What do you think?
Rate this book
Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag
For more than twenty years, the Hermes Birkin bag has been the iconic symbol of fashion, luxury, and wealth. With a fabled waiting list of more than two years to purchase one, the average fashionista has a better chance of climbing Mount Everest in Prada pumps than of possessing this coveted carryall. Unless, of course, she happens to know Michael Tonello. . . .
With down-to-earth wit, Michael Tonello chronicles the unusual ventures that took him to nearly every continent� and from eBay to Paris auction houses and into the lives of celebrities and poseurs alike� on the road to becoming a successful entrepreneur and Robin Hood to thousands of desperate rich women.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published April 22, 2008
272 people are currently reading
4240 people want to read
About the author
Michael Tonello
1 book125 followersI grew up in Massachusetts. I traveled the world as a makeup artist and hairdresser until a chance job assignment in Spain proved fateful, and I resettled in Barcelona. Pressed to find a profession that did not necessitate working papers, I became a lucrative eBay luxury reseller of all things Hermes. I am a columnist for HuffingtonPost.com and live in Barcelona with my partner, Juan, and our two cats, Gala and Dali.
In 2017 I founded the luxury brand, Respoke (www.respoke.com)
In 2017 I founded the luxury brand, Respoke (www.respoke.com)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 576 reviews
May 5, 2008
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)
So are you familiar already with what's known as the Birkin bag? It's the product of Hermés, one of those European "designer boutiques" that exists for no other reason than to severely overcharge rich people with self-esteem issues; you know, one of those places that sells hundred-dollar handkerchiefs, $500 t-shirts and the like, eagerly bought up by the wealthy and idle so that they can prove to strangers that they too can afford to waste $500 on a t-shirt. (Yeah, I don't get it either.) But of all the ridiculously overpriced merchandise that Hermés sells, perhaps none is more infamous than their Birkin handbags; named after a famous French singer and habitual Hermés customer, these bags cost a minimum of $10,000 new from the store, and depending on the type can run you upwards of $75,000 or more. And human nature being what it is, of course, it's nearly impossible to get one's hands on an actual Birkin, with there being an infamous two-year waiting list at most stores to even be given the opportunity to blow that kind of money; needless to say, the self-imposed scarcity drives all these upper-class women with self-esteem issues crazy, with some of them willing to go to almost any lengths and pay any price to get ahold of one of them themselves.
And thus enters witty gay entrepreneur and Huffington Post columnist Michael Tonello, whose new memoir Bringing Home the Birkin is a doozy of a book; it's the purportedly true story of how Tonello managed to get his hands on literally hundreds of Birkins himself over just a few years' time, always done legally and with Hermés employees fully aware of his existence, making himself a fortune in the process by reselling them on eBay for insane markups. And I'm telling you, this is exactly what you want a personal memoir to be -- funny, thrilling, chock-full of great cocktail-party stories told with the flair of a natural raconteur, following an overall storyline as tight as any fictional project, one whose ending is not necessarily something you can guess beforehand. It's one of those books I just absolutely love coming across as part of maintaining CCLaP -- one of those books I would never naturally pick up myself, but that turned out to be a real delight, one that makes me happy and glad to be in a position to recommend to others.
So how did Tonello do it? Well, for starters, it helps if you don't buy into the hype of brand-obsession yourself; although a longtime collector of fine clothing (usually in the service of his former day job, providing hair and makeup services to various east-coast media shoots), Tonello admits that he doesn't share the religious devotion to certain designers like his clients do, and finds it emotionally easy to give up ownership of high-ticket items. In fact, that's what brought Birkins to his attention in the first place; after impulsively moving to Barcelona in the early 2000s, then having his prearranged job fall apart once arriving, Tonello found himself selling off big portions of his back wardrobe to the various designer consignment stores around the city, amazed that certain decade-old scarves of his would still be snatched up at nearly the original price by certain crazed collectors. This led him to eBay (of course), where he found that he could actually make a profit off of certain items depending on what they were; this then led to certain customers emailing him with "wish lists," certain old and new boutique items that Tonello would keep a specific eye out for while traipsing across Europe in his travels. And this, of course, is what led him to Birkins for the first time, and for developing the same kind of obsession over their fake scarcity as so many of us do when first hearing about them.
Because that's the smart thing about Tonello, and why he became so good at being a Birkin broker; he realized quite early on that this so-called exclusivity is simply a shell game on the part of Hermés, and that if you could just break their code it shouldn't be hard to buy a Birkin anytime you want, simply by walking into a store and asking for one. This led Tonello to trying out different things at the various Hermés stores he visited across Europe, trial-and-error style until he was able to notice certain things working over and over; and then this realization inspired the expansion of Tonello's globetrotting shopping sprees, to the point of finding himself traveling to places like South America and Russia on a regular basis, just to hit up the stores that rich old white women usually don't make it to. And when all is said and done, really, the winning equation to getting a Birkin turns out to not be that complicated at all...
1) Dress the part -- never walk in a store wearing less than a quarter-million dollars in clothes and jewelry.
2) Identify which of the half-dozen "Hermés employee types" you're dealing with when you walk in, then cater to their weaknesses. (So if it's a "Grandmother" type, act like the pleasant courteous son they never had; if it's an "Incurable Romantic," act like they have a chance of having sex with you later that night.)
3) Blow a thousand dollars first, buying other stupid crap. Or if you're in New York, blow five thousand dollars.
4) When they're ringing you up, off-handedly ask, "Oh, and would you happen to have any Birkins in the back as well?"
