Sandra‘s Closet

In the 1930s, Robert Dumas, son-in-law of Émile Hermès, whom he succeeded at the head of Hermès (1951-1978), created the women’s bag with straps. He designed a trapezoid shape with two triangular gussets, a cutout flap, a handle and two side straps, and with it he brought the house into the era of boldness and modernism.

In the late 1950s, legend has it that Grace Kelly, a Hollywood star turned princess of Monaco, was photographed holding the bag over her stomach to conceal the early signs of her pregnancy.
The bag shot to international fame and was renamed the Kelly.

The Kelly bag comes in different sizes and styles (like the Kelly Pochette or Kelly Ado for example), offering different aesthetics. There is no «right» size or shape. Although right now smaller bags are the rage, the size for you is the size you choose.

Recently, I have added a Kelly Danse to my Hermès collection. Originally released in 2007 by Jean-Paul Gaultier, who was at the helmet of Hermès at that time, Kelly Danse is a more casual and multi-functional version of the iconic Hermès Kelly. Without the top handle, and with a long strap, you can wear it seven different ways: around the waist, as a crossbody bag, a shoulder bag at two different lengths, as a wristlet, a clutch and even as a backpack!

Danse means dance in French. The idea behind its creation was to attract a younger audience: young ladies who like to dance while having their hands free. Kelly Danse was a revolutionary design for the brand. However, it was discontinued in 2013 because the shape was too «advanced» and fashion-forward. Comfortable cross-body bags were not so trendy at that time.

However, as it often happens, after the bag has been discontinued, the bag has quickly turned into a rare collector’s item and was re-introduced in 2019. Known today as the Kelly Danse II, the bag is around 22 cm in length and 17 cm in height. In terms of dimensions, the Kelly Danse II is very similar to its predecessor.

I chose my Kelly Danse II in Verso Blush/Rose Jaipur Evercolor leather (a leather that is very resilient to wear and tear) with silver hardware and love it, as it is without a doubt, the most versatile of all Hermès bags.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: AP, Courtesy of Hermès, © David Biedert Photography
DISCLOSURE: This post is not sponsored. I own and love this bag!

This summer, I was invited by Vainard Fine Jewellery, the renowned Zurich-based jeweler, to fly to Idar-Oberstein, Germany’s famous gemstone centre, in a private jet to experience the house’s craftsmanship first hand. It was a very interesting trip and I cannot wait to show you the detailed post to share with you the beauty of diamonds.

My look in which I am conquering the runway literally…: Floral print loose fit T-shirt, embroidered jogging pants, purple, orange and black suede colourblock ‘Liberty’ sandals, all by Gucci, sunglasses by Prada, bar cuff in rose gold by Balenciaga, Kelly bag ‘So Black’ by Hermès, Limelight Gala watch and rose diamond ring, both by Piaget.

LoL, Sandra

Axel Krieger (Vainard Fine Jewellery) to the left and Mike Baur (Bainso) to the right with me
Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

In celebration of the spirit of craftsmanship, the Hermès Festival des Métiers (Festival of Crafts) made its first stop in Zurich – Switzerland. The French house’s first world-travelling exhibit invites you to meet with the artisans responsible for creating some of the world’s most luxurious leather goods, silk scarves, china and more.

Ever wondered what goes into the making of an Hermès product? Or why the Kelly bag is such a coveted item? Discover the Hermès universe your own way and enjoy the passion that the craftsmen put into every item. As one of them told me, their effort and long hours spent making those pieces is all worth it, once a customer wears and treasures their handiwork.

Open to the public, this free admission event is located at EWZ-Unterwerk Selnau (Selnaustr. 25, Zurich) starting today through June 10th, 2012 from 11 am- 6pm every day. It is a great experience for kids as well.

For all of you that are living abroad, here are some photos that I took yesterday at the pre-opening. Enjoy the craftsmanship!

