Special Order Hermes Birkin Process Explained!

Hermes Horseshoe Club is when you order a Special Order Hermes Bag also known as being able to customize your Hermes Bag. Hermes is a clever brand, every time I feel like I’ve figured something out, there is always more to uncover, it’s a very tangled web. A little more than 10 years ago, Hermes released a Special Order Hermes bag with a Horseshoe stamp on the bag. At the time, only a limited number of people knew about this “Hermes Horseshoe Club” was. Getting offered a special order bag from Hermes is the crème de la crème experience at Hermes.

If you are part of this horseshoe club or get offered to make a special order Birkin bag there is a Horseshoe stamp next to the Hermes name. Hence, the name, Horseshoe club. The truth is, there is little information about the Hermes Horseshoe club and the Hermes Special Order process, and I think it is because the VIPs, celebrities, or people who get offered one don’t typically talk about it. 

The one thing I always told my husband Aaron, was before we leave Paris I want a Birkin Bag. I watched and read endless amounts of videos and articles about how to score a Hermes bag. I followed all the steps, made the appointment online the day before. I nervously awaited for 730 PM to announce if I received an appointment. At 7:37 PM, I received a rejection text…wait, what? No appointments? Okay, well, I’m still going to show up. (I Definitely not recommended). 

I went in the morning and asked for an appointment with someone for leather goods. Luck was in my favor that day, because they had a cancelation. I was escorted to a back room. In this back room, there were walls of different leather types and comfortable chairs. When I arrived, the sales associate was asking me all these questions, such as what color and leather I’m interested in. She kept asking if I was interested in the gold color. While I loved the gold color, I only had one interest: black, Togo leather, size 30 with gold hardware. When making a big purchase such as a Birkin bag, you should get what you want, right? 

The Sales Associate (SA) came back empty-handed, and I thought, well this is it, I won’t get a Birkin Bag today, I’ll have to come back and try my luck again. The sales Associate could tell I was disappointed. Then the SA made a quick call, and left the room, when she came back she was carrying a giant Red box, and initially I was confused. Then she told me, she'd like to offer me the opportunity to customize a Birkin Bag! My jaw hit the floor, and I immediately jumped at the chance and began designing.

I’ve always dreamed of having a Black or Gold Color Birkin Bag. Since this was my first Birkin purchase, I wanted to purchase a timeless color. After looking at both colors, ultimately I decided to go for the Black in Togo Leather for the outside. Once I figured out the outside color, then the customizing began!  There are so many options you can choose when it comes to how you design the Birkin: Leather type, Color, Do you want a color on the side, thread color, pipping, the inside color, and finally the hardware.

I kept mine simple and did Black Togo Leather, Black Thread, Route H (Red) as the inside color and brush gold hardware. I chose brush gold hardware for 2 reasons, the first being I wear only gold jewelry and the second being it’s only available for Special Order bags, so it felt unique and special. 

For me, this was enough customization, I’ve seen several Special Order Hermes Bags online that do bright fun color schemes and maybe someday I’ll do that, but for now, I wanted to keep it classic and simple.

Many people often assume because you’re designing a special order Hermes Birkin bag that it will be more expensive than a Birkin bag you’d buy off the shelf. Contrary to popular belief, the special order (SO) Hermes bag is the exact same price as a non-special order Hermès bag. 

This was probably one of the biggest things that shocked me about the entire experience. However, on the flip side, a special order Birkin bag, can resell for a great deal more than a normal Birkin bag. Before I get tons of emails, No, I’m not interested in selling my Birkin.

Being able to order a Special Order Birkin bag, is easily one of the most coveted Hermes experiences you can be offered. There are so many articles out there about how to get offered the opportunity to get a Special Hermes Order bag. I’ve read you need to spend a certain amount, or you have to be a celebrity, or have a super strong relationship with your SA. The truth is, at the end of the day it comes down to plain luck. Are you lucky? When I walked into the Hermes Store, I was prepared to buy an off the shelf Birkin and I was lucky they offered me this opportunity to design my own.

I always tell people, you should ask if you can order a special order bag. The worst they can say is no.

One of the reasons that your SA might be hesitant to submit a Special Order Hermes Birkin Bag  / Hermes bag for you is that you don’t actually pay for your bag until it arrives. This can cause some confusion when it comes to the price. Normally, Hermes increases their pricing once a year, and typically special order bags take a while to make. Therefore, when you pick up the bag you have to pay the new market rate, not what the price was when you placed the order. For reference, my bag had a price difference of 500 Euros.