5) Ka-ching!
But of course, I'm simplifying the situation for humorous effect; as Donello actually demonstrates here quite well, the real secret to becoming a Birkin regular is more complicated and ephemeral than that, a strange mishmash of sucking up, buying into the hype, and sincere friendships, a legitimate community of high-end haute-couture lovers that you must somehow ingratiate yourself into, if you want any chance of making an actual career out of something like this. And indeed, this is one of the big strengths of Bringing Home the Birkin, and what separates it from the endless similar chick-lit crap that HarperCollins desperately, desperately wants you to think of when thinking of this book (and seriously, HarperCollins marketing department, if you mention Sex in the City one more time in your promotional material I might just vomit all over myself); because Tonello shines a light here through the foggy haze of all that, and shows how the entire haute-couture culture is an endless house of cards that ultimately relies on peer pressure and catering to people's fears in order to work. It makes it a weightier book than the ones it will undoubtedly get compared to by others, a stronger tale that doesn't have to rely so much on you being an obsessive fashion-lover yourself in order to enjoy.
Now, that said, oh man does Tonello tell some great stories on the way to this disillusionment -- of flying into Rio just to visit a Hermés store, of attending star-studded European fashion events, of racking up half a million on a credit card in a single weekend. In fact, that might be the most enjoyable thing of all about Bringing Home the Birkin, is that Tonello is simply a natural storyteller and gifted raconteur; take for example what is easily the best story of the entire book, his uneasy relationship with a skeevy chickenhawk gay hustler he accidentally meets one night, who has various Hermés employees "eating out of the palm of his hand" and so can therefore get his hands on certain items that Tonello can't. Needless to say, things quickly devolve between the two, with Tonello eventually having to hatch a wacky noiresque scheme to steal back a $25,000 Birkin the hustler stole from him in the first place; there's not much funnier of a mental image in this whole manuscript, to tell you the truth, than that of Tonello sneaking around the streets of Paris with a group of headphoned goons in sunglasses, wondering if his hotel room is "safe" and asking himself just what he's gotten himself into, when first thinking it would be fun to sell a bunch of overpriced purses to a group of rich housewives.
This is what I mean by how wonderful this book is; it at once gives us all the great anecdotal stories that come with the highest end of the fashion industry, while still pointing out all the depressing realities that such an industry produces, all the various hangers-on in a community like that who swirl around the small amount of rich, beautiful and famous in the center. That after all has become the biggest problem with America's entertainment industry as well, that there is simply so much money being generated from it in so many different ways that it's become an almost unstoppable monster; it's no longer just about the actors and directors and producers in the middle of it, but all their yoga instructors and dog psychiatrists and personal shoppers, all the gossip columnists and publicists and people who get paid to convince celebrities to use certain products in public. That's what makes Bringing Home the Birkin so fascinating, because ultimately that's what Tonello's story is about as well -- not the fashion designers themselves, but those who game the fashion system in order to skim a profit off its top, the endless retail employees and eBay resellers and party crashers and blog owners and the rest, all of them taking their own little cuts from the massive amounts of money being exchanged in the middle of it all.
It's a fascinating book that tells a fascinating story, not the best-written thing I've read this year but certainly far from the worst, one of those fabled books about fashion that even non-fashion-lovers can enjoy. It gets a big recommendation from me, and I imagine will also be one of the winners of CCLaP's annual "Guilty Pleasure Award."
So are you familiar already with what's known as the Birkin bag? It's the product of Hermés, one of those European "designer boutiques" that exists for no other reason than to severely overcharge rich people with self-esteem issues; you know, one of those places that sells hundred-dollar handkerchiefs, $500 t-shirts and the like, eagerly bought up by the wealthy and idle so that they can prove to strangers that they too can afford to waste $500 on a t-shirt. (Yeah, I don't get it either.) But of all the ridiculously overpriced merchandise that Hermés sells, perhaps none is more infamous than their Birkin handbags; named after a famous French singer and habitual Hermés customer, these bags cost a minimum of $10,000 new from the store, and depending on the type can run you upwards of $75,000 or more. And human nature being what it is, of course, it's nearly impossible to get one's hands on an actual Birkin, with there being an infamous two-year waiting list at most stores to even be given the opportunity to blow that kind of money; needless to say, the self-imposed scarcity drives all these upper-class women with self-esteem issues crazy, with some of them willing to go to almost any lengths and pay any price to get ahold of one of them themselves.
And thus enters witty gay entrepreneur and Huffington Post columnist Michael Tonello, whose new memoir Bringing Home the Birkin is a doozy of a book; it's the purportedly true story of how Tonello managed to get his hands on literally hundreds of Birkins himself over just a few years' time, always done legally and with Hermés employees fully aware of his existence, making himself a fortune in the process by reselling them on eBay for insane markups. And I'm telling you, this is exactly what you want a personal memoir to be -- funny, thrilling, chock-full of great cocktail-party stories told with the flair of a natural raconteur, following an overall storyline as tight as any fictional project, one whose ending is not necessarily something you can guess beforehand. It's one of those books I just absolutely love coming across as part of maintaining CCLaP -- one of those books I would never naturally pick up myself, but that turned out to be a real delight, one that makes me happy and glad to be in a position to recommend to others.
