During my last trip to Paris, I mentioned that I managed a short detour to one of my favorite shopping spots – the Hermes flagship, on Rue St. Honore.
Even though I didn’t leave with any big purchases from the store, I did pick up something small, but extremely valuable to me – a simple canvas strap.
Some Hermes fans may recognize both a) the usefulness of and b) the difficulty of finding one of these little canvas straps. They can transform a bag and make a formal bag more casual. An example of a bag which benefits greatly from these straps, is the Kelly – even though I love the leather strap that it comes with, having the option of a canvas crossbody strap makes it much more versatile, not to mention comfortable, on long days walking around.
Unfortunately, these little straps can be hard to find, and generally have to be ordered. I had requested a few of these in matching colors to my bags last year, and typical of Hermes, only one was available so far by the time I was able to drop by – a black with silver hardware that I wanted for my Bolide (well and actually a future Kelly too…which I don’t even have yet!). At least the price was fairly reasonable (for Hermes) – less than $400.
The strap worked beautifully with my Bolide. However, on a lark, I used it on my Vert de Gris Kelly, and thought that it actually went quite well! Here are the results.
Some other examples of women wearing their Kelly with a canvas strap, starting with Renee Zellwegger! Doesn’t she look so fun and youthful with this very formal croc bag on a canvas strap?
And old Hermes ad. With a different colored strap! Hooray, I’m “Hermes approved” with my contrast colored strap!
via Seton on The Purse Forum
The lovely Caro Sieber, using her canvas as a shoulder strap.
And last but not least, a canvas strap with a box Kelly, worn crossbody by one of my favorite Hermes loving ladies, D.
Have you ever customized your Kelly (or another other bag) with an alternate strap? Would love to hear your stories!
PS: If you’re looking to order one of these straps from Hermes, you may want to ask for a “Bandouliere Supplement” if there’s any confusion with what you’re wanting to order.
PPS: I haven’t shopped here myself, but if you are looking for a canvas strap including custom solutions, Mautto has been recommended to me.
29 Comments
Sonya
April 7, 2014 at 10:19 amWow love the strap!
Katherine
April 7, 2014 at 11:32 amThank you Sonya! I’m sure you have quite a few yourself 🙂
Juilde
April 7, 2014 at 6:30 pmI just got one for my graphite bolide!! Congrats on yours!! Best day ever for me!! :0)
Julide
April 7, 2014 at 6:31 pm^Whoops! Misspelled my own name!!!^
Katherine
April 7, 2014 at 9:23 pmYES! I almost felt more excited about the strap than the bag because they take so long, LOL. You are so lucky to get one in graphite! How long did it take?
Julide
April 8, 2014 at 12:47 pmA little under a year, I have another strap coming for my lakis. We shall see if it takes that long too…Black looks fantastic with your VdG kelly.
Pj
April 7, 2014 at 7:34 pmHow ironic… Mine comes with canvas Amazone strap and have been waiting for the regular leather strap for a while. I love the casual look however because the buckle is larger on the canvas strap, they don’t lay flat and the buckle leave marks on the leather of my Kelly. Does yours do that at all?
Katherine
April 7, 2014 at 9:32 pmThat is funny! I am so jealous of you with your Amazone strap. I think they are so gorgeous. I hadn’t realized that the buckle was larger until you mentioned it and I went to Google photos. The buckles on the separate canvas straps are the exact same as on the regular Kelly leather straps, so I don’t have that problem. I can see if you have a large Kelly like ~40cm or so and stuff it, you might need a larger buckle as the smaller one may not be able to support the weight…just a guess. Hope your strap comes soon!
Pj
April 8, 2014 at 6:53 pmThat’s good to know! I would gladly take the canvas strap with regular buckle. Fingers crossed for my strap to come soon!
SunSurya
April 7, 2014 at 8:25 pmHi Kat, your long time reader all the way from Malaysia…. Mentioned you in my latest blogpost http://mysunsurya.blogspot.com/2014/04/my-experience-with-shopbop.html keep on sharing your wisdom and all the best!
