Summer Reading

**Your HG apologizes for the MIA status as of late, you know how the warm weather calls us all to the sandy beaches of the Cape. In celebration of the summer's beach blanket bonanza I find it only acceptable to tell you about a new summer read. And what's better than a book that combines both our love for literature and *happiness* the Hermes Birkin Bag. So run to the nearest book store and pick up Bringing Home the Birkin.**

Here's a quick Q+A with the book's author Michael Tonello.

Questions for Herms hype–buster Michael Tonello.

Widely prized, legendarily elusive, and outrageously expensive, the Hermès Birkin bag possesses a mythic stature. In his new book, Bringing Home the Birkin (William Morrow, $25.95), Michael Tonello, cofounder of Boston-based advertising collaborative Team, proves you don't have to be married to Tom Cruise to snag a $25,000 It bag—or to resell it on eBay.

Q: You say the bag's fabled two-year wait list is, in fact, a fable. So how do you get your hands on a Birkin?

A: Money talks. Then money talks some more. If you spend $1,000 on something else at Hermès first, the bags magically appear. Between September and Christmas 2004, I purchased and resold 130 or 140 Birkins.
Q: Didn't Hermès catch on to your game?
A: I had a half-dozen credit cards, all with slightly different names. But there were still a few stores where I became persona non grata.
Q: It was rumored that an advance copy of your book went for nearly $1,000 on eBay. It seems you took luxury marketing techniques to heart.
A: We gave out press copies in a Birkin-shaped box because we wanted to put the book on par with the Hermès brand. I'm trying to get it into the hands of celebs. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that word of mouth fuels itself.