So how did Tonello do it? Well, for starters, it helps if you don't buy into the hype of brand-obsession yourself; although a longtime collector of fine clothing (usually in the service of his former day job, providing hair and makeup services to various east-coast media shoots), Tonello admits that he doesn't share the religious devotion to certain designers like his clients do, and finds it emotionally easy to give up ownership of high-ticket items. In fact, that's what brought Birkins to his attention in the first place; after impulsively moving to Barcelona in the early 2000s, then having his prearranged job fall apart once arriving, Tonello found himself selling off big portions of his back wardrobe to the various designer consignment stores around the city, amazed that certain decade-old scarves of his would still be snatched up at nearly the original price by certain crazed collectors. This led him to eBay (of course), where he found that he could actually make a profit off of certain items depending on what they were; this then led to certain customers emailing him with "wish lists," certain old and new boutique items that Tonello would keep a specific eye out for while traipsing across Europe in his travels. And this, of course, is what led him to Birkins for the first time, and for developing the same kind of obsession over their fake scarcity as so many of us do when first hearing about them.
Because that's the smart thing about Tonello, and why he became so good at being a Birkin broker; he realized quite early on that this so-called exclusivity is simply a shell game on the part of Hermés, and that if you could just break their code it shouldn't be hard to buy a Birkin anytime you want, simply by walking into a store and asking for one. This led Tonello to trying out different things at the various Hermés stores he visited across Europe, trial-and-error style until he was able to notice certain things working over and over; and then this realization inspired the expansion of Tonello's globetrotting shopping sprees, to the point of finding himself traveling to places like South America and Russia on a regular basis, just to hit up the stores that rich old white women usually don't make it to. And when all is said and done, really, the winning equation to getting a Birkin turns out to not be that complicated at all...
1) Dress the part -- never walk in a store wearing less than a quarter-million dollars in clothes and jewelry.
2) Identify which of the half-dozen "Hermés employee types" you're dealing with when you walk in, then cater to their weaknesses. (So if it's a "Grandmother" type, act like the pleasant courteous son they never had; if it's an "Incurable Romantic," act like they have a chance of having sex with you later that night.)
3) Blow a thousand dollars first, buying other stupid crap. Or if you're in New York, blow five thousand dollars.
4) When they're ringing you up, off-handedly ask, "Oh, and would you happen to have any Birkins in the back as well?"
5) Ka-ching!
But of course, I'm simplifying the situation for humorous effect; as Donello actually demonstrates here quite well, the real secret to becoming a Birkin regular is more complicated and ephemeral than that, a strange mishmash of sucking up, buying into the hype, and sincere friendships, a legitimate community of high-end haute-couture lovers that you must somehow ingratiate yourself into, if you want any chance of making an actual career out of something like this. And indeed, this is one of the big strengths of Bringing Home the Birkin, and what separates it from the endless similar chick-lit crap that HarperCollins desperately, desperately wants you to think of when thinking of this book (and seriously, HarperCollins marketing department, if you mention Sex in the City one more time in your promotional material I might just vomit all over myself); because Tonello shines a light here through the foggy haze of all that, and shows how the entire haute-couture culture is an endless house of cards that ultimately relies on peer pressure and catering to people's fears in order to work. It makes it a weightier book than the ones it will undoubtedly get compared to by others, a stronger tale that doesn't have to rely so much on you being an obsessive fashion-lover yourself in order to enjoy.
Now, that said, oh man does Tonello tell some great stories on the way to this disillusionment -- of flying into Rio just to visit a Hermés store, of attending star-studded European fashion events, of racking up half a million on a credit card in a single weekend. In fact, that might be the most enjoyable thing of all about Bringing Home the Birkin, is that Tonello is simply a natural storyteller and gifted raconteur; take for example what is easily the best story of the entire book, his uneasy relationship with a skeevy chickenhawk gay hustler he accidentally meets one night, who has various Hermés employees "eating out of the palm of his hand" and so can therefore get his hands on certain items that Tonello can't. Needless to say, things quickly devolve between the two, with Tonello eventually having to hatch a wacky noiresque scheme to steal back a $25,000 Birkin the hustler stole from him in the first place; there's not much funnier of a mental image in this whole manuscript, to tell you the truth, than that of Tonello sneaking around the streets of Paris with a group of headphoned goons in sunglasses, wondering if his hotel room is "safe" and asking himself just what he's gotten himself into, when first thinking it would be fun to sell a bunch of overpriced purses to a group of rich housewives.
This is what I mean by how wonderful this book is; it at once gives us all the great anecdotal stories that come with the highest end of the fashion industry, while still pointing out all the depressing realities that such an industry produces, all the various hangers-on in a community like that who swirl around the small amount of rich, beautiful and famous in the center. That after all has become the biggest problem with America's entertainment industry as well, that there is simply so much money being generated from it in so many different ways that it's become an almost unstoppable monster; it's no longer just about the actors and directors and producers in the middle of it, but all their yoga instructors and dog psychiatrists and personal shoppers, all the gossip columnists and publicists and people who get paid to convince celebrities to use certain products in public. That's what makes Bringing Home the Birkin so fascinating, because ultimately that's what Tonello's story is about as well -- not the fashion designers themselves, but those who game the fashion system in order to skim a profit off its top, the endless retail employees and eBay resellers and party crashers and blog owners and the rest, all of them taking their own little cuts from the massive amounts of money being exchanged in the middle of it all.
It's a fascinating book that tells a fascinating story, not the best-written thing I've read this year but certainly far from the worst, one of those fabled books about fashion that even non-fashion-lovers can enjoy. It gets a big recommendation from me, and I imagine will also be one of the winners of CCLaP's annual "Guilty Pleasure Award."