Katherine
April 7, 2014 at 9:32 pmThank you SS!
Jane
April 7, 2014 at 11:42 pmI bought an evelyne and use its canvas strap on my color-matching Kelly.
Katherine
April 8, 2014 at 10:22 amI tried that too, it wasn’t bad! What color is your Evelyne/Kelly?
Jane
April 13, 2014 at 2:08 amBoth in blue jean. I have the evelyne ii with non-adjustable strap and a 35cm Kelly. But the strap runs short (at 32″) for wearing it messenger-style with the Kelly. In your modeling shot, the canvas strap looks perfect on you with the Kelly. Would you happen to know its length? It appears to be longer than the evi strap. Maybe I should invest in one (assume my store would ever let me place the order =p).
Katherine
April 13, 2014 at 7:01 pmHi Jane, the black was the standard recommended crossbody length via Hermes which I believe is 100cm. I would love an Evelyne II strap (without the sliders) as a shoulder length strap! I’ve been thinking about adding an E2 for just this reason 🙂
Jane
April 20, 2014 at 10:34 pmI see, thanks Katherine. The evi would be a great addition to your existing H collection. Look forward to your reveal.
Maria
April 8, 2014 at 5:43 amGreat post! Your vert de gris Kelly looks amazing with the black strap! I’m actually starting to prefer toning straps like that instead of matchy-matchy ones.
I tried unsuccessfully to get a canvas strap for my chevre cocoan Kelly for almost a decade. I finally gave up and just started using the raisin strap from my Evelyne and found that I quite like it. 🙂 Cocoan has purple undertones, so it works quite well!
What I really wish someone would find is a company that makes custom order canvas straps. Anybody?
Katherine
April 8, 2014 at 10:23 amHi Maria, yes try Mautto! I think they can do good custom orders.
Oh I do not have high hopes for any of my chevre strap orders. I will def. update if any come in. I think Raisin + Cocoan would look amazing together!
Maria
April 8, 2014 at 5:46 amOh sorry Kat! I missed that last line…. my bad. Thank you. Off to check out Mautto.
Wendy
April 8, 2014 at 8:30 pmSo happy you got yours Kat! I put in my request the week that I got my Kelly and the SA said it would be about 6 -12 months. I have a feeling I won’t be getting mine anytime soon =(
Shirlinggun@gmail.com
April 23, 2014 at 10:17 amYou are so lucky! It looks nice with your kelly :)) I’m not lucky, i still cant find one :((
Katherine
April 23, 2014 at 10:45 amIt takes some patience – I’m sure yours will come! Wishing you good luck!
J
August 13, 2014 at 1:14 pmHi there, I have been following your blog for a while now. I have a question about the hardware of Kelly and Birkin bags. The hardware ( the turn lock) of one of my Kelly bag has some colour change, i guess its due to daily wear and also recently i saw a nick on it and i wonder if the SPA can fix it? I live in the U.K. but i’m off to Paris next week, should I bring it with me? Would love to hear your expert advice. Thanks!
tandblekning
December 12, 2014 at 10:25 amPretty! This has been an extremely wonderful post. Thank you
for providing this information.
Kelly J
November 6, 2015 at 5:50 amHi, I am considering to get a canvas strap for my Bolide 31 and Kelly 28. Which length do you recommend? I was thinking of 70cm. Thanks, KJ
Katherine
November 6, 2015 at 4:18 pmIt really depends on your height. 75 was the length I chose for shoulder carry 🙂
mes
March 4, 2016 at 8:12 amwhere can you buy the replacement strap… i am not near a retail store?
Catherine
March 31, 2016 at 5:14 pmI don’t know if you’ll answer a comment posted on a past entry, but I’m going to try! I tried ordering this strap from my local Hermes store and was told they don’t exist. Do you know if they can still be ordered?
Katherine
March 31, 2016 at 7:02 pmYes they can, but it depends on your local store’s policies. Good luck, and if your store won’t, I’d try NY or Paris.