Hermès Bag Types: Every Style and Name Explained mini hermes birkin bag mini black

Author : Lowery Bilde | Published On : 18 Sep 2026

Every Hermès bag has a story, a waitlist, or both. The maison produces far more than the two famous icons. This guide covers the different Hermès bag names, what each style is for, roughly what they cost, and which ones you can actually walk in and buy.

Already know which model you are after? Skip straight to it below. New to the brand? Read top to bottom — the styles are ordered by how difficult they are to obtain.

The Quota Bags: Birkin and Kelly

Each year, Hermès restricts how many of its two flagship bags any client can purchase. Collectors call these 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

The Birkin is arguably the most famous handbag on earth. 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.

Hermès Birkin bag prices start around $11,000–$12,000 retail for a Togo leather 25, and climb steeply with exotic skins. On resale platforms, sought-after sizes and colors fetch $20,000 or more. The most expensive Hermès bags on record are diamond-set crocodile Birkins, which have hit six figures at auction.

Hermès Kelly Bag

The Hermès Kelly bag is the older, more elegant sibling — a single top handle, a sculpted flap, and a removable shoulder strap. You can choose between two builds — the rigid Sellier and the softer Retourne. In 1956 Grace Kelly made it famous, and Hermès later renamed the bag in her honor.

Kelly prices sit close to Birkin territory: roughly $10,000–$11,500 retail depending on size and leather. The mini Kelly bag (the Kelly 20) is currently the hardest of all to get, and resale prices often double retail.

Kelly vs Birkin, summed up: the Kelly is the dressy, fully-closing option; the Birkin is the casual, roomy, easy-access one.

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 built around the bold "H" clasp, and the nearest thing to a logo bag Hermès makes. reddit moves from day to evening easily and keeps its value almost on par with the quota bags. The Constance 18 starts at roughly $8,500 retail.

Hermès Evelyne Bag

Hermès positions the Evelyne as its casual 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. At around $3,500–$4,000, it ranks among the most attainable everyday Hermès bags.

Hermès Lindy Bag

The Lindy is a slouchy, double-zip bag you can carry by hand or over the shoulder. Its relaxed shape makes it a favorite 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. It skips lining and hardware complications in favor of a simple 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 runs deep. These styles come up constantly in boutiques and on the resale market:

Bolide — a rounded zip-top bag with a claim to being among the first zippered handbags ever made.
Roulis — a compact shoulder bag with a signature metal clasp — a subtler take on the Constance.
Herbag — canvas construction topped with a Kelly-style leather flap; the bags swap on one frame.
Geta — a small curved crossbody in Swift leather, launched in 2022 and still in demand.
Victoria — an unstructured, soft tote suited to travel and everyday carry.
Della Cavalleria — the house's saddle bag silhouette, with a clasp drawn 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 — flexible shoulder and crossbody styles built to convert between carries.

The Hermès men's bag range is led by the Haut à Courroies — the Birkin's ancestor — alongside the Steve messenger bag and the Cityback line.

How Much Is a Hermès Bag?

Short answer: from about $3,000 to well past $100,000. Here is a realistic price ladder:

Entry point (canvas and small leather): Herbag, Garden Party canvas, Picotin — about $3,000–$4,500
Everyday leather: Evelyne, Lindy, Bolide — roughly $3,500–$9,000
The structured icons: Constance, Kelly, Birkin — around $8,500–$13,000+ at retail
Exotics and rare pieces: crocodile, ostrich, and limited pieces — $30,000 into six figures

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

How to Actually 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. Machine-perfect stitching and lightweight hardware usually give a fake Hermès bag away. If in doubt, pay for professional authentication — the fee is nothing compared with the bag's price.

Vintage Hermès bags are their own reward. Older Kellys and Bolides often cost less than new non-quota styles and carry patina no new bag can fake.

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 and Birkin vs Kelly deep dive.