April 7, 2008
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Starred Review
In a funny, whip-smart memoir sure to be a sensation among Vogue and W devotees, erstwhile hair and makeup artist Tonello (now a columnist for HuffingtonPost.com) chronicles a surprising (even to him!) trans-Atlantic move from Provincetown, R.I. to a city he’d fallen in love with on a short trip: Barcelona, where he knows no one and doesn’t speak the language. Tonello’s initial euphoria dissolves when his new job fails to materialize. To stay afloat, Tonello starts selling items on Ebay with startling results: his first, heart-racing success, a year-old $99 Polo scarf he sold for $430 to a Midwesterner (“I guess he really liked plaid”) makes Tonello an instant believer in the resale capabilities of high-end luxury items. Thus his new trade, and his quest for the Birkin, the “it bag” of all time, famous for its impenetrable waiting list (“What do you mean the waiting list is closed? It’s a waiting list. So I can’t wait?”). After many failed attempts, Tonello plans a weekend drive to Madrid in search of the haute couture holy grail; the result is a both a hilarious raid on fashion’s strongholds and a memoir that satisfies like a novel. Fashion die-hards, and many others, will be delighted from beginning to end.
Starred Review
In a funny, whip-smart memoir sure to be a sensation among Vogue and W devotees, erstwhile hair and makeup artist Tonello (now a columnist for HuffingtonPost.com) chronicles a surprising (even to him!) trans-Atlantic move from Provincetown, R.I. to a city he’d fallen in love with on a short trip: Barcelona, where he knows no one and doesn’t speak the language. Tonello’s initial euphoria dissolves when his new job fails to materialize. To stay afloat, Tonello starts selling items on Ebay with startling results: his first, heart-racing success, a year-old $99 Polo scarf he sold for $430 to a Midwesterner (“I guess he really liked plaid”) makes Tonello an instant believer in the resale capabilities of high-end luxury items. Thus his new trade, and his quest for the Birkin, the “it bag” of all time, famous for its impenetrable waiting list (“What do you mean the waiting list is closed? It’s a waiting list. So I can’t wait?”). After many failed attempts, Tonello plans a weekend drive to Madrid in search of the haute couture holy grail; the result is a both a hilarious raid on fashion’s strongholds and a memoir that satisfies like a novel. Fashion die-hards, and many others, will be delighted from beginning to end.
June 20, 2008
Michael Tonello never planned to start a business selling Hermès on eBay; he stumbled into it when he began offloading his own designer duds to raise cash after he found himself jobless in Barcelona. This memoir about how his personal closet-cleaning lead to a lucrative career procuring and reselling Hermès' elusive Birkin bag is a highly entertaining, funny, and unexpectedly exciting read.
Though the book got off to something of a slow start for me, by the time he got to writing about sticker shock on his first visit to Hermès (on comparing a $4,770 leather jacket to his own "investment quality" Prada, he writes "…what more could this one do? Take out my f*ing trash for me? Shine my shoes? Maybe it doubled as a parachute…") Tonello had my attention and wouldn't let it go. Anybody who has ever gotten caught up in the thrill of an eBay auction will easily relate to Tonello's growing excitement as he discovers American Hermès collectors will pay big mark-ups for merchandise he can easily access from his new European location. He has a nice little business hunting down back stock scarves for his wish-list customers when he gets his first request for a Birkin, the ultimate designer handbag that has a waiting list of two years. Though it takes Tonello some time to crack the Hermès fortress, he eventually stumbles across "the formula" and soon finds himself the Birkin bag it-boy.
Though not written as a how-to manual, Tonello's book showcases the recipe he used to become such a big success in his luxury niche. Luck, and being in the right place at the right time, clearly had a lot to do with it. But it was Tonello's business savvy that really catapulted him into the big time; he took the niche he'd stumbled across and ran with it, learning everything he could about Hermès in the process. Reading about the strategies he employed to liberate the elusive bags from their gilded prisons is detective story fascinating, and only becomes more so when one of his $22,000 croc bags suddenly becomes the subject of what he referred to as an "international hostage situation."
Tonello's witty storytelling, combined with the addictive nature of quests and auctions, made this book particularly hard to put down. I can't say it made me want a Birkin, though.
Though the book got off to something of a slow start for me, by the time he got to writing about sticker shock on his first visit to Hermès (on comparing a $4,770 leather jacket to his own "investment quality" Prada, he writes "…what more could this one do? Take out my f*ing trash for me? Shine my shoes? Maybe it doubled as a parachute…") Tonello had my attention and wouldn't let it go. Anybody who has ever gotten caught up in the thrill of an eBay auction will easily relate to Tonello's growing excitement as he discovers American Hermès collectors will pay big mark-ups for merchandise he can easily access from his new European location. He has a nice little business hunting down back stock scarves for his wish-list customers when he gets his first request for a Birkin, the ultimate designer handbag that has a waiting list of two years. Though it takes Tonello some time to crack the Hermès fortress, he eventually stumbles across "the formula" and soon finds himself the Birkin bag it-boy.
Though not written as a how-to manual, Tonello's book showcases the recipe he used to become such a big success in his luxury niche. Luck, and being in the right place at the right time, clearly had a lot to do with it. But it was Tonello's business savvy that really catapulted him into the big time; he took the niche he'd stumbled across and ran with it, learning everything he could about Hermès in the process. Reading about the strategies he employed to liberate the elusive bags from their gilded prisons is detective story fascinating, and only becomes more so when one of his $22,000 croc bags suddenly becomes the subject of what he referred to as an "international hostage situation."
Tonello's witty storytelling, combined with the addictive nature of quests and auctions, made this book particularly hard to put down. I can't say it made me want a Birkin, though.
