Victoria Beckham is well known for her extravagant taste in fashion, but news that she owns 100 Hermès Birkin bags is likely to be seen as nothing less than excessive.
A US financial website worked out that the sometime pop star's collection of the coveted bag alone is worth £1.5million.
Thebigmoney.com revealed that the 35-year-old owns around 100 of the style, which start at £4,200 for the basic model.
Bag of the month: In the last couple of weeks Victoria Beckham has shown off three of her 100 Hermès Birkin handbags. Seen at Heathrow airport, arriving in Milan and at a New York restaurant
Of course, La Beckham is not one to settle for basic. As countless photographs will testify, she regularly carries luxurious versions in pink ostrich skin and glossy black crocodile, worth up to £42,000 each, as well as the rare 'Silver Himalayan' style, which, at £80,000, comes complete with three-carat diamond.
Any bag as long as it's a Birkin: Starting at a staggering £4,200 Victoria Beckham accessorises with a baby blue version on a shopping trip in LA in April; plumps for plum on yet another airport dash in March; and chooses a bright red bag for a trip to New York last summer
The bag, which was designed in 1984 by French fashion house Hermès and named after the actress Jane Birkin, is seen as a fashion classic.It follows in the footsteps of the 1935 Kelly bag - named after Princess Grace of Monaco because of her many appearances with it.
The Birkin was allegedly created after the company's CEO Jean Louis Dumas sat next to the actress on a Paris to London flight.
Hermès habit: Victoria with her red Birkin at a children's party in March last year; at JFK airport with her pink ostrich bag in September 2007; in Dubai with the £80,000 Silver Himalayan version in January this year
Birkin had been discussing her difficulty in finding a leather weekend bag, explaining her ideal. Shortly after, the bag she described arrived at her flat with a note from Dumas.While the bag may cost as much as a small car, it has since been touted by fashion press as an 'investment' piece - an item that will remain in style for years, if not decades. Certainly, the Birkin is proof of this, with waiting lists of up to three years.
Inspiration: The classic Hermès bag is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Communications director Fiona Rushton said: 'If someone is looking for a classic Birkin bag - in a regular leather, colour and size - the lead time is significantly lower.
'It is not and has never been, Hermès intention to create an artificial waiting list. All long lead times experienced by customers are the consequence of capacity limitations or shortage in certain types, sizes or colours of skins.
'Over the last few years, Hermès has embarked on an ambitious program of hiring and training new craftsmen (and women) ... the production is now raising and we are happy to announce a significant reduction in lead time.'
For lucky owners, the sought-after bag will not depreciate in value like a car. Given the wait for a brand new version, second-hand boutiques and auction houses are able to charge a premium, so desperate are fashionistas to get their hands on the product.
Currently, 39 Birkins are listed for sale on the eBay UK site, with prices ranging from £10,000 to an eye-watering £63,000.
For those who lack the funds to buy the real thing, online bag hire sites such as bagborroworsteal.com even offer the chance to rent a Birkin.
The site currently lists a 2004 black crocodile version worth £42,000 for around £1,700 a week.
And Mrs Beckham is not the first celebrity to have fallen prey to its charms. Everyone from Katie Holmes and Julia Roberts carry versions, as well as Hilary Duff and Kelly Brook. And of course, the bag's namesake herself, Jane Birkin.
Dail Mail
