This Guy Spent $400 And 60 Hours Hand-Making A Designer Purse For His Girlfriend, And Now I Know Why They Cost $100k
"My girlfriend always jokes that she wants a luxury bag from Hermès as an anniversary gift. When I looked online at the price of the Birkin, I couldn't believe it."
Since it was created in 1984 for cool-girl French singer and actress Jane Birkin, the Hermès Birkin bag has been a coveted accessory. This famously capacious bag has showed up in TV shows like Sex and the City and Gossip Girl and been spotted on the arms of celebs like Victoria Beckham and Cardi B.
But as is typically the case with designer handbags, the Birkin doesn't come cheap. Even used, these prestigious purses can go for tens of thousands of dollars. So, as a swap meet fanny pack kind of girlie, it's safe to say this bag is waaaaay out of my price range.
So, when 32-year-old Bellevue, Washington real estate agent Alexander Sway heard his girlfriend joking about wanting a Birkin bag for their anniversary, he too balked at the price tag and decided to get creative instead.
In a TikTok that's been viewed over 29 million times, Alexander (@liveyoursway) shared that when he saw the $100,000 price for a Birkin bag online, he thought it was wild. "But what was even crazier was instead of paying, I decided to surprise her and make my own," he said.
He goes on to utter the famous last words, "At first, I thought it was going to be pretty simple." Spoiler alert: It wasn't. He continues, saying, "I found blueprints online and cut them out. Then, I went to a local leather store and pick out some awesome black dyed crocodile leather. The leather, plus tools, costs around $400."
He shares that he thought it would be pretty easy to simply cut out the pieces and put the bag together, but he was absolutely wrong. "Right off the bat, I made some rookie mistakes and wasted a bunch of good leather. I finally understand why luxury companies charge so much for these handbags. There are so many steps involved, and each step can take a lifetime to master. There were a lot of times I felt like giving up, and I didn't realize how hard this was going to be as a first project."
In a follow-up video, Alexander shares that sewing the pieces together was definitely the hardest part of the project. "This is very challenging because every hole had to be hand punched, and sometimes, I had to punch them twice because how thick the leather was. Then, I had to push the needle through each hole and make sure they were all lined up. Since there were several hundred holes to go through, my fingers went numb, and I had to take a lot of breaks."
And though the bag ended up being ready a month late for their anniversary, he also shows his girlfriend's reaction when he finally presents it to her. ... And she appears to be either completely speechless or totally nonplussed by the whole thing. As one commenter put it, "Her reaction LMFAO 😭 'I asked for a Birkin and got a dupe of a dupe' 💀."
For the record, Alexander told BuzzFeed via email, "Although the video did not do a great job representing my girlfriend, she actually loves the bag and appreciates it deeply!"
Elsewhere in the comments, people are obsessed with the dedication and time Alexander put into making this gift for his girlfriend. One user spoke for us all when they wrote, "Suddenly, we no longer just want a Birkin, we want a man that makes us one."
And there were even some leather workers who congratulated him on his determination in completing such a complex project. One user wrote, "You started with one of the most difficult pieces that even seasoned leather workers would have trouble with. You deserve props just for not giving up."
Alexander told BuzzFeed, "The total project took me about 60 hours over a month to complete. I had to learn from scratch how to do every part of leather craftsmanship. Watched tons of YouTube videos online and spent many hours practicing on scrap material. There were many times I felt like the project was going to be too challenging for myself. I even felt like quitting many times because of the pain from sewing again and again."
But he says the project taught him a lot, too. "This experience first taught me to appreciate high quality craftsmanship and the importance of not letting those skills die in the future. Working with our hands and creative spirit is something unique to humanity and something I really appreciate about social media. Furthermore, I learned that it's important to do the things you are passionate about because I feel like the joy and motivation to continue working on a project of this scale came from that internal well."
Finally, he says, "My main motivation for this project was to make something that has a reputation of being extremely exclusive, obtainable through hard work and creativity. Additionally, I wanted to surprise my girlfriend and make her smile."
