Birkin Buyer Confessions, Part II

"I dropped it off at the Fashionphile office and I was like, ‘Get this away from me.’"

How do you get a Birkin or a Kelly? At Hermès, these “quota bags,” which are typically limited to two per customer per year, can’t just be bought like a pack of Tik Tacs at the grocery store checkout. Hermès reserves the bags for clients who spend a certain amount of money on “garbage” — or anything that’s not a quota bag — as one client recently told Back Row. In the first installment of Birkin buyer confessions, we heard from someone who made tens of thousands in profit on reselling the sole Birkin she’s ever bought; Bryan Yambao, one of the internet’s most passionate Hermès fans; and a Dubai-based mom who became addicted to the quota bag re-sale market.

Today, we’re hearing from three more quota bag owners: a stylist who leveraged a connection to buy a Birkin 40; a Houston-based shopper who owns five Birkins; and a Madrid-based entrepreneur who went on a worldwide quest to buy a single Kelly bag.

Birkin Buyer Confessions, Part I

Retail Confessions: Hermès, Part II

“It's a symbol of independence.”

—Nolan Meader, New York-based stylist, owner of one Birkin

Nolan’s Birkin. (Credit: Courtesy of Nolan Meader.)

“I grew up in a small town in New England. I was the chunky gay kid, very close with my great aunt, who was very fashionable. I watched The Devil Wears Prada, and was like, I want my life to look like that. It's a cliché, I know. At 10 years old, I was reading Tatler, Harper's Bazaar, and Vogue.

“I remember the first season of Rachel Zoe’s reality show, she was buying a vintage Birkin. Her assistant says, ‘You don't need another one.’ And she's like, ‘It's a thing.’ I said, ‘Someday when I'm a real stylist, that's what I'm going to buy myself.’

“I go into the Hermès store in New York at least twice a month. My sales guy is so funny and thoughtful. He's brutally honest — he'll be like, ‘You don't need those boots.’

“I wanted a Birkin 40. I've had luck getting just about anything else I wanted in the U.S. But my sales guy told me, ‘I can pretty much get you anything in the world, but that'll take a while.’

“I started looking in April, and bought one in a neutral beige color on The Real Real in May. I spent 8,000 euros. It was a great deal. I wore it twice, and both times I carried it, it was like, This is not my bag. And I'm a huge consignment shopper. Something about it felt off.

“I dropped it off at the Fashionphile office and I was like, ‘Get this away from me.’ Maybe I made $100 reselling it. I decided to use the money to buy a Constance.