The Hermès Kelly Bag Family- Everything You Need To Know

A bag that has a royal lineage? It’s no wonder its price tag has that many zeros behind it. There’s no denying that a Hermès bag is the epitome of luxury.  

While the Hermès Birkin is more often talked about, the Hermès Kelly Bag has a much richer and longer history within the Hermès family. For almost a century, the Hermès Kelly Bag has been an iconic piece, transcending fashion as an heirloom, an object of a statue. Today it is available in different colors, sizes, materials, and more. Let’s talk about one of those things that make the Hermès Kelly Bag unique.

The Colors Of The Kelly Hermes Bags

The most popular shade of the Hermès Kelly Bag family is the blue shade. The bag ultimately has twenty-four colors to choose from, with the Bleu Brume shade being the penultimate. These bags have a unique and rare range of colors, some of which are only unique to the Hermès brand. So you will often find colors like Rouge Vif, Vermillion, etc.  

However, the six timeless tones are black, red, navy, dark green, brown, and beige/cream.   

Due to the unpredictable nature of its leather, the dye reacts differently producing a vast difference of colors even the ones with the same shade.   

We will offer you a guide for general color depictions, such as the: 

• Brique – simply the brick red

• Vermillion – bright cherry or lipstick red with raspberry pink undertones

• Rouge Garance – bright red with raspberry pink undertones

• Thalasa – Mediterranean Sea blue, deeper than blue jean

• Blue Roi – bright royal blue, which appears as a denim blue looking exotic leather

• Aqua – a sea blue used in Cheure leather

• Vert Fonce – forest green

Marron fonce, etrusque, kraft, saffron, framboise..… And many other colors are available in the Hermès bag collection.

Stitching Style Of The Kelly Hermes Bags

Are Hermès bags hand stitched? Yes, most Hermès bags are sewn by hand, known as “saddle stitching”. This technique requires months of training and specific tools to ensure that all sketches are the exact same size and pulled to equal tightness. They mainly use a bees waxed cotton thread fed through in a double saddle stitch.  

However, the Kelly bags come in two stitching styles; The Kelly Sellier and Kelly Retourne.  The Kelly Sellier has its stitching done on the outside of the bags, while the Retourne has its stitching done on the insides. All the hand stitching is done from both sides of the leather with two needles as if threading figure eights.

The Hermès Founded

The Hermès Kelly was founded in 1837 in Paris, France, with their first product being the Sac a Depeches bag, which would later go on to become the Kelly Bag.

Sizes Of The Kelly Hermes Bags

The two most popular Kelly Bag sizes are the Kelly 25 and Kelly 28, which fit everyday essentials, from your make-up kit to your sunglasses or even a mini purse inside.  

It is also available in other sizes such as; Kelly 15, Kelly 20, Kelly 25, Kelly 28, Kelly 32, Kelly 35, Kelly 40, and Kelly 50. The Kelly 15 and 20 are known as the mini Kellys, while the Kelly 40 and 50 are best suited for travel.

Dimensions Of The Kelly Hermes Bags

When it comes to sizes, it is important to notice the number in the bag’s title, which refers to the width of its base. Thus, a Kelly 15 has a base width of 15cm, a Kelly 20 has a base width of 20cm, and so on.

Kelly 15   

Size (cm) 15 × 11 × 5cm  

Size (inches) 5.9″ × 4″ × 2″

Kelly 20  

Size(cm) 20 × 16 × 10cm  

Size(inches) 7.8″ × 6.3″ × 4″

Kelly 25  

Size(cm) 25 × 19 × 9cm  

Size(inches) 10″ × 7.5″ × 3.5″

Kelly 28  

Size (cm) 28 × 22 × 10cm  

Size(inches) 11″ × 8.5″ × 4″

Construction Of The Kelly Hermes Bags

Hermès Kelly bags are carefully crafted. They are made from premium materials like crocodile skin. The creation process takes numerous hours since all bags are handcrafted. Its production/construction steps include:

1. Cutting the leather or bag  
2. Stitching the bag  
3. Creating a uniform look  
4. Creating the handle  
5. Placing the hardware  
6. Inspecting the bag

The Metal

The classic Hermès has two metal options; gold-plated or palladium-plated.   

