Hermès Kelly Mini Bags
The design elements of the iconic Hermes Kelly bag have been around for over a hundred years, and starting in the middle of the twentieth century, these elements were rendered together in smaller and smaller handbags. While 25cm Kelly bags have surfaced dating back to the mid 1960’s, the truly mini 20cm Kelly started coming out of the Hermes atelier in 1980. These petite versions of the already iconic Kelly bag were darling, and the height of ladylike sophistication at the time, as they are now. The classic style was adapted into four versions: a charming top-handle, built in both Sellier and Retourne construction, which featured an exaggerated handle that fit over the wrist like a bracelet, and Sellier versions with long leather straps in place of the handles that were either shoulder or cross-body length. Hermes produced this original group of mini-Kellys for over 25 years, with the final examples leaving the atelier around 2006. Over that period, the Kelly 20 would be produced in every skin, color, and combination imaginable.
