We're In a Kelly Bag Boomlet

Shoppers wishing to pick up a Kelly bag from Hermès can expect two inevitables: a considerable wait and a minimum price tag of $6,000. (Want the crocodile-and-diamonds version? They ring in at more than $100,000 a pop.) The purse first became the envy of women everywhere after the late Princess Grace Kelly was photographed, in all her celestial glamour, carrying one in a 1956 issue of Life magazine. And according to Robert Chavez, president and CEO of Hermès, demand for the smallish, conservative square-pouch-with-a-handle has exploded in recent weeks.

The probable culprit of this recent popularity increase, said Mr. Chavez, is all the recent media attention being devoted to Ms. Kelly. Last month, the Consulate General of Monaco teamed up with Sotheby’s and others to organize a series of events in New York honoring the movie star-cum-monarch.

“I think the Kelly is really timeless and it’s such a classic. It’s not an ‘It’ bag. People talk so much about the ‘It’ bags,” Mr. Chavez mused last night in the spotless, white-tiled kitchen at Per Se, where he, along with Thomas Keller and Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl, was chairing the March of Dimes Gourmet Gala. “And I think people are probably a little tired of the ‘It’ bags, so they’re looking for something that’s timeless, and that’s why the Kelly continues to go on and on and on,” he added.

Aside from reveling in the growing, self-generated hype surrounding an accessory his company launched about 70 years ago, Mr. Chavez, who was wearing a perfectly-fitted dark suit, said that much of his time this year has been consumed by the opening of Hermès’ store on Broad Street in the financial district last summer.

After noticing a major effort to redevelop the area, Mr. Chavez said that he wanted to make sure the luxury brand was ahead of the regenerative curve. “We started sensing that a lot of businesses were going back downtown, and in particular, the conversion of buildings to residences. So you kind of sense that it was not only going to be a business community, but a residential community,” he said, before adding: “And we just thought, You know what, why not give our vote of confidence and be at the forefront of that redevelopment downtown? And it’s been a great move for us.”