As some of you may know, I placed a special order for a breast wallet at Hermes back in December 2010. It was not a straightforward process. As I personally experienced, even getting a salesperson to discuss special orders can be a struggle. But contrary to internet wisdom, it does not require spending millions of dollars or being an otherwise privileged client–just knowing what you want and some diplomatic persistence. I’m convinced that all the forum chatter about ‘establishing a relationship’ before a Hermes salesperson deigns one worthy of the right to merely ask about special orders is just a lot of hot air aimed at puffing up egos and boosting a perception of exclusivity.
Anyway, after seven months, I got an e-mail from the director of the Madison Avenue store letting me know the wallet is complete and ready for pickup. Much to Hermes’s credit, they delivered smack in the middle of the timeframe they estimated at the time of order. After dealing with a multitude of southern Italian craftsman, that sort of efficacy is downright revelatory.
The wallet is pretty much exactly as I imagined–with one minor, harmless deviation. I thought the ‘Hermes Pari Made in France’ text was going to be embossed gold, not silver. No real matter, but it totally derailed my plan to get my initials embossed in gold. For whatever reason, silver embossing in this context isn’t nearly as appealing to me. So, instead, I had them emboss the monogram without any gold or silver leaf. I’m not sure if I’ll leave it plain or later fill it with silver, but I can always make the call later on.
Obviously I had the monogram placed inside the wallet, rather than outside, which is perhaps more orthodox. I’m not sure if it was the right choice, but ultimately I erred on the side of discretion.
Unfortunately, I’m not well-versed in leather goods craftsmanship, so I’ll have to refrain from any detailed commentary. I will simply say that the stitching and edge-finishing appears completely faultless to my eye and is noticeably neater than what I’ve seen on things made by other companies. My last wallet was a hip wallet made by Swaine Adeney & Brigg in bridle leather, which is not worth comparing since the leather types are so different.
Speaking of the leather–it is very, very nice. Soft, smooth, and uniform. The embossed grain is the right scale. While I’m worried about durability, I would have stuck with Brigg if I wanted something more bullet-proof but less elegant. The director handling my order told me I can expect the leather to develop a patina over time, too.
For anyone interested, Hermes calls this particular grained calfskin ‘Evergrain’. The color is ‘Laurier’ and the wallet model is ‘Fleming’. Try asking a Hermes sales person for a ‘dark green, pebble-grained breast wallet’ and see what happens. I dare you. Trust me, or risk losing a good part of your day and too much of your sanity.
Anyway, I’m thrilled with this breast wallet. After the initial frustration of getting the special order discussions started, everything went very smoothly, with faultless service. Don’t let the Hermes snobs detract you. If I can successfully place a special order, so can you.
Do you have the in-breast pockets of the coats of your suits made to the specific depth of the wallet so that it fits neatly inside and not poke out?
Actually, I noticed the pockets in all my Rubinacci jackets are of slightly different depths. The wallet will stick out more or less depending on the particular jacket.
I feel the silver foil maker’s name cheapens it a bit. It’s too bad you’ll have to look at that every time you open the wallet instead of the gold foil of the past. Perhaps they can change that for you.
I would have preferred gold. I even asked Pierre, the guy who does the embossings at the Madison Avenue store, if it’s possible to change the silver to gold. Nope.
I’m curious as to why they chose silver in the first place. Gold and green seem to me the far more complementary combination.
Hermes Evergrain is not embossed, it is a naturally grained calfskin. Beautiful wallet! Congratulations.
I also believe that the default embossing of Hermes of Paris when a bag or wallet does not have any hardware is silver, especially for a men’s item, but I am sure for your next item you could specify gold without a problem.
Then I would suggest that you specify the correct pocket size. It does make a huge diference.
Most of my things are in Naples for minor tweaks, so I suppose I could send them the wallet measurements while they’re at it . . .
I’m happy to read that your wallet arrived. It’s true that Hermes generally uses silver, and if you want something in gold, you usually have to order it. I also have this wallet stamped in silver, and had it monogrammed without foil, in exactly the same spot as yours. That’s where Pierre at Madison suggested.
The colour Laurier is the perfect shade of green in my opinion. I ordered a Birkin in Laurier Evergrain with gold hardware, although Hermes wrote asking if I would be willing to cancel the order and choose another colour in Evergrain. My answer was a firm “no.” So, who knows how long they’ll make me wait for it now, or if I’ll ever actually receive it?
The color really is spectacular. I was a little worried at first since the swatch appeared significantly brighter than I had originaly envisioned. But once made-up, it is just right–not too light, not too dark.
The end result is lovely, but it sounds like it was a real pain to get there. Can you comment on why you persisted with Hermes rather than, say, taking your business to April in Paris?
I think the ongoing discussion at Styleforum has exaggerated the difficulty of the process. While I take the blame since I was the one who started it all, it’s worth remembering I was more amused than outraged, and the entire ordeal was resolved after only a day or two. After more senior management at Hermes got in touch with me, why would I go through the trouble of ordering from someone else? Afterall, I was never concerned with the quality of their execution, just whether I could place an order in the first place.
Now, had I faced more resistance, I certainly would have turned elsewhere–probably a leather craftsmans, as you suggest. But even then, there are obstacles to overcome and large commitments of time to be made. It’s not just a matter of making a phone call and saying you want a green breast wallet.
As you have an ideal opportunity I would certainly suggest that you have the pockets altered such that the wallet sits half an inch below the pocket month. Has several advantages.