by SK Golden

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of The Socialite’s Guide to Death and Dating and a link to purchase the book from Amazon.

My sleuth, Evelyn Murphy, has always loved fashion. I can’t say the same for myself. I spent most of my preteen and teenage years stealing clothes from my brother’s closet and shopping in the men’s section at clothing stores, preferring only to wear baggy clothes and dark colors and really, to do whatever I could to bring as little attention to myself as possible. This is hard to do as a redhead with freckles and an anxiety disorder. Evelyn also has anxiety. Living in her father’s hotel in 1958 Manhattan, she manages her anxiety by being particular about what she wears as she, you know, goes about her day solving murders that happen on her property.

I journal to manage mine, but hey, to each their own.

My love of fashion is a new phenomenon and started slowly with purses. But we aren’t going to talk about my love of handbags. No, we are going to talk about how hard it is to buy a darn Birkin.

Birkin bags range between five and six figures, and you have to be invited to purchase them. That means you have to start going into Hermes stores and buying like, I don’t even know how many scarves and belts (because I’ve never been in an Hermes store) before a sales associate will even ask you if you want to purchase one of their bags. (Oh My God, I wish I had that much money to spend on a purse, but how could you ever leave the house without fear of being robbed? Also, the “style” now is to stuff them full and not baby them, and how do you spend that much money on a bag and not baby it?? I do not understand rich people, I swear.) They will then offer you a Birkin of their choosing. You don’t even get a say in the color or the design. You buy it or you don’t, and if you don’t, you don’t know how long it will be until you are invited to buy another.

There is an entire genre of YouTube videos devoted to the pursuit of being invited to buy a Birkin, for goodness’ sake.

I created a brand inspired by Hermes and their Birkin for The Socialite’s Guide to Death and Dating. While Hermes has been around since the late 1800s, and their purses were popular in the 1950s – Grace Kelly used hers so much the style was named the Kelly bag and is still sold today – Birkin bags weren’t around until the 1980s. Beyond the timing issue, I wanted a say in the exact design and look of the bag. I wanted it to be something my main character, Evelyn, would covet. That she’d be aware of it, that she would know how hard it was to get, and that her not getting one while someone else did would be a significant clue.

Mostly, I wanted an Elle Woods-esque (from Legally Blonde) moment where she figures out a clue because of something fashion-related.

To enter to win a copy of The Socialite’s Guide to Death and Dating, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “dating” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen February 17, 2024. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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Sarah K Golden is the author of the cozy mystery The Socialite’s Guide to Murder. Born and raised in the Florida Keys, she married a commercial fisherman. The two of them still live on the islands with their five kids (one boy, four girls — including identical twins!), two cats, and a corgi named Goku. She graduated from Saint Leo University with a bachelor’s degree in Human Services and Administration and has put it to good use approximately zero times. She’s worked as a bank teller, a pharmacy technician, and an executive assistant at her father’s church. Sarah is delighted to be doing none of those things now. Learn more at www.skgoldenwrites.com.

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