You've got to be Birkin mad!

Hermès designed a bag back in 1984 after the English born actress/singer Jane Birkin, referred to by many as the "Birkin'. These bags can be seen as a symbol of wealth due to its high price and elusiveness to the public, with price tags ranging from $9,000-$150,000 depending on the different customer chosen sizes, hides, colours and hardware fixtures. The bags are distributed to Hermès boutiques on unpredictable schedules and in limited quantities, creating scarcity and, intended or unintended, exclusivity. Although the Birkin bag is free of logos, it is one of the most recognized bags in the fashion industry and by the public, which is why when Jane put her original Birkin bag up for auction on ebay, the final price was not entirely surprising. ($160,000)....eek!

One-hundred percent of the proceeds went to the British Red Cross, who will use it to benefit earthquake and tsunami relief efforts in Japan xx

Jane Birkin

Jane's $160,000 bag auctioned

Images courtesy of fashion boulevard, google and Hermes