An Obvious Chick Magnet

Hermès Birkin bag (WSJ photo)

Latest fashion trend: men are buying Hermès handbags that start at $10,000. [bold added]

Kanye West, Travis Scott and Marc Jacobs have also carted boxy Birkins (first introduced in 1984 and named for the French actress Jane Birkin) or its weightier brother, the Haut à Courroies, or HAC. Hermès does not publicize the price of its coveted handbags (and they are not specifically marketed along gender lines), but, according to collectors, Birkins start around $10,000, while the larger HAC can be even more expensive...

StockX, the online resale marketplace that says it has a majority male customer base, has an Hermès handbag section, where you can find a cherry red Birkin priced at $25,288 and a black version of its shoulder-strapped cousin, the Kelly, at $48,000. The bags are a small, but growing facet of StockX’s business. This year, searches for “Birkin” are up 50% on the site, which says it currently sees an even gender split among purchasers of items in its “handbag” section.

That may sum up a Birkin’s appeal generally, but why are men becoming more interested in them than they used to be? For one, some men have progressed past mocking man-bags and now consider them practical, if often extravagant, accessories...

The internet has also turned more men onto the idea that Birkins are worth coveting. On Instagram, you can find accounts like @MenInHermes and @BirkinMen that are filled with images of men posing with these boxy bags.

There is an “I have it and you don’t” appeal to Birkins that, among men, speaks the same, braggadocious language as buying limited NFTs or a pair of vintage Jordans—two markets that have, not coincidentally, also exploded recently. Men often view Birkins as an investment and Hermès bags in good condition do retain their value on the resale market.

Floyd Mayweather with a Diamond Birkin

Why dance around the obvious? Wealth always attracts a lot of women (not all women, to be sure, such as those enlightened enough to read this humble journal). Yet, many traditional ostentatious displays of wealth carry negative, er, baggage: a very expensive car can mean that the driver is compensating for something, and flashy jewelry and designer clothes are still not appropriate in many business settings.

A Hermès announces that the bearer is both a man of means and comfortable with his own sexuality.

And $10,000 is a stiff barrier to keep out the hoi polloi.

I would never buy one in real life, but my metaverse self will buy one and see what happens.