handbag full of history

You know you've reached style icon status when a covetable designer handbag is named after you. Marc Jacobs named his Stam bag after model-of-the-moment, Jessica Stam in the early noughties, the classic Mulberry Alexa came out last year and reflects Alexa Chung's brand of laid back Brit girl cool. Hermès named their Kelly bag after legendary beauty Grace Kelly and of course arguably the most famous handbag in the world the Birkin bag named after the original 'boho babe' Jane Birkin in 1984. It was therefore a momentous day when earlier this week Birkin decided to auction off her very own well-loved and uniquely personalised Birkin, on e-bay no less! This is what a style-hunter's dreams are made of. I can only imagine how much it will sell for, but proceeds go towards the Red Cross' efforts in Japan. Birkin, who evidently hasn't had a humor bypass over the years, told Vogue.com 

“There’s no fun in a bag if it’s not kicked around, so that it looks as if the cat’s been sitting on it—and it usually has. The cat may even be in it! I always put on stickers and beads and worry beads. You can get them from Greece, Israel, Palestine—from anywhere in the world. I always hang things on my bags because I don’t like them looking like everyone else’s.”