To any fashionista the story is a familiar one, on an Air France flight from Paris to London in 1984, songstress Jane Birkin finds herself sitting next to Hermès chairman Jean-Louis Dumas. Reaching into her straw shopping bag the contents fall to the floor and she complains that she can never find a bag large enough to fit all her belongings. Taking her complaints to heart, Dumas creates the Birkin bag and names it after the woman from whom he got the idea.

Jane Birkin's Birkin.

Today a Birkin bag will set you back anywhere in the region of 7K to 15K and well on up. They are also such favourites of the rich and famous – Victoria Beckham reportedly owns over 100 of them! The lady who started it all, though, apparently only owned one… and that bag has just been auctioned off on eBay with proceeds to aid of Red Cross Japan Relief. Fetching over 100,000 GBP (that’s $166,956.79 USD) the bag was well loved and covered in beads and stickers. Birkin told Vogue.com that the cat had probably been sitting on it and that it made a very good rain hat!

Learn the legend of Hermes at hermes.com.

- Emma Hutchinson | CityRoom Fashion Editor

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