearing a cross body handbag, which at that time was unheard of  in high fashion.

The Lilac Blue experience
We sold a handful of these bags between 2009 and 2012. Not many people knew of them and they were extremely casual for an Hermès design.  At this time the Kelly Pochette and Kelly Cut clutch bags were popular, but only amongst the serious Hermès cognoscenti.

Then just as Hermès stopped making the bag a number of our Kuwaiti clients – ladies from Kuwaiti high society were some of the first serious collectors of Hermès Birkins and Kellies – started asking for the Kelly Danse. Their girls could wear the bag cross body and they understood its chic yet practical design.
We had a Blue Jean one in stock for a few days in 2014. Then we had a terrible theft, of the Kelly Danse and four larger Kellies and Birkins. We tracked the bags
across London, and got most of them back, but the Kelly Danse had already been sold on, within a day!

Fast forward to 2019 and the world is going mad for small bags worn cross-body. And rucksacks. This bag meets both demands. It can also be worn as a bum bag, or fanny pack. But as you may know, Lilac Blue has never come to terms with the bum bag… the very name shrieks style disaster….

Parchemin Kelly Danse. Image courtesy of Xupes

The Kelly Danse original was 17 x 22 x 7cm with one strap which could be work single 63cm or doubled at 33cm.

The Kelly Danse II is the same dimensions, with a longer strap. It can now also be worn as a rucksack, or around the waist, if you really must.

The Danse Kelly was initially made in Swift leather – a smooth pliable leather suited to small accessories. Handbag buyers don’t like this leather, because it looks delicate and smooth on larger items, so Hermès has changed to the more resilient Evercolor. The Kelly Danse II appeared in July 2019, and we are currently only seeing it in natural colours such as Gris Perle and Etoupe.  As Hermès has concentrated the last few years on bright new hues, this may be a welcome return to neutral shades, at least for A/W 2019.

The price in Europe is €4,900 Euros, in the US approximately $7,000 USD – if you are lucky enough to be invited to purchase one. The price on the resale market looks set to be around €12,000, or £12,000 here in the UK.  This may change according to supply and demand.

Lilac Blue London has some pre-loved Kelly Danse bags from 2008 to 2012 in excellent condition in Black; Rose Dragee; Jaune d’Or and Parchemin:

and new ones just arriving here.

Editorial Comment and Recommendations

Was the creation of the Kelly Danse and Kelly Danse II really part of a 12 year product marketing strategy? Did Hermès really tease us in 2008-12 with this bag, knowing that the market for very small bags would burgeon and explode in 2018? Almost certainly not. Hermès is extremely lucky to be able to release this bag right now: its launch in 2008 might be called ill-timed, the design ill-conceived. What is clear however is that Hermès has maintained its position at the very top of the luxury handbag market over the last decade, a decade which has seen exponential growth, investment and inflation in luxury accessories. Never before have so many women, across so many continents, coveted a Hermès handbag. So to have created a bag in 2008 which becomes highly desirable ten years later, and more importantly one which you can effortlessly re-release, is a stroke of good fortune and not a strategic stroke of genius. But having been dealt this amazing deck of cards, Hermès plays them unusually well. Arguably better than any other luxury brand.  This is why:

The last six months – Summer and Autumn of 2019 – has brought a frenzy of desire for an Hermès bag.  The last time the market was this alive with desire
and super inflated prices was 2012. The bag? The Mini Kelly II. Requests for the bag come from all corners of the world, every day. Prices for this Mini Kelly II 20cm have reached way beyond 100% above the retail price, and are currently – November 2019 – around £14,000 for a Black Mini Kelly. (Please be VERY careful if you are offered one for less than £11,000, please contact us if you are unsure of your seller.)  This level of markup in the handbag resale market –
from £6,000 to £15,000 – has not been  seen for many years. What an amazing achievement for Hermès.

Back to the relaunch of the Kelly Danse: it seems highly coincidental that the Mini Kelly 20cm production is stalled just as the Kelly Danse is released.  Will the Kelly Danse become as sought after as the Mini Kelly? While Hermès does not have an official Marketing Department, someone is seeking to ensure that the hunger for bags continues to grow and younger customers are drawn to the brand.

If you like the Kelly Danse and the Mini Kelly, have you considered one of the original Mini Kellies?  You can find this Mini Kelly here.  And to see how these bags shape high street fashion, you only have to look at this new Lee Radziwill Petite Bag by Tory Birch.
Available at Shopbop.

And if you really want to show your individuality and appreciation of the rare, this Hermès yellow Lizard Mini Kelly, which is from 1986 and may be older than many of you, is a rare collector’s piece.  It is fragile and worn, but is expected to grow enormously in value.

Our thanks go to Purse Blog for their endlessly brilliant writing and research.

Annabelle Hunt

This bag was bought by our dear partner, a collector of Hermes bags who is selling a few of her pieces to fund her post graduate degree.

It is H Stamp, made in 2004. This officially makes the bag a vintage piece.

Box leather was the leather initially used for Kelly handbags. It’s a calf leather, is smooth and very beautiful, with a slight sheen. However, being very smooth, with a very gentle grain, it does scratch more easily than the better-known togo and clemence leathers, and this frightens people. What many people don’t realise is that once the leather has suffered some wear and tear, it develops a lovely sheen, a gentle patina.

This bag is unusual because it’s 35cm, which is large for box leather. It was made as a special order, so only a handful of bags in this combination of leather or colour were ever created. The raisin leather is edged in cyclamen, a light purple which also lines the bag.

