Introducing Hermès Haut À Courroies
One of the holy grails of bags as far as I’m concerned, the Hermès Haut À Courroies (or HAC for short) has been in existence (and production) since 1892, created by Émile-Maurice Hermès who modelled it after the totes used by Argentinian cowboys while on a trip to South America. Since then, other bags have been created with the original as the muse, including the Kelly in 1956 and the Birkin in 1984, which was modified from the HAC to be shorter and smaller, but with handles made a tad longer for toting over the arm.
Traditionally made in sizes from 40 cm through to 55 cm (which refers to the width of the bag), it has stayed true to its original form, large and imposing, which also happens to be its Achilles’ heel. Being so huge also means it is a less popular option as far as the guys are concerned. Sometimes, trying to spot one on the streets is like trying to find a unicorn, but when you do, you’ll drop everything you’re doing just to stare at it a little longer, taking in its magnificence and basking in its glory.
The one shown above, in Togo calfskin, is a HAC50. A gorgeous hue of golden cocoa brown, it is priced at SGD19,000, which while out of reach to most mere mortals does also makes it all the more covetable as well.
There are newer sizes which include the smaller 28 cm, 32 cm and 36 cm (though I think they are only made when special orders are received), catered specially to ladies who like its vertical shape as opposed to the Birkin‘s more squarish proportions, but that’s irrelevant as far as this post is concerned, since I’m still on the fence as to whether a HAC50 (or a HAC45 for that matter) is one of the bags I should be seriously considering, even if I will only probably use it as a carry on when I travel. What do you think?
