Hermes Kelly Bag 20

Vintage Hermès Kelly bags are among the most desired handbags in the world — a symbol of luxury and elegance, this design has a storied past and a legion of devoted collectors. While the accessory comes in a range of sizes, the Mini Kelly 20 — alongside the Kelly 25 — is especially popular.

And as the history of the Kelly is so rich, is it any surprise that Hermès's description of the bag (with some quick reformatting) reads like poetry?

“thirty-six leather pieces / assembled by a craftsman / devoted to beautiful, noble gestures, / six hundred and eighty hand stitches, / sixteen small studs, / a padlock, / a swivel clasp / and a leather key cover or clochette.”

For devotees, the Hermès classic has a visual poetry and meaning that transcends the bag itself.

Founded in 1837 as a crafter of equestrian gear for aristocrats, Hermès was nicely aligned with actress Grace Kelly’s classic style and blue blood lineage. Like most of the storied house’s pieces, the iconic design of the Kelly bag boasts an evolution that reads like a timeline of good living.

The Haut à courroies, Hermès's original top-handled bag, was created in 1892 to carry boots and a harness. In 1923, it was modified for the wife of automobile magnate Ettore Bugatti to fit into a car’s side pocket. This design was called Torpedo No 1. Robert Dumas-Hermès redesigned it again in 1935, making it smaller, adding a belt and naming it the Sac à dépêches.

“In the age of travel, women needed a bag that was easy and safe to carry,” says Graham Wetzbarger, certified appraiser and authenticator. The Sac à dépêches fit the bill. (The compact Hermès Kelly 20, which measures 20 centimeters — or just short of eight inches — across the base, is an alluring top-handled accessory for your phone, Hermès card holder and other essentials.)

From 1955 onward, Grace Kelly was frequently spotted carrying her Sac à dépêches. Had Instagram been around in those days, #Kellysac would have included images of the star and her bag at the Cannes Film Festival and during the 1955 announcement of her engagement to Prince Rainier of Monaco. It would have included pics of Kelly and her bag on her royal honeymoon, and, yes, it would even have included images of the new princess using her bag to hide an emerging baby bump. She was a superstar marrying a prince, and her photo was everywhere.

By 1956, replicas of the “Grace Kelly handbag” were best sellers in America and Britain. By 1960, the Sac à dépêches had become a status symbol and was better known as the Kelly.

Find a range of vintage Hermès Kelly 20 bags on 1stDibs.

For Hermès, what began as a maker of leather equestrian goods for European noblemen would eventually grow into one of the most storied fashion labels in the world. In 1837, German-born French entrepreneur Thierry Hermès opened a saddle and harness purveyor in Paris. Gradually, the house extended into accessories and luggage for its riders, and today, in paying homage to its origins, the family-run luxury brand resurfaces horse motifs in everything from clothing and modernist jewelry to pillows and handbags.

The first top-handled bag ever produced by Hermès was the Haut à courroies, which made its debut in 1892. A tall bag secured with a folded leather flap (fastened with bridle-inspired straps), it was designed to transport riding boots and a harness.

As the world made the switch from horse to automobile, the bag adapted, becoming a multifunctional travel satchel instead of a designated saddlebag. Today, 120 years later, the HAC remains in Hermès’s line — and its distinctive flap and clasping straps have laid the groundwork for some of the house’s other iconic bags.

In the 1930s, Robert Dumas (son-in-law to Émile-Maurice Hermès, Thierry’s grandson) designed a smaller, trapezoidal take on the flap bag with a handle and two side straps. Later, actress Grace Kelly, then engaged to Prince Rainier of Monaco, is said to have used one of these bags to conceal her pregnancy during the 1950s. Because she was photographed constantly, the coverage catapulted her handbag to international popularity.

In 1977, Hermès officially renamed the model for her, and the Kelly bag was born. Each Kelly bag takes between 18 and 25 hours to produce, and its 680 hand stitches owe solely to one Hermès artisan.

Robert Dumas was also responsible for another one of the brand’s most iconic offerings: the launch of its first silk scarf on the occasion of Hermès’s 100th anniversary in 1937. Based on a woodblock designed by Dumas and printed on Chinese silk, the accessory was an immediate hit.

Today, vintage Hermès scarves, typically adorned in rich colors and elaborate patterns, serve many functions, just as they did back then. Well-heeled women wear it on their heads, around their necks and, in a genius piece of cross-promotion, tied to the straps of their Hermès bags. Kelly even once used one as a sling for her broken arm.

In 1981, Robert Dumas’s son Jean-Louis Dumas, then Hermès chairman, found himself sitting next to French actress and musician Jane Birkin on a plane, where she was complaining about finding a suitable carryall for the necessary accoutrements of motherhood. After the two travelers were properly introduced, Birkin helped design Jean-Louis’s most famous contribution to the Hermès canon: the Birkin bag, a roomy, square catchall with the HAC’s trademark leather flap top and the addition of a lock and key.

Owing to the brand’s legendary commitment to deft, handcrafted construction, the Birkin is an investment that is coveted by collectors everywhere.

While the Kelly and Birkin may be standouts, gracing the arms of everyone from royal heiresses to hip-hop stars in the past few decades, the handbags are but a small part of Hermès’s fashion offerings.

Since the 1920s, the brand has produced some of the most desirable leather goods in the world. There’s the Constance bag, a favorite of Jacqueline Kennedy, the recently relaunched 1970s-era Evelyne and, on the vintage market, a slew of designs dating back to the 1920s.

Good design never goes out of style. Find a variety of vintage Hermès handbags, day dresses, shoes and more on 1stDibs.

An integral part of fashion, handbags and purses have been indispensable accessories ever since we began to carry around personal items. Level of craftsmanship, style and shape matters — from coin purses in ancient Greece to early 20th-century opera bags and onward, handbags have evolved considerably over the years to meet our needs and desires, whether or not you happen to be prioritizing functionality over a flashy exterior.

Once, a single “It” handbag ruled each fashion season. No more. Today, lovers of vintage handbags are savvier and have a wider range of shopping options. Nevertheless, classics created by the likes of Louis Vuitton, Dior and Balenciaga still rule.

“It is not a fashion bag — it is a statement bag,” says Mightychic's Debra Kent of Hermès's widely beloved accessories. “When you carry an iconic Hermès bag — Birkin, Kelly, Constance — no one knows how long you have been into this culture or if you are a newbie. Your status is validated immediately.”

First released in 1997, Fendi's Baguette rose to fame along with Carrie Bradshaw, the Sex and the City character portrayed by Sarah Jessica Parker. Recently, the design has seen such a resurgence in popularity that Fendi has reissued it.

They are part of design history, so owning a handbag has meaning. As New York–based fashion historian Sarah C. Byrd says, “You have made the choice to invest in this piece because you understand the value of it in the past and in the future to come.”

From a 1980s Chanel black leather quilted mini buckle bag to the rare Hermès Birkin 30cm Himalayan with diamond hardware to a range of 19th-century bags, find a rich variety of vintage and designer handbags and purses spanning numerous brands on 1stDibs — seasonal “It” designation no longer needed.