It shows signs of gentle wear on the base and the feet, but the signs of use the body of the bag are so gentle that it looks new. Box leather is sturdy so the bag will continue to stand upright for many years. The hardware has all been completely replaced and there are still plastic protectors on the metal.

This is one of a few pieces that we would recommend as an investment.

For more information or to purchase please click HERE

Watches, but not just any watch….  We have often been asked by clients visiting the Lilac Blue London showroom if we sell other luxury items, particularly watches.  Up until recently we haven’t as we’ve liked to concentrate on our core business, however we don’t like to disappoint so having made some connections with trusted suppliers Lilac Blue London are delighted to announce that we have a small selection of extremely lovely watches available from Patek Philippe and Rolex, two manufacturers who are at the very peak of the luxury watch business.

Patek Philippe has an unrivalled reputation for quality and sells some of the most expensive watches ever made, in fact just a few days ago a one-of-a-kind Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime sold for the breathtaking figure of £24.3 million.  The quality of design, materials and craftsmanship is outstanding and when you own a Patek Philippe you are showing pride and appreciation of the traditional Swiss watchmaker’s art.

Rolex is quite probably the most well known watch brand in the world, their models have been worn by many celebrated figures both past, present and fictional.  Their watches are created with a purpose – for diving, climbing, flying – and are all superbly made to the highest standards.  Paul Newman’s Daytona sold in 2017 for US$17.8 million and for some time held the record for the most expensive watch ever sold.

Watches from Lilac Blue London

If you’d like information on any of these watches or to ask us to find one for you, please get in touch via WhatsApp: +44 7887 409934

A brand new Hermes handbag is one of the most precious accessories you will ever buy.  You know that the bag is in pristine condition and it will feel and smell perfect, in its orange box with all the trimmings.  But buying a Birkin or Kelly from Hermes can take months or years, and the premium on one from a reseller such as ourselves can be costly.  So you might want to consider the Preloved market.    Obviously there are limitations here in the terms of choice but in general there is a good selection of bags in varying conditions at equally varying prices.

At Lilac Blue London we have a number of bags which come under the category of Preloved, but they are in such good condition that you would hardly know that they weren’t brand new.  To help you find these we have decided to create a new area called Good As New and have selected some of our Preloved Hermes bags, as well as a few from Chanel which are in near perfect condition.  If you are interested in any of these bags then do please call us on +44 845 224 8876 or email contact@lilacblue.com for more detailed information.

If you have decided on making an investment in a handbag, the next issue will be how best to buy a piece, and where. Our advice is spend time and money in an Hermes boutique, dress and accessorise to impress, and be prepared to return every day for a week. Or two or three weeks. And be aware that if you do get the chance to buy a Birkin or Kelly, you will be given one option only; you cannot choose your colour or leather. Should you declare the bag unsuitable for you, there is little likelihood of being offered another model. So the alternative is to buy from a well reputed reseller or auction house.

When choosing the ideal investment, the first consideration should be the timelessness of the piece. You need a size and a model that is always going to be popular. And if you are worried about what makes an item popular, consider the usefulness of the bag. A handbag that is easy to wear now is likely to be highly wearable in 5 or 25 years’ time.

The item should be in very good condition. It can be used, but make sure there are no tears or cracks in the leather. Zips should work seamlessly after many decades. Classic colours and models are super, as they will be recognised in years to come, and limited editions and bright colours will fetch higher returns in a connoisseur market.

Handbag sizes vary year to year, so investing in a wearable, mid-range size is advisable. In terms of leather, the most desirable right now is the very expensive crocodile (a Hermes Birkin crocodile in size 35cm is currently above £40,000 in the store, but only VIP clients are allowed to buy one, and that can take years of investment in other Hermes goods…). But crocodile bags are fragile and need care and attention, so are not for all of us. My favourite is the ostrich, which is ridiculously hard wearing and maintains its shape, but seen less and less these days, which could make it a good investment piece.

Hermes produces calf leather bags in numerous varieties: the best known is togo, which is natural young bull calf leather. It is pebbled and scratch proof, but some of the bags in this leather will sag over time, giving it a more casual look. Epsom is very popular in Asia, because it retains its shape for many years. It is a stamped leather, so not as resilient as the togo. Other varieties are taurillon clemence, which is pebbled like the togo but softer, and swift leather – currently used for smaller bags – which is very soft and smooth. Swift leather will scratch, but many of the marks can be removed. It’s always worth remembering that these leathers are all of extremely good quality and durable, so can be cleaned at home. If you a little hesitant about scrubbing your treasured piece, bring it to us for gentle cleaning, or take the bag to Hermes and put it into the spa. They will clean it and spruce it up amazingly, at a very reasonable cost.

And finally, perhaps most importantly, buy a bag you like. It is after all, a passion asset, so make sure you are at least fond of the item. In terms of maintenance, decide whether the bag is to be worn or carefully kept in a pristine condition. In either case, make sure you look after it. We see bags which have been thrown into the back of a closet for years, and kept crumpled under shoes and boots. Even the very strongest leathers will begin to alter in shape after months or years of reshaping.

The best places to buy are reputable resellers and auction houses. London, Paris, New York and Hong Kong have a selection. Europe probably has the most reputable and reliable selection. You should really try to see the item before bidding. There are online authentication services which can provide guidelines and help on what you are buying, but beware, authenticating through photographs is not always completely reliable. It is always best to visit premises and meet the people who are going to sell or examine your bag.

Happy Shopping.

Lilac Blue London Ltd
www.lilacblue.com