Ecellent read
Great and funny book. What a wonderful well travelled life, Mr. Tonello
Lived in his quest for the BIRKIN. A must Read for every FASHONISTA

Fun read, very informative, but at its heart, it's an Hermes expose
While reading reviews for this book, one thing you rarely see is the mention that it's also a scathing expose of Hermes' business practices. I also don't think their customers, and in particular those that pay ridiculous secondary-market prices, come off all that well. I'm sure that wasn't the primary intent of the author, but it is silly to pursue a status symbol to the point where you're willing to pay many thousands of Dollars over the regular price just to get a handbag.

What do you get for those thousands? The most well-known symbol for women to say "I've arrived" that's at least marketed by a major luxury firm. It has to be universally recognized, right? It reminds me of teens that say how individual they want to be, but they're really dressing like all of their friends. If everyone wants the same bag, and some women have dozens, does it really retain it's "status" or purported rarity? Doesn't the sheer number of bags that some collectors own prove the fact that they're not rare but rather marketed efficiently?

Hermes, of course, isn't alone in marketing this way, but they must be extremely irritated to have their secrets exposed so easily.

So far so good
Been through the first few chapters so far...
Reads like a breeze...

Very tongue-in-cheek...
Quite readable....

Captivating read!
You can almost think the writer is a woman the way he writes passionately about Birkin bags! You come to learn however, there is no emotional connection: purely sales. Michael is a great writer, weaving wonderful stories amongst the Birkin-buying mayhem. The fact that this is a true story was even better. I recommend this book to anyone who loves travel/shopping/laughing. But beware: you'll want to jump on the first plane to Barcelona after you've read it!

Wow!!!
Wow! Recently I decided to read books that don't fit my personality. A friend of mine gave me this book because it was a "good read." I'm not that into shopping but I was hooked from chapter 1 to the point where I honestly started reading the book one Saturday at 11am and finished it that night by 11pm. I didn't want to put it down because everytime I decided to do something important like, bathe or eat, there was another loop that I had to ride. I felt like I was able to enjoy a world of fashion, food and culture that I'm not often exposed to or can't always afford to experience all from the confines of my home. I felt like traveling to all the places mentioned, sipping from a few of those wine glasses and I actually wanted to be friends with the hero. Most of all it made me want to pursue those little things that I don't think are such a "big deal," or probably "won't turn into anything," this book took me on a mini vacation that I never expected to go on. Even sweeter, there are moments that made me melt. LOVED IT!!