Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag

I read this book about 12 years ago and loved it! Made me long for the days before the internet. Jaunts through Europe visiting exclusive Birkin shops, my kind of tale. I have bought more than one of these books for our customers that have Birkins. Highly recommended! You’ll be whisked away to a different time.

Loved this book from beginning to end!First of, you do not have to be a slave to fashion to enjoy this book. The bottom line is Michael Tonello needed to find employment in a pinch and found a very fortuitous gold mine on ebay slagging designer items. By sheer luck by selling one Hermes scarf he uncovered an entire community of Hermes collectors that would do ANYTHING to get their hands on all things Hermes. Of course the scarves and knick-knacks were just the tip of the iceberg. Michael is literally forced into becoming an unwitting authority on all things Hermes and eventually learns "the Formula" for becoming the reigning king of Birkin buying while scads of others languish unnecessarily on a waiting list for 2-3 years for what is arguably a very nice hand bag, but not a particularly exciting bag as it is very conservative in its design.Michael Tonello's writing is hilarious! While reading his adventures and his conniving and extraordinarily good luck in sating the crazed desires of Hermes collectors all in the name of making a paycheck I really felt like I was sitting right there with him having a drink and laughing at some of the best travel/retail stories. Seriously, I think Michael picked up some moves that were previously only taught to potential CIA, MI5, KGB or Mossad agents. I enjoyed this so much I'm forcing my mother and my friends to read it. And Michael, whatever your next entrepreneurial adventure is, I hope its as funny as this one and you can kick out another book on it.

I loved the lavish lifestyles, the build up to the apex of the story, and the fact that it was real life.

Birkin is the most coveted leather handbag of the VERY pricy Hermes fashion house. The prices run in the THOUSANDS, depending on the type of materials used. And no, I don't own any Birkins or Hermes products. (I am more of a thrift shop/flea market kinda gal.) I got interested in Birkin from one of my junk mails in which an auction house was offering a Birkin bag in their brochure. I was curious to know why anyone would auction a BAG, of all things, since it seemed like such a mundane product. A quick Google revealed the reason - because the bag was super expensive! I found Michael Tonello's book in one of my searches and was intrigued.This book is about his adventure in "THE HOT PURSUIT OF THE WORLD'S MOST COVETED HANDBAG". Tonello writes about how he ends up in this world of Birkin handbags by accident. Stranded in Barcelona and with no job, he needed money to survive. Buying and reselling Hermes products on eBay (especially the Birkin crocodile bags) gave him this ticket and afforded him a posh lifestyle from the profit he made.Tonello has acute business sense, even though his background was anything but. (He was a professional makeup artist.) His trips around the world in search of this coveted handbag was hilarious and a page-turner! His descriptions of Capri and Mykonos were spot-on. I've been to those places and agree they are indeed beautiful -- also Las Ramblas in Barcelona (where he lives with his partner Juan). The ending was fitting. I was very sorry when I reached the last page. This book was witty and fun to read because Tonello wrote from his heart. I hope he will write more.

Interesting peek into the world of acquiring luxury goods. Incredible detail, entertaining subplots. If you have ever wondered about how the Birkin became such a sought after item - this book is for you.

This was a fun book I inherited birkins and will be selling for sure all but one of them which I’ll keep for my step daughter the business practices this book uncovers about Hermes I find disgusting I won’t shop there for any scarves bags or blankets or other items again

I didn't know a Birkin bag from a Michael Kors clutch, but my boyfriend collects and sells hangbags/messenger bags, and he recommended the book to give me some insight into his avocation/vocation. The book started off great and I enjoyed the way he writes. He's very funny, and very unself-conscious about how his comments and asides might sound to others. It was interesting to read about someone with the balls to start a completely new life in a strange country, all by himself. And, how he got into the business of re-selling Hermes bags and scarves was fascinating. However, at a little over 1/2 way through the book, he seemed to just be giving us a travelogue of various, usually beautiful, cities and the nice hotels he stayed and the nice meals and wines he consumed while wearing very nice clothes. This got to be monotonous for me, with little interest in such niceties. I would consider buying another book from him, if he writes or has written another, IF it is on a different subject altogether...I think he's very funny.