Birkin 35 — Hermès Birkin 35 for Sale · London

The Birkin 35 is the Birkin as a working bag. The bag Hermès made for Jane Birkin in 1984 was meant for someone who carried her life with her, and the 35 is the size that still does that job. Fashion has since moved to the 25 and the 30, and the 35 is now the Birkin people under-estimate, which is exactly why it rewards a closer look.

What it holds is the case for it. A 13-inch laptop, an A4 folder, a full-size purse, a make-up bag, a water bottle and a jumper, with the lid still closing over the straps. It is the size at which a Birkin becomes a working bag, and the size most of our clients who travel with one end up carrying through the airport.

It measures roughly 35 by 25 by 18 centimetres. On the arm it reads larger than those numbers suggest, so the sensible test is the frame rather than the tape measure: on a taller person or over a winter coat the 35 looks proportionate, and on a smaller frame it reads as a statement. Several of our clients who wear it daily are men, and the 35 sits on our Bags for Men page for that reason.

Leather matters more at this size than at any other, because weight starts to count. Togo is the everyday answer, light for the volume and forgiving of handling. Epsom is lighter still and keeps the sides upright. Clémence slouches beautifully and is noticeably heavier by the end of a day. Exotics on a 35 use a great deal of skin, which is why a crocodile 35 is a rare thing and priced on its own.

Almost every 35 is Retourne, stitched inside out and turned, so the corners round and the bag softens with years of use. A well-carried 35 develops a fall through the sides that suits it particularly; the size was built to be used and looks its best when it has been.

The 35 is also where Horseshoe-stamp special orders turn up most often. A buyer who designed a Birkin for daily life tended to order it at the size they would carry, so two-tone interiors, contrast stitching and brushed hardware appear on 35s more readily than on smaller sizes. When a 35 in our stock carries the horseshoe, its page says so and shows the stamp.

On value the 35 is the quiet side of the market. It has not run up the way the 25 has, so it is often the most Birkin for the money, and in our own stock it has often opened below the 30 in the same leather. That is what we see on the floor rather than a forecast, and it is the reason clients who want the bag rather than the trend tend to land here.

Every Birkin 35 at JULL is inspected by hand in our London workroom: blind stamp, hardware engraving and plating, stitching, corners, feet, cadenas, keys and clochette. Pieces are new, unworn and pre-owned, each described as it is, slouch and all. See one at our Chelsea Harbour showroom seven days a week by appointment, on a live video call, or take insured delivery anywhere in the UK.