'Bringing home the Birkin' by Michael Tonello

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Has anyone read this book yet?

Bringing Home the Birkin

My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag

By Michael Tonello

An insider's hilarious, whirlwind account of his years spent globe-trotting in search of the holy grail of handbags: the Birkin
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For more than twenty years, the Hermès Birkin bag has been the iconic symbol of fashion, luxury, and wealth. Though the bag is often seen dangling from the arms of celebrities, there is a fabled waiting list of more than two years to buy one from Hermès, and the average fashionista has a better chance of climbing Mount Everest in Prada pumps than of possessing one of these coveted carryalls. Unless, of course, she happens to know Michael Tonello . . .

Michael's newfound career started with an impulsive move to Barcelona, a vanished job assignment, no work visa, and an Hermès scarf sold on eBay to generate some quick cash. But soon the resourceful Michael discovered the truth about the waiting list and figured out the secret to getting Hermès to part with one of these precious bags. Millions of dollars worth of Birkins later, Michael had become one of eBay's most successful entrepreneurs—and a Robin Hood to thousands of desperate rich women.

With down-to-earth wit, Michael chronicles the unusual ventures that took him to nearly every continent, from eBay to Paris auction house and into the lives of celebrities and poseurs. Flirting with danger, Michael recounts the heady rush of hand delivering his first big score to famed songwriter Carole Bayer Sager in Paris; how he had to hire thugs to rescue a bag that one of his "shoppers" held for ransom; and the story of the Oscar-worthy performances that allowed him to snag "reserved" bags from other, less dogged Birkin seekers.

Whether he's relating his wining and dining, buying and selling, dodging and weaving, laughing and crying, or schmoozing and stammering, Michael is a master raconteur who weaves together tales of hunting Birkins in the world's most posh locales, memories of meals that would make any gastronome salivate, anecdotes of obsessed collectors with insatiable desires, and sweetly intimate stories about his family, friends, and finding true love. The result is a memoir that is distinctive, fun, page-turning, and as addictive as its namesake.


harpercollins.com

 

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Review by Carly Berwick

Elusive Birkin Bags, Celebrity Arm Candy, Give Up Their Secrets

Review by Carly Berwick

May 5 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Tonello blew through $1.6 million in expenses in one year. He wasn't a drug dealer or spendthrift hedge-fund manager. He was just a guy who resold handbags on EBay.

Those bags happened to be Birkins, the highly desirable, terribly expensive satchels made by Hermes International SCA. Few can get them, many want them and celebrities like Victoria Beckham and Lindsay Lohan flaunt them.
Yet the Birkin market, like those for diamonds or limited- edition art, depends on the appearance of scarcity: The supplier promotes its wares as rare delicacies to create pent-up demand, as Tonello explains in ``Bringing Home the Birkin,'' a fluffy, intermittently entertaining cross between a memoir and an expose.

The book chronicles what happens when a mere mortal figures out how to obtain as many of the fabled bags as he wants.

A freelance makeup artist, hairdresser and co-founder of a Boston-based styling agency called Team, Tonello grew bored with photo shoots, moved to Barcelona and sold the contents of his considerable closets on EBay to survive. Hermes scarves, in particular, attracted a fervent fan base. E-mails poured in from collectors of vintage Hermes patterns, including one woman who wondered if he could procure a Birkin. The chase was on.

Multiple Hermes store clerks tell Tonello that acquiring one of these bags, named after British actress Jane Birkin, requires sitting on a waiting list -- two years to infinity long -- for the privilege of paying between $7,000 and $100,000 for a purse.

Secret Formula
Tonello travels to Hermes stores across Europe and finds that Birkins aren't forthcoming, though his shopping disappointments are cushioned by a lovely new boyfriend, calls to mom and champagne. Eventually, in Madrid, he uncovers the secret to liberating Birkins from the backrooms of Hermes stores.

The formula, it turns out, isn't complicated. Enter a Hermes store. Spend a lot. Then ask to see a Birkin. In an expensive city like New York, spend more, maybe $30,000, on scarves, shoes, dangly chain bracelets for men. Then ask to see a Birkin.

Wealthy, powerful people the world over have failed to put this into practice, creating a niche for resellers like Tonello. Clients eager for crocodile Birkins, among them songwriter Carole Bayer Sager and a Cape Cod corporate lawyer, happily pay his markup on EBay, giving Tonello more excuses to fly to Buenos Aires and Paris, stay in top hotels and go shopping for a living.

Hermes stores are situated in the loveliest corners of the globe, and Tonello's business trips constitute a whirlwind tour of luxury destinations: Aix-en-Provence, Capri, Milan.

Prada Outfits
Though Tonello doesn't say how much money he made unloading the fruits of his labor on EBay, he does disclose that he could pick up $800 dinner tabs and Prada and Armani outfits on a whim.

Suspense comes mainly from the question of how many more pages can possibly be written about handbags. After some set pieces -- a rogue Paris shopper who kidnaps a $20,000 bag, a client who lends him her Aston Martin for a jaunt to Florida, family visits and family tragedy -- both Tonello and Hermes tire of the game.

A once-friendly Paris salesperson sends a chilly fax informing Tonello that his desired bags aren't available, while Tonello confronts the existential void of so much fabulousness.

Unfailingly optimistic, Tonello comes off as a nice guy and dilettante writer who recounts his adventures in the cloying prattle of a travel blog. The Barcelona Ritz-Carlton greets him with ``the soothing sound of running water and the wafting scent of flowers.'' In Capri, he encounters the ``sun beating down out of a crystalline blue sky.''

``Bringing Home the Birkin'' is less industry expose than a small-business beach read -- the book equivalent of a series of wine-fueled dinners with a chatty, self-employed friend.
``Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag'' is published in the U.S. by William Morrow. HarperCollins will release the book in the U.K. on June 11 (260 pages, $25.95, 15.99 pounds).
(Carly Berwick is a critic for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are her own.)


bloomberg.com