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There's the massive price tag, there's the waiting list, and there's the celebrity devotees. The Birkin bag carries with it all the trappings of wealth and status

But it is only the super expensive Birkin bag from French fashion house Hermes that tickles her fancy.

We're talking about $10,000 bags. And that's the cheapest version.

The exorbitant price tag and an average two-year waiting list worldwide haven't stopped her from snapping up five Birkins from stores here and in Los Angeles.

She has spent about $50,000 on them since 2002.

A 35cm-wide Hermes (pronounced air-mess) Birkin can cost anything from $10,000 if it is made in calf leather to $30,000 in crocodile leather.

'It's the Rolls-Royce of bags,' says Ms Choo, 29. 'It is roomy and I like its quality, workmanship and rarity.'

Financial adviser Ponz Foo, 28, is also not fazed by the price tag.

Impressed by the care and attention to detail which the 157-year-old family-owned French brand pays to its products, she has since spent $20,000 on two Birkins.

The women are not alone in their obsession with the Hermes Birkin.

One Singaporean woman, who refuses to be named or interviewed, owns more than 80 Birkins.

Sources tell LifeStyle that her Birkins are kept in their individual dust bags which sit inside signature Hermes orange boxes. Pasted on each box is a Polaroid photograph of the bag inside, for easy identification.

Her babies are stored in a specially designed, air-conditioned 20-sq m room - about a quarter of the size of a four-room HDB flat.

It is estimated that she paid a mind-blowing $1 million for them.

Baby beginnings

The Birkin is not a new creation.

It has its roots in 1984, when Hermes designed a bag for British actress-singer Jane Birkin, who is most famous for the song Je T'aime, a breathy duet with French composer Serge Gainsbourg.

In fact, it was meant as a bag to carry the accoutrements of the actress' baby daughter.

The design wasn't even unique. The Birkin is based on the Haut a Courroie, an Hermes carrier for men which has been around since the 1900s.

Perhaps because of its price and quality, the Birkin became a symbol of stealth wealth and status, and has always been popular with high society women.

Two years ago, an episode of HBO's Sex And The City catapulted the Birkin and its lore into mainstream consciousness.

The character Samantha Jones, desperate to get a Birkin, jumped queue by dropping the name of her client, actress Lucy Liu. She got the bag, but was caught in her lie by Liu, who made a cameo on the show.

Today, the bag counts as fans celebrities like Kate Moss, Madonna and Queen Noor of Jordan.

So popular is it that it has spawned more copies than the American Idol franchise. (See other story.)

Says Ms Foo: 'Frankly, I've come across more copies than the real thing.'

To the untrained eye, first impressions of the Birkin may disappoint.

The leather bag has rounded double handles, a fold-over top, a belt-like closure with a lock and key, and metal studs at the base. It looks quite ordinary.

But each Birkin is handcrafted. It is said that, on average, each bag requires more than 2,600 hand-stitches and about 18 hours to assemble.

That is also how long it takes to manufacture a BMW, wrote the British Financial Times last year.

The bag is available in different sizes (from 30 to 40cm in width), leathers (calf and crocodile) and metal clasps (silver, gold or palladium).

In Tokyo, Hermes' best-performing Asian market, about 40,000 orders for a Birkin were made in 2002, with an average five-year wait. This means that if you had ordered one that year, you'd only get it in 2007.

Hermes Singapore declined to comment for this story, but it is believed that Singaporeans who want one now will have to wait till 2006 for it.

Clients comprise mainly professional women from their mid-20s onwards.

Timeless appeal

Many fans justify the hefty price tag by pointing out that they can choose the size, leather and metal they want.

But the irony is that customers don't always get what they order.

This is because the bags are handmade by only 200 leather workers in Hermes' atelier in Pantin, just outside Paris.

The quantity and quality of bags produced are also very much dependent on the availability of the leathers.

Birkin customer Linda Tan, 34, says most women end up taking whatever bag is assigned to them rather than subjecting themselves to another long wait. The public relations manager has four Birkins.

Says Ms Choo: 'It's precisely because we have to queue for one and pay $10,000 for it which makes it a must-have. If it's really easy to get, we won't be as keen.'

Apart from that, Ms Foo says the Birkin's appeal is simply in its timeless design.

'After a couple of seasons, other seasonal must-have fashion bags almost inevitably end up on the sale rack. But not the Birkin,' she says.

Mr Henry Poh, 30, who owns second-hand designer store Cavallino at Tanglin Shopping Centre, can attest to that.

He says that only Birkin and Kelly bags, which is an Hermes bag named after the late actress Grace Kelly, can command re-sale values not far off from their original price tags.

No other brand - not even Louis Vuitton - boasts such cachet.

Still, some women, like real estate agent Chan Su-Lin, 38, refuse to buy into the hype.

'The thrill comes from having something others don't. But after paying that kind of money, what is there left for the inside?' she says.

Luckily for Hermes, there will always be those for whom a hefty price tag is precisely the attraction.

Adds Ms Foo: 'It's so well-made I can probably bequeath my bags to my daughter. And amortised over two generations, $10,000 is quite a snip.'

Birkin stocks

Because of the Birkin's classic design, knock-offs can be easily found, even in local leather shops like Nan Kai and Kwan Pen.

Brands like Fion at Takashimaya and Pierattini at Shaw Centre also boast Birkin lookalikes.

Priced between $179 and $4,000, depending on the leather used, these bags sell very well, say their respective spokesmen.

The latest and most interesting take is the Jelly Birkin, a transparent rubber version from Italy which is available at Tribeca boutique at Forum The Shopping Mall.

Since last December, the shop has sold more than 60 pieces. Available in three sizes, they are priced between $350 and $400.

Copies or knock-offs are designed to look as much like the original as possible.

However, they are only considered counterfeit and liable for legal action if they bear the Hermes name and logo. - Singapore Straits Times

Its elegant style, commitment to workmanship and daring keeps the fashion house Hermes ahead of the pack.