The Hermes Lindy Bag

Sale PSA: A leopard midi dress from Reformation, now 40% off, chic ankle boots from Acne, now 50% off (I also love these from Mansur Gavriel, now 40% off), pretty wedge espadrilles from See by Chloe, now just $108, and a yellow linen midi dress from BP, now just $35.

Do any of you have an Hermes Lindy? I first saw this bag in person in 2010. I was in London, at the Bond Street location, and it was in this great dark blue color, and because of the currency it was about 40% off US retail. I want to say before the refund, too. And I tried it on and I liked it and then my husband said: “yucky”.

I have not forgiven him.

OK well actually I did forget about the Lindy for a while…you know with Hermes there’s always another item to obsess over and so I put the style out of my head. I actually hadn’t thought of it until just a few months ago, when I noticed it another mom with toddlers at Whole Foods (she had the 30) and I thought – this looks like a very useful bag. And so my interest was piqued.

I recently let go of some bags (post on that to come) and so thought…OK, I can add one, I’ll give the Lindy a try! I debated a bit between 26 and 30, and finally settled on 26 because I’ve learned that when I go too big for bags I tend not to use them as much.

Presenting: my Lindy!

In black clemence, size 26, palladium hardware. YES this is a boring combination and YES I thought a lot about getting a fun color. If I like this one a lot, I might consider another color down the line (but these are not cheap so who knows). But I really wanted a “use everyday/don’t care about spills” bag like my Evelyne PM in the same color/hardware combo. I want to be able to dump pens and snacks and whatever else and not worry. I would have held out for the black with gold but…

I purchased it from Fashionphile! And so didn’t have the choice. The exact same bag is actually on the Hermes website but I’ve had great experiences with Fashionphile and they have free returns and it was a good savings. The bag is from 2018 and it was in pretty perfect condition and came with the full set including box raincoat, etc (which actually Fashionphile didn’t list on the site…I’m not sure if they just missed it). I actually waited until it hit the 10% off mark and then purchased. Now, onto the bag and its features.

Here’s what fits inside. Actually it can fit a lot more, as you can see – it doesn’t nearly take up the entire bag. And a Kindle fits! This was a big deal to me. I usually carry a small pack of wet wipes and/or anti-bacterial spray, these didn’t make it in the photo.

I wanted to make sure to include a photo of my phone in the side pocket. Before buying the Lindy, I had searched everywhere for a photo like this! I wanted to know if a fat smartphone could go in, because this was a main feature of the bag for me! My phone is the iPhone 8 (? not sure) Plus and it has one of those credit card cases. And it fits fine. If you’re very careful with your bag you may not want to shove your phone in, there’s a chance that over time it could stretch the leather. But I did buy this bag to use and so I’m planning on using these outside pockets for all sorts of things. Mostly I’ve been placing my phone in one pocket during errands and my lipstick/chapstick in the other.

It closes with two zips and a clasp. I like this system because you can make it as secure as you want. Super secure, all zipped and clasped, or halfway secure, or totally open. I usually just use the clasp and leave one side unzipped. I don’t feel that it’s too “open” that way either.

There are feet! Not all Hermes bags have feet. I like feet because I don’t baby my bags and set them down on the ground a lot. But I don’t always like a bag puddling on the ground, especially if it’s icky.

Besides the two outside slip pockets, there are two slip interior pockets. To be honest I’m not sure if I’ll use these for anything other than slipping in a few emergency bandaids, emergency cash, etc. But if traveling I’d definitely stick a passport in there (and I checked and it fits).

The best part of the Lindy – all the ways you can wear it!

Here it is directly on the shoulder (I’m 5’1). You can also see how far the bag sticks out from the body. Because of this, I usually wear the bag on my shoulder, but pushed behind, like this.

It’s very comfortable this way! I don’t know how I’d feel if the bag were any bigger though.

Hand held. I’ve found this to be a useful option! I’ve been using cross body bags for so long that I’d forgotten how easy it is to sometimes just be able to grab a bag by its handles without wrestling to take off the strap under a coat, etc.

And, on the crook of arm. I think the Lindy 26 is still a small enough size that it looks “dainty”, not that that is a look I am going for on a regular basis.

Overall, I’m very happy with the Lindy! I’ve been missing a basic black shoulder bag in my wardrobe and think this will be perfect. My kids are getting a little bigger and I don’t need to lug as much stuff around – but it still fits a decent amount. And the leather doesn’t feel too heavy.

Some final thoughts on the Lindy:

Keep in mind your height and the strap length. The straps are longer the larger the bag and part of the reason why I didn’t get the 30 is it hit me at a weird place when I tried it on (I’m 5’1).

If you are taller or just want the 30, you will save good money (if you go pre-loved). Like with many Hermes bags currently, the larger you go on the resale market, the cheaper the bag. You can get a great Lindy 30 for $4K-$5K on the resale market. The 34, even less! The 26, not so much…I’d prepare to pay close to retail or a few thousand below, depending on condition. It’s by far the most in demand size. If I ever want to sell this bag, I’m sure that the 34s will be going for most then and the 26 for least.

The Lindy is expensive. Like, more than double the Evelyne PM. Ugh! It’s more in the Birkin/Kelly realm, which was painful, but to be honest this sort of style I find much more versatile at this point in my life than the other two bags. It’s also more under the radar, which I highly prefer.

Swift/Evercolour will be lighter than Clemence. Try all the leathers out if you can. Actually, if I ever get another Lindy, it will be in Swift. It is my favorite out of all the leathers for the bag.

On supply: You should be able to get this at your local store/online. If you’re in the US, that is. I think the situation overseas isn’t too different, Europe a little harder. So if you’re going to go to the boutique for it, hold out for the combination you want (this goes for all purchases, actually). If you’re shopping on Fashionphile, you can scroll down on the product page – on the bottom there is a “discount alert” that lets you know when the bag goes on sale. Not all bags have these, for some reason. The Real Real also has quite a few Lindy bags – however I’m a little more iffy on them because their photos are so poor and they are final sale. And they charge shipping both ways! I’m sure that if you did have an authenticity problem Real Real would make it right…but it’s some stress. Their prices are lower though, and the runner up to my black bag (which I still sometimes regret), was this Rouge Grenat with gold hardware.

I hope this was helpful and if you have any questions/comments on the bag, please leave below! If you have a Lindy, I’d also love to hear your thoughts on the bag!