The other day I was watching a movie with a non-fashion friend who turned to me during a scene and asked, “Isn’t that a Birkin bag?” It was. Obviously we have Sex and the City to thank for the cultural diffusion of this particular accessory, but it’s always sort of amazing when an insider’s item breaks its fashion boundaries, completely embedding itself in the mainstream. Providing further evidence of the classic’s evolution is today’s Christie’s South Kensington auction of “the best selection of Hermes handbags ever”.

Featured alongside vintage and contemporary jewelery, the 66 iconic purses date from the ‘60s to the present and include a beige fringed Birkin specially commissioned in 2009, along with fuchsia crocodile, blue jean, orange suede Birkins, and many others. While the variety seems slightly misrepresentative of the bag’s namesake Jane Birkin’s subtle, timeless style, maybe that’s the point: style is ever evolving, making room for the Birkin-to-be.

Regardless of your feelings towards Brigitte Bardot, the woman, that Brigitte Bardot, the actress, had a certain innate style is undeniable—a fact re-confirmed by my recent viewing of Don Juan if Don Juan Were a Woman. Although philosophically quite dark, the film’s colorful wardrobe combined with its hedonistic overtones and a young Jane Birkin constitute many collections worth of creativity.

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