While part of me is pleased that there are high school students unfazed enough by the general snootery at Hermes to spend the afternoon sniffing their entire perfume collection – perhaps as a gift for a friend (I very much doubt it); perhaps for the hell of it (much more likely ); another part of me is very irritated by the ridiculous procedures currently in progress at the store.
Though it is understandable that the top tier conglomerate might want to limit the number of customers on the shopfloor in the midst of the seventh or eighth wave of the panic (look how crowded it was just now !)
: putting a cordon outside – as OnWingsOfSaffron noted recently, having experienced the same phenomenon somewhere in Europe -‘to keep out the riff-raff’
is a physical provocation : a deliberate, symbolic keeping of the braying, baying masses salivating at the doorstep begging for baguettes that really doesn’t make you warm to the Hermesians, staring blankly from somewhere inside.
I didn’t have time on this occasion – again – to be blessed entry by the lizard on the door (exactly the same thing happened last week; ‘luxury shoppers’ glancing languidly at their conspicuously placed wristwatches…. debating whether or not they could actually be bothered )
Will I ever get to try Violet Volnyka ?
The Black Narcissus 
Although I agree with you about the snobbery that surrounds Hermes, I hope you get a chance to try it becsyse it is very nice.
ooh ooh tell me more : I am imagining I will like it so am extremely invested in smelling the damn thing
Is it sweet, Dry? What kind of violet are we talking about ?
It is neither too sweet or too dry. It is a very beautiful fragrance in my humble opinion and the first new Hermes scent I have bought in a very long time. I think you would like it.
Officially stoked ! Thanks for telling me.
I shall persevere with this nonsense x
Hermes has always been ridiculous in promoting its exclusivity.
You can’t just purchase a Birkin bag on the Hermès website. You must visit one of the Hermès boutiques. When you enter the shop, don’t expect to see any Birkin bags for sale on display. If you happen upon the rare circumstance of a Birkin on the premises & IF the SA deems you worthy (one must have the desired appearance), you will be invited into a private room. A gloved SA will bring you a glass of champagne & a single bag out from the back. With extraordinary luck, there maybe 2 or 3 bags to choose from. I bought a Birkin for my 30th birthday, it was the most impractical & clumsy bag I have ever owned.
How could you do it to yourself !
Somehow glad you have one though and emerged unscathed
Even though I was so very disrespectful of Hermès there is undoubtedly something perhaps even awsome—and I use the word in its old sense—when purchasing a select piece from one of the grand maroquineries from France, Italy, or indeed Belgium. I am an ardent fan of the Belgian company Delvaux (though I do not own one single piece!). If I were a woman, by god, I most certainly would have bought one of their iconic Brillant bags.
So kudos to your Birkin bag!
No !
It’s disrespectful of H to treat customers like lowlifes
As a violet centric person, glad to know there is this to look forward to, eventually. I’m willing to give them some benefit of the doubt and put their cautions down to the newer covid flu and respiratory viruses rampant these days, at least in nyc (and China apparently, despite draconian policies). Still i know you are likely right, it’s all about the snobbery performance. Le sigh!
I gave snooty Hermès the finger and a bought a Chanel extrait Cuir de Russie at the more welcoming perfume shop down the road (on Black Friday, minus 20%). Different leather, but I’m exceedingly pleased with it!
Layered it with Berber Blonde today, to excellent effect!
How gorgeous !
Hmm. I’d like a sniff of this too. But this “exclusivity” is so yawnsome. Marketing bollocks which is having the desired effect. I wonder how much the actual juice costs?
In Japan, probably 42000 or something. D bought me Vetiver Tonka for my 50th but that’s probably the only Hermessence I will ever own ( although they do do small sizes I think).
I am definitely going to at least smell the damn thing
That is sad that the boutique is like that there. I wish I could go into Boston and smell it at the boutique, but I don’t rightfully know when I’ll ever be able to just go into the world again, with illness ever looming.
Are you still a recluse ?
It must be hard, Brielle
Yes. I went to the dentist finally, a new one with safety protocols in place last week, since mid 2021 and ended up catching a terrible cold that I can’t shake. Thank goodness it is only a cold.