TheKelly bag (formerly known as theSac à main de Voyage) is aleatherhandbag designed by theParis-based, high-fashion luxury-goods manufacturerHermès. The bag was redesigned several times before it was popularized by and then named after the American actress and Monégasque princessGrace Kelly. The bag is now an expensivestatus symbol.
The Kelly bag is atrapezium closed around the mouth with two horizontal straps.[1] Four studs on the bottom, which is made of three layers of leather,[2] enable it to stand on the ground. It is sold in eight sizes, ranging from 15 centimetres (5.9 inches) to 50 centimetres (20 inches).[1] The padlock, keys and hardware are made of white or yellow gold.[2] The later Kelly II bag is available in two distinct styles, as did its predecessor, the Kelly.
Thesellier style is a rigid construction including a stiffening layer between the outer leather and inner lining, with the side and bottom stitching clearly visible; theretourné style is a softer construction, wherein the bag is sewn and then turned inside-out, hiding the exterior side stitching. The Kelly II, released in 2000 as an update to the original Kelly, has a double ring at the top handle, designed to attach to a shoulder strap; the original Kelly, while often fitted with a shoulder strap, had a single-ring design. The Kelly bag requires 18 to 25 hours ofhandicraft to make, with each item created by a single artisan.[2][3][4] By the mid-1990s, a Kelly bag was priced atUS$3,500,[2][3][4] and as of 2019 prices ranged from US$8,500 to US$13,000, with exotic leathers priced higher.[5]
"...created in 1938 and called theHaut à Courroie..."[6]
In 1923, Émile-Maurice Hermès andEttore Bugatti designed a simple and plain bag for Hermès's wife Julie, named after Bugatti. The Bugatti was the first bag designed by Hermès specifically as a women's handbag and is notable for being the first handbag to utilize a zipper pull. In 1935, Hermès's son-in-law Robert Dumas redesigned it as a spacious travel bag calledSac à main de Voyage. It was a sharp contrast to the dominant handbags of the time, which were simple, small and flat, resembling envelopes.[7]
Alfred Hitchcock has been credited with bringing the handbag into the limelight. In 1954, Hitchcock allowed the costume designerEdith Head to purchaseHermès accessories for the filmTo Catch a Thief, starringGrace Kelly. According to Head, Kelly "fell in love" with the bag. In 1956 she becameprincess of Monaco and was photographed using the handbag to shield her growing belly from the paparazzi during her first pregnancy. That photograph was featured inLife magazine.[8] Princess Grace was a fashion icon, and the handbag immediately became very popular,[3][7] becoming known as the Kelly bag, although not officially so-named until 1977.[1]
The handbag with which Princess Grace was photographed was loaned by the palace archives of Monaco[9] and displayed in theVictoria and Albert Museum in April 2010, along with other notable wardrobe items owned by the princess.[9][6] The "star exhibit" of the show has scuffs and marks, as the wardrobe-thrifty princess carried it for many years.[9] As of 2010[update] Hermès made 32 styles of handbags, of which the Kelly was the best-seller.[8]
A Kelly bag stars as the "character" Bagwati in the Bollywood Hindi filmZindagi Na Milegi Dobara.[10]