July 18, 2008
I have an ARC of this and so far (27 chapters in) it's made me giggle at least once per chapter. Some chapters it's been so hilarious I can't help sharing it.
It's light, funny, and the story draws you along. The characterisations are fantastic - it's easy to view people and scenes in your mind's eye (important to me!). Michael Tonello doesn't take himself too seriously and better still, knew when to give it all up.
It's going on the shelf as a re-read. A keeper - for at least a while, and I'm off to HuffingtonPost.com to check out his column.
EDITED July - I now have a hardback copy of this book and it's mine, mine, mine, all mine! Looking forward to decorating it with the bookplate, Michael!
It's light, funny, and the story draws you along. The characterisations are fantastic - it's easy to view people and scenes in your mind's eye (important to me!). Michael Tonello doesn't take himself too seriously and better still, knew when to give it all up.
It's going on the shelf as a re-read. A keeper - for at least a while, and I'm off to HuffingtonPost.com to check out his column.
EDITED July - I now have a hardback copy of this book and it's mine, mine, mine, all mine! Looking forward to decorating it with the bookplate, Michael!
August 14, 2008
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I assumed it would be poorly written and mildly entertaining (if at all). Instead, it was surprisingly well-written and generally very funny. I read it in five hours on a quiet Saturday afternoon (it's definitely a quick read). Michael Tonello details his adventures as a "re-seller" of Hermes products, namely crocodile Birkin bags (around US$30,000 a piece for those not in the know). The whole story is a little surreal--clearly you need money to make money and that's they only reason Tonello's scheme works. Tonello is also
not necessarily the world's most charming character. The details of his extravagant dinners and wines border on sickening after a while. It's a little hard to understand how these lavish expenses are so "necessary" to his enterprise when he's dining alone so much. I love food as much as the next person, but really? But what is so fascinating about this book is its exploration of desire--how it is created and marketed (by Hermes), and how the internet--with auction sites such as Ebay--become one giant bazaar in which people can fulfill this desire. I probably haven't done a great job of selling this book to you, but like I said--it's a quick read, it's funny, and a little frightening at the same time (!)
not necessarily the world's most charming character. The details of his extravagant dinners and wines border on sickening after a while. It's a little hard to understand how these lavish expenses are so "necessary" to his enterprise when he's dining alone so much. I love food as much as the next person, but really? But what is so fascinating about this book is its exploration of desire--how it is created and marketed (by Hermes), and how the internet--with auction sites such as Ebay--become one giant bazaar in which people can fulfill this desire. I probably haven't done a great job of selling this book to you, but like I said--it's a quick read, it's funny, and a little frightening at the same time (!)
August 30, 2008
This book appealed to me because of a horrible addiction I have: handbags. Bringing Home the Birkin tells the story of Michael, a light-hearted gent off in search of some adventure. He finds himself moving to Spain on a whim, quickly burning through his cash reserves as he does so. Financial difficulties lead him to sell his designer clothing on e-bay, where a chance email changes his life. He soon goes from selling his clothes, to becoming a talented finder of the world's most elusive handbags: the Hermes Birkins. Not only does he write very entertainingly about the experience of conning a snobbish salesperson out of a $30,000 pink ostrich bag, but he adds details of his own life that make the book have a heart and soul that complements the juicy gossip perfectly. He also supplements the story with details of the exotic locales he travels to in search of a Hermes store he hasn't yet drained dry. His ability to describe his surroundings is so evocative you can almost feel the breeze as it comes off the water in the amazing island of Capri.
I loved this book, every moment of it, and am really hoping he has many more books in his future.
I loved this book, every moment of it, and am really hoping he has many more books in his future.
July 9, 2008
I like to dip my toe into shallower literary waters from time to time, so dipping into this frothy literary confection was a treat. I'm a sucker for anyone stumbling into entrepreneurial success, and what's flukier than bringing home a self-employed salary of high-six figures just for finding and marking up overpriced, hard-to-find handbags? I personally think anyone who'd pay $30,000 for a handbag has far too much time and money on their hands. I wouldn't pay that much for a bag made out of the skin of my enemies! But the life Michael details in this book is like a luxurious, blood-free car accident. It's horrible. But you can't look away because it's an Aston-Martin! I highly recommend this read for folks who want to live a vicarious life of glamor. The fact that the author stumbled upon it by sheer luck after moving to Europe on a whim and a prayer makes it that much more tantalizing. It's an engagingly written memoir that was actually difficult to put down. Enjoy!
October 19, 2018
I don't know why this book was so much fun but it was. Pure junk food entertainment. I was on vacation and it was perfect.
March 28, 2025
This book was honestly a fun ride. Loved reading all about Michael’s experiences with fashion, travel, and food!
March 18, 2019
FAV QUOTES:
Life was too short for list making and excuses.
I was going to handle this like a man. I called my mother.
I loved clothes, sure, but clothes are... clothes. And books... well, they're more like friends.
Nothing convinces you so thoroughly that you truly belong to a place as when your heart beats faster at the thought of being back on its familiar ground once more.
I had the ability to perform a trick that was much better than pulling rabbits out of hats--I knew how to pull Birkins out of Hermès.
Like my steaks, I took my Hermès handbags as rare as I could get them.
Life was too short for list making and excuses.
I was going to handle this like a man. I called my mother.
I loved clothes, sure, but clothes are... clothes. And books... well, they're more like friends.
Nothing convinces you so thoroughly that you truly belong to a place as when your heart beats faster at the thought of being back on its familiar ground once more.