Hermès has very high requirements for leather and the artisans will take time to find the best one to use. The difference lies also in how the bags are made by hand. It will take approximately 30 hours to create one single piece with only 3 produced per week. This explains the long waiting list for their iconic Birkin or Kelly bags.

It is pretty impressive to watch the craftsman assemble the really tine pieces of the movement for a mechanical watch.

The artwork for the famous silk scarves is designed by an artist, but the Hermès artisans will need to engrave the silkscreens by hand before starting the printing process.

At the printing station, you can see how each silkscreen, one for each colour, are precisely aligned and printed onto silk. Every single aspect of a silk scarf is done by Hermès: They rear their own silkworms, produce their own twills and mix their own dyes. After the printing, the scarves are left to dry, then the colours are locked in during a steam bath. After that, the silk scarves are washed to make them smooth and coated with a protective finish. Finally, they will be hand-rolled and hand-hemmed along the edges by craftsmen.

Every carré (the French name for it) has its own name, as for example the famous Brides de gala that was sketched in 1957 by Hugo Grygkar and which is still used these days.

Perfection and quality is essential to Hermès, the same applies to the tie making process. A craftswoman explains how the twills are rolled, folded and subsequently stitched into ties, using the same silk as for the scarves.

There are not many artisans in the world who can perform this process. Those silk scarves are only made by special order. It is a thicker kind of twill that comes with a velour-like coat. The craftswoman takes away parts of it with a sharp pointed tool. Just to do those red flowers takes her six weeks. She needs to be extra careful in order not to destroy the precious fabric.

The artisan uses real gold to paint the beautiful embellishments of the crystal glasses. The brown colour of the gold will change in the oven. To achieve the shiny effect, each glass has to be buffed by hand.

The fabulous china and porcelain products are also carefully hand-painted by artisans. After watching the process, you feel guilty for every piece you dropped in the past.

Also of interest is the house’s glove-making. When I asked the glover what is the best material for a glove, he said velour leather is his favourite to work with.

Hermès first started with horse-riding accessories and saddles. The equestrian heritage has been celebrated ever since. A saddle by Hermès is like a piece of art, especially when you look at those special editions with wings or leopard print that the saddler showed me yesterday.

I hope that you will enjoy this eye-opening exhibit as much as I did!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

It is official, fall is here now. Nature is changing and so is our wardrobe. I love the colour combination of purple and green and hope that you will like it, too!

My look: Sleeveless dress by Missoni, sweater by Gucci, necklace by Lanvin, Kelly bag “So Black” by Hermès, tights “Matte Opaque 80” by Wolford, ring “Diorette” by Dior Haute Joaillerie, watch by Roger Dubuis and suede shoes by Yves Saint Laurent.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

I am almost dying looking at those photos. As if the see-through Kelly bag Jean-Paul Gaultier created for his final Hermès S/S 2011 show wasn’t enough to drool over, there is also the wicker Kelly bag to be lusted after and the cute miniature Birkin bag dangling from the model’s wrist. Can you believe that the see-through material is actually very thin crocodile leather, ohmygod?!
Those bags will be very limited and they kind of make your everyday Kelly look plain boring. Being highly collectables, they are guaranteed to become instant classics.
Get on the wait list now ladies!

LoL, Sandra

In case you will make it to London this weekend for a Valentino for Gap shopping tour, I recommend a visit to the neighbourhood on Oxford Street, meaning the Wonder Room at Selfridges. There you can get the first ever insight into the inner life of a superluxury handbag, you can literally crawl into a giant Kelly bag.

Sounds like heaven for all Hermès lovers or like some weird Alice in Wonderland scenario.
No worries, you do not need to drink from a bottle marked “drink me”! Once inside you can sit in a booth while watching a film of its owner’s journey and feel the motion of the bag as it moves.

The monster bag is made exactly like a regular-size one and was first introduced at Brown Thomas in Dublin in the beginning of November to promote the Marvel Room, a showcase of exclusive limited pieces at the famous Irish department store.

The Kellydoscope can be admired in London until the 30th of November. What a fun interactive experience!

LoL, Sandra