Of course, it’s tacky to ask one’s freespending socialite friends, whether they are genuine establishment, fabulously nouveau riche, or the irrepressible wannabes, “How many Birkins do you have?” but one might as well ask as there seems to be a raging contest going on in walk-in closets and in chichi lunches and teas…
And I am NOT talking about the AAAs and the First Class fakes available at every “tiangge”…
“I only have 6. But my daughter has 10.”
“She has assiduously collected 8. She keeps them by her bedside to watch over them.” ( Probably the only things she owns? )
“She has quite a number of them: 1 from Taipan I’s son, 1 from Taipan II’s son , 1 from Taipan III’s lesbian daughter, 1 from Senator IV, 1 from Senator V, 1 from Congressman VI, 1 from Congressman VII, 1 from Mayor VIII, 1 from Mayor IX, et. al.. She has more than 12?”
“I have 18. And I want more…!!!”
“She freaked out when the ‘yaya’ carrying her Birkin was sandwiched between the elevator doors at Pacific Plaza towers. She nearly died!!! Well, the pobrecita ‘yaya’ was fired ASAP.”
“She has some 2 dozen Hermes Birkins among hundreds of really nice bags in her 300 m2 walk-in closet in Forbes Park. But she stopped using the Bs when JP and then DP started using them. Hahahah! Just wait until they move into the ‘hood!”
“You should have seen her when her hubby’s champion golden retriever dragged her fuchsia pink Birkin through the dining room to the living room to the ‘lanai’ and made the bag his lunch. She cried for days and days over her tattered bag!!! It was as bad as when their big Cristal Baccarat chandelier in the dining room fell just before a dinner party years ago. Maybe there’s something wrong with the feng shui of their house… ”
“That’s her retinue: There’s the ‘yaya’ with the smartphone, the ‘yaya’ with the Birkin, the ‘yaya’ with the child, the ‘yaya’ with the child’s bag, the gay ‘alalay,’ the bodyguard with the big umbrella, the bodyguard with the small umbrella, and the 2 drivers ( of 8 ), one for the day and one for the night. Nice life.”
A taipan’s beautiful wife said: “Toto, just to let you know that I am sick and tired of seeing women parading their Birkin for everyone to see, so I have been using mine as a gym bag to the horror of friends who love to show theirs off. Mine is stuffed with a water bottle (sometimes wet) and a towel and some snacks. Doesn’t that remind you of IRM who would parade her diamonds on her head (tiara) when Elizabeth Taylor in the same event wore hers underneath her ball gown, on her ankles, apparently the headlines the next day say: ‘ The jewelry that Imelda wore on her head, Elizabeth Taylor wore on her feet.’ Not sure how accurate the story is though, but was widely gossiped about then….Hahaha… And just so you know, mine are real!!! Even if I shop at 168, I also shop at Hermes in PARIS!”
“Of course, I’m not going to pay attention to my bags, whatever they are. What am I, nouveau riche???” ( She isn’t, but megarich just the same. )
“Puh-leeze!!! None of that stuff for me!!! Why would I want to look like them ( a litany of “new tacky names” )??? Yes, we had them when nobody did but now… EEEeeewww!!! I’m happy with the darling little bags I pick up in places not known to THOSE people, thank you.”
“Hermes Birkins ( and Kellys ) are simply beautiful bags. They come in such pretty colors, and they’re so well-made, like a genuine Paris couture gown! They are the only reasons why I buy one every now and then. The fact that they cost more shouldn’t be an issue or a factor. If you like them, that is enough justification to purchase.” reflected a doyenne of establishment society.
“This is a very beautiful bag,” explained a rich, genuinely establishment society magazine editrix to her wide-eyed staff, “look at the quality of the leather, the fittings. Observe how neatly and precisely it’s sewn together, you can tell that so much expert effort was expended to create it. I want you to look at it, smell it, feel it. In the future, girls, should you have the requisite resources, you should invest in bags of high quality like this Hermes Birkin.”
The last word came from a ranking Frenchwoman who, with great curiosity and the requisite Gallic snobbery, asked her Filipino Spanish mestizo friend: “I was in Manila and I observed that Filipina women use their Birkins in the evenings… Don’t they know it’s a day bag?”
To which the diplomatic friend helplessly and haplessly replied: The Philippines is a tropical country. It’s warm. There’s really no distinction between day and evening wear.”
“Palusot”!!! ( Lame excuse!!! ) 😛 😛 😛
remembrance of things awry 