How to Identify Year of Release: Hermès Clothing
by HULA on Sep 02, 2020
Recommerce or reverse commerce -- the selling of previously owned, new or used products, is expected to overtake the traditional thrift and donation market by 2024 with a market share of $36 billion (Yes. With a B) As the numbers go up, more pre-loved items, including unique vintage pieces, are being circulated within the system. Conscious shoppers are faced with an unprecedented number of choices -- from brand new, to preloved and to vintage (call it a blessing or a curse). For those wanting to curate a one-of-a-kind and beyond trendy kind of wardrobe that doesn't break the bank, it could certainly get confusing to try to identify the "vintage-ness" of an item as many "ultra-luxury" brands have been around more than a century. Having housed a generous amount of vintage pieces from Hermès, Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, to Dior (and more!), we want to create an ongoing guide to include as many clothing labels across the years as we could identify to share some insight into roughly when a piece was released.
This week, we're focusing on a series of vintage Hermès clothing labels. Over the years, Hermès has had at least 13 different label designs for its clothing line. Each label design indicating a different era.
The late 1960s/ early 1970s
Perhaps one of the most elaborate logo label designs across the years at Hermès, this label incorporates the famous Horse-Drawn carriage along with its logo. The illustration is positioned in the middle of the rectangular label with a vertical line of text on both sides of the tag like pictured above. Its country of origin description should rest on the left side, vertically, of the label, whereas the "exclusif" text should rest on the other side. The number representing the size is stitched directly on top of the composition and care label.
The 1970s
Found on a purple suede trench coat released in around the 1970s, this Hermès clothing label is cut in a square with the top two corners stitched to the garment. Attached with a "MADE IN FRANCE" label perpendicularly. The HERMÈS PARIS text is distributed in two lines with HERMÈS on top of PARIS.
Similarly, a camel hair coat released at around the same time in the 1970s has an identical square label design (with its four corners stitched onto the garment) with the "MADE IN FRANCE" tag underneath parallelly.
At times, the country of origin tag could be bigger than the logo label itself. However, the country of origin tag should always be in caps.
The 1990s
The 90s or the Margiela era in Hermès has its own distinctive label like above. Instead of a square design, it is a smaller rectangular design with the HERMÈS PARIS text all in one line. Note that there is a small dot between HERMÈS and PARIS to separate the words. Again, the country of origin tag can also be seen stitched underneath the logo label parallelly or perpendicularly. |
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| Hermès | FR 36 | Hermès | Hermès | FR 38 |
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| Hermès | IT 36 | Hermès | FR 40 | Hermès | IT 36 |
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| Hermès | FR 40 | Hermès | FR 40 | Hermès | IT 36 |
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| Hermès | FR 42 | Hermès | FR 36 | Hermès | FR 36 |
