Hermès Bag Types: Every Style and Name Explained hermes bag plume

Author : Boisen Winther | Published On : 17 Sep 2026

Behind every Hermès bag there is a story, a waitlist, or both. The house makes far more than the two icons everyone knows. In https://sites.google.com/view/welcome-to-rhermesrepstruth-in/home will find the different Hermès bag names, what each style does best, approximate prices, and which models you can realistically buy in store.

If a specific model brought you here, jump to its section below. If you are starting from zero, read in order — the styles are grouped by how hard they are to get.

Quota Bags Explained: Birkin and Kelly

Hermès caps the number of its two flagship bags a client may buy per year. Among collectors, these are known as the quota bags. You cannot simply order one. They are offered to established clients only, which is why resale prices for both sit far above retail.

Hermès Birkin Bag

No handbag in the world is more famous than the Birkin. It is a structured top-handle tote with two straps, a turn-lock closure, and no shoulder strap. Common sizes are the Birkin 25, 30, and 35.

Retail Hermès Birkin bag prices begin near $11,000–$12,000 for a Togo leather 25 and rise sharply for exotic skins. On resale platforms, sought-after sizes and colors fetch $20,000 or more. The most expensive Hermès bags ever sold are diamond-set crocodile Birkins, with auction results in the hundreds of thousands.

Hermès Kelly Bag

Older and more refined, the Hermès Kelly bag pairs a single top handle with a sculpted flap and a removable shoulder strap. It comes in two constructions: Sellier (rigid, sharp edges) and Retourne (softer, relaxed). Grace Kelly made it famous in 1956, and the house renamed the bag after her.

Pricing lands close to the Birkin: about $10,000–$11,500 retail, depending on size and leather. Right now the mini Kelly bag (Kelly 20) is the hardest Hermès bag to source, and resale prices frequently double retail.

Kelly vs Birkin, summed up: the Kelly is more formal and fully closes with its flap, while the Birkin is casual, roomier, and quicker to access.

Non-Quota Styles You Can Realistically Buy

You may still wait at busy boutiques, but no annual limit applies to these styles. For many buyers, this is where the smart money goes.

Hermès Constance Bag

A structured shoulder bag with the big "H" clasp — the closest thing Hermès has to a logo bag. The Constance works day to night and holds its value almost as well as the quota bags. Pricing opens near $8,500 retail for the Constance 18.

Hermès Evelyne Bag

The Evelyne is the maison's laid-back crossbody bag. It features a perforated "H" front, a tab-closure open top, and a wide canvas strap. Its original job was hauling equestrian grooming kit, which is why the holes are there. Priced near $3,500–$4,000, it is one of the easiest everyday Hermès bags to actually own.

Hermès Lindy Bag

The Lindy is a slouchy, double-zip bag you can carry by hand or over the shoulder. The soft silhouette has made it a go-to for travel. In recent years the Mini Lindy has turned into the line's trend piece.

Hermès Picotin Bag

The Picotin is a small open bucket bag inspired by a horse's feed bag. No lining, no hardware fuss — just a lock-through closure. When people search for a Hermès bucket bag, this is the one they mean. It starts near $3,000, which also makes it a frequent answer to "what is the cheapest Hermès bag" in leather.

Hermès Garden Party Bag

This is the practical canvas-and-leather tote for everyday errands. The Garden Party serves as the range's workhorse and is one of the simplest styles to locate in a boutique. The all-leather versions cost more; the canvas mix keeps the entry price lower.

More Hermès Bag Names Worth Knowing

The catalog goes deeper than most realize. You will see these styles constantly in boutiques and on resale platforms:

Bolide — a rounded zip-top design and one of the first zippered handbags in history.
Roulis — a compact shoulder bag with a signature metal clasp — a subtler take on the Constance.
Herbag — a canvas body under a leather Kelly-style flap, with interchangeable bags on a single frame.
Geta — a small curved Swift-leather crossbody introduced in 2022 and still hard to find.
Victoria — an unstructured, soft tote suited to travel and everyday carry.
Della Cavalleria — the maison's saddle bag design, its clasp lifted straight from equestrian hardware.
In-the-Loop — a modern bucket-shaped style, popular in the 18 size on the pre-owned market.
24/24, Halzan, Jypsière, Kelly Danse — versatile shoulder and crossbody styles that convert between carries.

On the men's side, the Haut à Courroies (the Birkin's ancestor), the Steve messenger bag, and the Cityback line anchor the Hermès men's bag range.

How Much Does a Hermès Bag Cost?

In short: from around $3,000 to far beyond $100,000. A realistic ladder looks like this:

Entry point (canvas and small leather): Herbag, Garden Party canvas, Picotin — roughly $3,000–$4,500
Daily leather: Evelyne, Lindy, Bolide — around $3,500–$9,000
Structured icon tier: Constance, Kelly, Birkin — roughly $8,500–$13,000+ retail
Exotics and rare pieces: crocodile, ostrich, and limited runs — from $30,000 into six figures

Prices rise most years, and secondary-market prices for quota bags typically sit 1.5–2x retail.

How to Get a Hermès Bag

You can find the Evelyne, Picotin, Garden Party, and comparable styles as walk-in stock, particularly at bigger boutiques. To land a Birkin or Kelly, your realistic options are building purchase history with a sales associate or going pre-owned through a reputable reseller.

Going pre-owned? Authentication is everything. Learn how to tell if a Hermès bag is real before you spend anything: check the heat stamp, the stitching (hand-sewn saddle stitch, slightly angled), the hardware engravings, and the craftsman blind stamp. A fake Hermès bag typically reveals itself through machine-perfect stitching and flimsy hardware. When in doubt, use a professional authentication service — the price of the check is trivial next to the price of the bag.

Vintage Hermès bags are their own reward. Older Kellys and Bolides frequently cost less than new non-quota styles, with patina no new bag can imitate.

Which Hermès Bag Makes the Best First Buy?

If you want one answer: the Evelyne for casual daily use, the Constance if you dress up more often, and the Picotin if you want the lowest-cost entry into Hermès leather. Save the Birkin or Kelly for when you know the house — or choose authenticated pre-owned and bypass the waitlist completely.

Related reading: our Hermès leather guide plus Birkin vs Kelly deep dive.