DOWN A RABBIT HOLE

Following surgery and on oxycodone I found myself on Facebook when the algorithm decided that what I really wanted to see, repeatedly, was people buying and selling Hermes Birkin bags, now and then Hermes Kelly bags, in a luxury resale shop in London. Good job, algorithm.

However, with the help of oxycodone it fascinated me just as watching a snake slither through the grass can fascinate. What an odd cubbyhole of human nature, where people pay (as far as I can tell) at least $13,000 and up to more than $40,000 for a handbag. A handbag that looks like thousands of other handbags of the same brand and many more thousands of credible knock-offs. Coincidentally, the original Birkin (made for someone named Jane Birkin, as far as I know largely famous for inspiring a handbag) went on sale at auction this past week and sold for more than a million dollars.

The stories behind the decision to sell or buy are sometimes included in the video clips, frequently involving a romantic breakup but also often someone who was "invited" to buy a bag at Hermes and went ahead and bought one just for the resale value. They are immediately sold for more than the original retail price, so long as they are in new condition with their very special boxes and associated trinkets (including a little raincoat for the bag). This invitation-only process is a way that Hermes retains the aura of exclusivity in something that they have replicated many thousands of times. They don't let just anyone buy one, you have to have a history of spending money with them.

Interestingly, most of the people selling and buying these bags did not look to me particularly stylish, although I am probably not a competent judge of that. In any case, they can be sure that everyone who shares their values will recognize them immediately as someone who can afford a wildly expensive handbag.

And yes, they are nice bags, said to have very high quality leather and very skilled hand production. But mainly they are something I'm well aware of as an anthropologist -- the public display of the ability to command large amounts of other people's labor and of the ability to exchange large amounts of resources (in this case, money) for something entirely inessential. It is a signal of caste. Those who commissioned Dacca muslins (so fine that even nine or ten layers were see-through) during the Mughal rule of India or the highest quality Persian rugs during the Safavid dynasty or Faberge eggs during the last days of the Russian czars would recognize the messaging very easily. The French Revolution brought extreme poverty to the exceptional weavers who had made Savonnerie rugs for the royal household; they lost their only customer base at the guillotine.

If it makes them happy, I wish these folks many more Birkins, or Kellys if that is their preference. Aside from making them happy, it keeps very skilled craftspeople alive. If it doesn't make them happy, I think there are other options that they could consider.