I had the ability to perform a trick that was much better than pulling rabbits out of hats--I knew how to pull Birkins out of Hermès.
Like my steaks, I took my Hermès handbags as rare as I could get them.
April 28, 2008
I loved this book! I could not put it down,and stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it.
I love the authors writing style and storytelling talent. This book is fun and funny, interesting and international.
This is a book that only comes around once in a lifetime!
Michael Tonello went where no man had dared to go. He was the first and the last maverick
in the history of Hermes;to round up such a herd of hides.
Oh, and the cover of the book is too wonderful to hide on a shelf!
I love the authors writing style and storytelling talent. This book is fun and funny, interesting and international.
This is a book that only comes around once in a lifetime!
Michael Tonello went where no man had dared to go. He was the first and the last maverick
in the history of Hermes;to round up such a herd of hides.
Oh, and the cover of the book is too wonderful to hide on a shelf!
June 14, 2008
Read the whole thing in one sitting- really couldn't put it down. A very amusing story, and I laughed and cheered the author on his quests. The descriptions of the cities he stayed in and his travels were a wonderful counterpoint to the business driven plot. This was so great to read, with a surprising amount of heart. It wasn't just about a brand-name; far from it. Highly entertaining, made more so by the fact that the events actually happened.
May 24, 2014
Loved it as this was a very refreshing storyline! I don't think anyone would even think about writing about the Birkin. What's more, this is written based on a true story so it made it even sweeter. Moreover, I'm a huge fan of travel literature and I guess this satisfied the travel literature component somewhat? This book was indeed a fitting and light summer read.
August 17, 2017
You know a book is good when the premise is selling Birkins, and you really have no idea what a Birkin is, yet are riveted to the storyline from the very first chapter. This book is very entertaining, well-written, and has some depth to it...Loved it. Definitely a great vacation or beach read. And I even searched for Birkins on eBay to capture the thrill of it all, lol. Really fun.
July 14, 2008
Oh, dear. I didn't want to finish this one because it's so much fun to read and the narrator is so likeable. You'll want to buy several copies to give your friends and relatives as gifts. It's a perfect summer read, take it to the beach or on vacation.
April 28, 2008
This book is a style guide travel book business manual memoir of an accidental businessman. I loved every page of it. And the book itself is adorable. The hardcover looks like a Birkin bag and the inside is dotted wit great illustrations.
April 25, 2019
This was such a fun, light read! I literally laughed out loud several times at the quick wit and humor of the author. He knows how shallow and pretentious the whole deal about Birkins is and uses it to his advantage in a very hilarious and sometimes self depreciating way.
July 11, 2014
Given I will likely never own a Birkin this book was a fun little glimpse into the lux life of Hermes buyers. Loved it!
September 24, 2014
Absolutely fascinating! So funny and I learned a ton about Capri and fashion. I wish this author had more books!
December 20, 2021
So entertaining, funny, and captivating. I’m not usually a fan of memoirs, but this mix of lightness and more serious humility broke the mold. I loved every minute of it.
August 7, 2024
A refreshing light read in between all the other books and authors and topics and etc.
Now, you can definitely pick up this book and find “the formula” to get a Birkin and avoid the whole wish list scenario. However, the story telling, the life of Michael, and the wrap are beyond any of the secrets he spills.
Definitely recommend for all those who wish to pick up and get lost in something different.
Now, you can definitely pick up this book and find “the formula” to get a Birkin and avoid the whole wish list scenario. However, the story telling, the life of Michael, and the wrap are beyond any of the secrets he spills.
Definitely recommend for all those who wish to pick up and get lost in something different.
December 11, 2024
If you have ever been curious about the cult and culture of Hermès, this is a good choice. A fun, breezy, yet in-depth account of Tonello’s career as a Birkin reseller, the book is part travelogue, part field guide, part anecdotal master class, and stitched together with one individual’s realizations regarding extreme wealth and what truly matters at the end of the day. I read it because I was hoping to understand the compulsion for these bags; turns out it’s the same marketing playbook that works on those who crave status and differentiation. But the scarves may be another matter altogether….
March 19, 2019
This book was such a fun peek into the life of a reseller!
June 1, 2021
Entertaining and engaging memoir. Light reading.
February 15, 2025
A funny, witty memoir of a period in someone’s life and how life changes and has ups and downs. The subject revolves around the famous Birkin bag, that most women desire, and the intricate details to obtain one. Lessons learnt if I ever have become a millionaire 🙈
June 22, 2024
Fun read!! What an adventure Michael had in his quest to Bring Home The Birkin. He found friendship and love along the way.
June 20, 2020
"Orang yang tepat, berada di tempat yang tepat, pada masa yang tepat", demikian kesimpulan saya saat baca buku ini.
Michael Tonello tanpa sengaja memulai bisnis yang berujung di jual beli Birkin langka. Awalnya dia hanya kepepet butuh duit, menjual baju dan aksesoris desainer koleksi pribadinya di e-bay, termasuk satu2nya syal Hermes yg dia punya. Lalu setahap demi setahap hingga akhirnya dia jadi reseller/ personal shopper khusus Birkin, semakin langka semakin baik. Yang dimaksud dgn langka di sini adalah kulit buaya dengan warna-warna langka seperti bleu roi, braise, etrusque, poudre, fuchsia atau vermillon (kalau ada yang penasaran: itu istilah2nya Hermes untuk bilang biru, merah, krem, pink, oranye 🤣) yang harga per satuannya mencapai 30.000 USD 🥴
Selama 5 tahun Michael keliling dunia berburu Birkin, di puncak kejayaannya omsetnya setahun mencapai 1,6 juta USD 😱 dan melalui tangannya dia bisa jual/beli ratusan Birkin setahun. (Jadi kalau ada yg bilang Hermes cuma produksi 100 Birkin setahun itu cuma bisa2nya marketing mereka aja. Birkin TIDAK selangka itu).
