Pre-owned Hermès

Should your first Hermès from Kove be a bag, or something smaller?

That depends on what you want to walk out with. Start with the bags if you want the piece you carry every day or take to dinner. A pre-owned Kelly or Birkin may already have been carried, so you are buying the state it is in now. If you want the house without a bag budget, look at the accessories first, the silk and the small leather goods. Look at the shoes next and read the sole and heel notes before the size. Then look at the clothing and the hats.

Where does a pre-owned Hermès piece show its wear?

On a bag, start with the handles and the corners, then the base, since leather rubs there first. Check the hardware on the front and the zip pull for worn plating. Look at the saddle stitching on the handles and the flap of a Kelly or Birkin. A loose or broken stitch is noted. The lining and the inside of the strap show the wear a closed flap hides. On shoes, the sole and the heel tips say more than the upper does. On clothing, wear shows first at the seams and the cuffs. Give a hat the same look at the band and the brim that you would give a bag at its corners.

How do you choose a size or a version?

Hermès bags carry their size in the name, and the leather and the hardware finish make one version different from another at the same size. Choose the size by what you carry on an ordinary day rather than by what looks right empty. A sellier Kelly holds its shape and a retourné one softens, and that difference matters more once a bag has been used. On every Kove page the condition is described piece by piece, marks of use included, and the published price is the final one.