Gold plated is typically 18 karat, however rare Kellys have been made with 24 Karat gold. Sounds like a Bruno Mars song right? They also have been made in Permabrass, rose gold, guilloche, and PVC hardware.

The Material And Leather

From canvas to ostrich, crocodile to calf, the Hermès Kelly bags work with a lot of materials. So you might get:

Epsom Leather – is one of the most popular Hermès materials due to it being pretty much scratch-proof. It is also lightweight and very easy to clean.

Togo Leather – Also scratch resistant, however a much heavier material with an incredibly smooth, almost soft, and spongy leather with a fine grain.  

Did you know that Hermès offers a spa treatment for your bag? I know! What a lucky bag.

Box Calf – It is an incredibly smooth and almost shiny material. It must be looked after with the utmost care as watermarks scratches and blemishes show up very easily on this material. Definitely not one to wear on a rainy day.

Fjord – Its leather comes from an adult cow, so you might want to stay away from this one if you hate beef. It has a beautiful matte look texted and the best part is…it is totally waterproof! Perfect for Ireland, don’t you think?

Cheuvre -Chevron comes from the skin of a goat. There are two types; coromandel and Mysore. These are perfect if you like heavy-handed bags.

Best Places Online To Purchase The Hermès Kelly Bag

When it comes to buying an iconic piece from Hermes, the rules of the game are a little different. Thanks to the high demand that comes with a Hermès label, getting your hands on it can be tricky.  

Best In Store Places To Find The Hermès Kelly Bag 

Buying a Hermès bag is not just like regular shipping. There is knowing the right questions to ask, communicating with a sales associate, waiting periods, and all of that. But we’ll guide you to places you can start your luxury journey to get a bag like a Kelly Lakis. Imagine taking a Kelly bag in a bowl, meshing it with two external pockets, adding some over-stylish zippers with a beautiful finish, a spoonful of casualty and sporty vibe, along with a briefcase outlook like in the famous spy movies, and Bam! You get your Hermes Kelly Lakis Bag that is cool beyond belief. Incredible right?

Or maybe you’re interested in the Kelly Danse bag, which is a small clutch bag designed to be worn cross-body style, or firmly across your waist, even as a backpack. Wow!

You Can Find All Of Those In Places Like

In London You can find the Hermès Kelly bags in….

• The Bond Street Boutique  

• Knightsbridge store

In Miami we have…. 

• Hermès Miami design  

• Privé Porter

In Los Angeles there’s….  

• Hermès Westfield  

• Hermès Beverly Hills Mall

In New York we have:   

• Hermès New York Madison  

• Hermès Men, Mitsosa NYC

Paris 

• Hermès Paris Faubourg Saint Honoré  

• Hermès Rue de Sèures  

• Hermès golden triangle, Paris, Île-de-France

Dubai   

• Hermès The Dubai Mall  

• Hermès Etihad Towers  

• Mall of the Emirates

Price Ranges Of Hermès

It is no secret that Hermès bags are pure luxury. As such you can expect them to cost top dollar. Let’s look at some of these price ranges.   

• The Hermès Birkin bags typically costs around $9000 – $60000

• The Hermès Kelly costs $9000 – $40000

• The Hermès Constance costs between $4000 – $30000

• And the Hermès Evelyn costs between $1800 – $6000

There are other forms of the Hermès Kelly bag we haven’t talked about like the “So Kelly” and “Kelly Ado Backpack”. The “So Kelly” is a true replica of Kelly, So Kelly handbags of Hermes are a way to live with their comfortable yet sturdy shapes, an iconic turn lock, and the Hermès signature.  

We also have the “Kelly Ado Backpack”, a bag with two adjustable leather shoulder straps, a flap, turn lock closure, and gold hardware.

Enjoy your shopping experience!!!