Buku ini ditulis secara sangat jenaka, cerdas, dan menghibur. Ceritanya ringan, mengalir dan membuat pembaca merasa "terlibat". Saya ikut gemes saat di awal2 Michael selalu ditolak bahkan dilecehkan oleh "penjaga toko" Hermes saat cari Birkin, ikut deg2an stress sampe nahan pipis saat salah satu Birkin langkanya di"sekap" oleh "penculik" yang minta uang tebusan, ikut gregetan saat Michael "bertarung siasat" dengan para kompetitornya saat berburu di Athena.
Sebelum kalian berbondong2 baca buku ini demi menyusuri jejak Michael jadi reseller Birkin 🤣, saya mesti bilang: lupakan saja. Beberapa prinsip saya kira masih tetap berlaku untuk bisa "bring home the Birkin", tapi terbatas untuk personal use. Yang jelas banyak hal yang sudah berubah di sistem Hermes, sehingga hampir 0 kemungkinan kita jadi full time reseller di masa ini.
Memoir Michael ini kisah nyata, tapi terjadinya di sekitar tahun 2000 saat Hermes bahkan belum punya website. Sekarang, jangankan website, Hermes bahkan menyimpan database pembeli yang di-share online di antara seluruh toko Hermes di Eropa. Kita beli bros Hermes di toko mereka di Capri detik ini, di detik yang sama toko di Barcelona tahu. Jadi mereka bisa membuat batasan2 seperti per orang hanya boleh membeli 1 tas per 6 bulan di manapun di Eropa. Di negara2 tertentu, seperti Italia misalnya, gosipnya Birkin hanya diperuntukkan buat penduduk dan warga negaranya sendiri. KALAUPUN kita bisa masuk waiting list mereka (yang masa tunggunya 2-3 tahun), selalu diutamakan warga negara duluan, baru yg lain2. ANGGAPLAH seluruh WN dan penduduk Italia sudah punya Birkin semua atau tidak ada lagi yang mau Birkin, maka Hermes akan telepon kita dan tas harus diambil langsung di toko mereka tanpa boleh diwakilkan dalam waktu 1x24 jam. Lebih dari itu tas akan dikasih ke orang lain. Di flagship store mereka di Paris (Faubourg St-Honore), lebih gila lagi. Hanya untuk boleh masuk toko saja kita perlu bikin appointment online yang hanya bisa kita buat sehari sebelumnya, dan konon untuk bisa dapat slot appointment sistemnya acak, semacam dilotere begitulah 🤣 Tentu saja ini bukan jaminan juga kita bakal dapat Birkin.
Ini membawa kita ke pertanyaan berikut: bagaimana cerita keberhasilan marketing Hermes? Pasti kisah jatuh bangun mereka sangat menarik. Bagaimana bisa satu desain tas yang (menurut saya) jeleknya minta ampun, bisa bertahan 40 tahun terus digilai dan didambakan, rata di seluruh dunia? Gila itu memang bebas, tidak ada batasnya. Sayangnya pertanyaan ini tidak mungkin dijawab di buku ini. Kita harus sabar menunggu saat itu tiba, di mana Birkin sudah tidak laku lagi dan kalangan dalam Hermes lalu bikin buku ttg keberhasilan mereka ☺️
Michael Tonello tanpa sengaja memulai bisnis yang berujung di jual beli Birkin langka. Awalnya dia hanya kepepet butuh duit, menjual baju dan aksesoris desainer koleksi pribadinya di e-bay, termasuk satu2nya syal Hermes yg dia punya. Lalu setahap demi setahap hingga akhirnya dia jadi reseller/ personal shopper khusus Birkin, semakin langka semakin baik. Yang dimaksud dgn langka di sini adalah kulit buaya dengan warna-warna langka seperti bleu roi, braise, etrusque, poudre, fuchsia atau vermillon (kalau ada yang penasaran: itu istilah2nya Hermes untuk bilang biru, merah, krem, pink, oranye 🤣) yang harga per satuannya mencapai 30.000 USD 🥴
Selama 5 tahun Michael keliling dunia berburu Birkin, di puncak kejayaannya omsetnya setahun mencapai 1,6 juta USD 😱 dan melalui tangannya dia bisa jual/beli ratusan Birkin setahun. (Jadi kalau ada yg bilang Hermes cuma produksi 100 Birkin setahun itu cuma bisa2nya marketing mereka aja. Birkin TIDAK selangka itu).
Buku ini ditulis secara sangat jenaka, cerdas, dan menghibur. Ceritanya ringan, mengalir dan membuat pembaca merasa "terlibat". Saya ikut gemes saat di awal2 Michael selalu ditolak bahkan dilecehkan oleh "penjaga toko" Hermes saat cari Birkin, ikut deg2an stress sampe nahan pipis saat salah satu Birkin langkanya di"sekap" oleh "penculik" yang minta uang tebusan, ikut gregetan saat Michael "bertarung siasat" dengan para kompetitornya saat berburu di Athena.
Sebelum kalian berbondong2 baca buku ini demi menyusuri jejak Michael jadi reseller Birkin 🤣, saya mesti bilang: lupakan saja. Beberapa prinsip saya kira masih tetap berlaku untuk bisa "bring home the Birkin", tapi terbatas untuk personal use. Yang jelas banyak hal yang sudah berubah di sistem Hermes, sehingga hampir 0 kemungkinan kita jadi full time reseller di masa ini.
Memoir Michael ini kisah nyata, tapi terjadinya di sekitar tahun 2000 saat Hermes bahkan belum punya website. Sekarang, jangankan website, Hermes bahkan menyimpan database pembeli yang di-share online di antara seluruh toko Hermes di Eropa. Kita beli bros Hermes di toko mereka di Capri detik ini, di detik yang sama toko di Barcelona tahu. Jadi mereka bisa membuat batasan2 seperti per orang hanya boleh membeli 1 tas per 6 bulan di manapun di Eropa. Di negara2 tertentu, seperti Italia misalnya, gosipnya Birkin hanya diperuntukkan buat penduduk dan warga negaranya sendiri. KALAUPUN kita bisa masuk waiting list mereka (yang masa tunggunya 2-3 tahun), selalu diutamakan warga negara duluan, baru yg lain2. ANGGAPLAH seluruh WN dan penduduk Italia sudah punya Birkin semua atau tidak ada lagi yang mau Birkin, maka Hermes akan telepon kita dan tas harus diambil langsung di toko mereka tanpa boleh diwakilkan dalam waktu 1x24 jam. Lebih dari itu tas akan dikasih ke orang lain. Di flagship store mereka di Paris (Faubourg St-Honore), lebih gila lagi. Hanya untuk boleh masuk toko saja kita perlu bikin appointment online yang hanya bisa kita buat sehari sebelumnya, dan konon untuk bisa dapat slot appointment sistemnya acak, semacam dilotere begitulah 🤣 Tentu saja ini bukan jaminan juga kita bakal dapat Birkin.
Ini membawa kita ke pertanyaan berikut: bagaimana cerita keberhasilan marketing Hermes? Pasti kisah jatuh bangun mereka sangat menarik. Bagaimana bisa satu desain tas yang (menurut saya) jeleknya minta ampun, bisa bertahan 40 tahun terus digilai dan didambakan, rata di seluruh dunia? Gila itu memang bebas, tidak ada batasnya. Sayangnya pertanyaan ini tidak mungkin dijawab di buku ini. Kita harus sabar menunggu saat itu tiba, di mana Birkin sudah tidak laku lagi dan kalangan dalam Hermes lalu bikin buku ttg keberhasilan mereka ☺️
December 31, 2012
**Reread Dec, 2012. This review still stands but I'm upgrading my rating to 4 stars because it still makes me giggle. I don't know why I was so hard on it the first time.**
This was a cute story (I'm sure the author will cringe at my use of the word "cute", but that's how I felt about it). I'm not one for chick-lit and would not have thought to read this if it hadn't been given to me, but I'm glad I did.
This story was quite anecdotal in parts. It didn't feel forced at all or take itself too seriously. I laughed out loud several times and smiled through most of it, nodding my head because I could totally identify with the author's thoughts.
I would have probably even enjoyed this quick, light read as fiction. The fact that it was a memoir made it better though. I love hearing how people stumble into great opportunities and completely take advantage of them to launch their lives in a different direction.
This was a cute story (I'm sure the author will cringe at my use of the word "cute", but that's how I felt about it). I'm not one for chick-lit and would not have thought to read this if it hadn't been given to me, but I'm glad I did.
This story was quite anecdotal in parts. It didn't feel forced at all or take itself too seriously. I laughed out loud several times and smiled through most of it, nodding my head because I could totally identify with the author's thoughts.
I would have probably even enjoyed this quick, light read as fiction. The fact that it was a memoir made it better though. I love hearing how people stumble into great opportunities and completely take advantage of them to launch their lives in a different direction.
July 14, 2009
The biggest surprise in this book is not that some people have too much money and spend it on stupid crap like insanely overpriced purses - it's how enthralling the author's story was! I really didn't think I'd enjoy this as much as I ultimately did. The author can be a little irritating from time to time - for example, he keeps trying to point out how much he's not like "them" (his customers), but catalogues each and every luxury meal and makes sure we know he ordered the right wine etc. - but overall he's really funny and has a good tale to tell. Read it if only to feel morally superior to his customers (and to privately promise yourself that if you ever had gobs of money, that you'd totally give most of it to charity, absolutely, for sure) and to motivate yourself to visit Barcelona and Capri someday...
February 1, 2012
This book is a perfect example of how you can live vicariously through someone else by reading their stories. Michael Tonello stumbled onto a career that allowed him to live the high life in Europe while also working from home in his PJs - all in pursuit of this bag called the Birkin. I'd heard of it before, but didn't fully realize the whole Hermes culture. The bags go for thousands of dollars and wait lists are over two years. Can you imagine?!
Tonello, however, came up with a "formula" to bypass this. I can't really relate -- it's just a freakin' bag! -- but what's nice is, Michael can't either. He's just a vehicle, though his name dropping and obvious taste for the lifestyle gets annoying after a while. Then again, if I had his money, I'd probably be indulging too! Without a Birkin, thankyouverymuch.
Tonello, however, came up with a "formula" to bypass this. I can't really relate -- it's just a freakin' bag! -- but what's nice is, Michael can't either. He's just a vehicle, though his name dropping and obvious taste for the lifestyle gets annoying after a while. Then again, if I had his money, I'd probably be indulging too! Without a Birkin, thankyouverymuch.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 576 reviews