FLOAT 100 · Handbags · No. 24
Hermes Bolide 27
Hermes built it in 1923 to ride in the trunk of a car and gave it the first zipper ever sewn into a handbag; a century later the small, domed Bolide 27 is the house's quiet everyday classic.
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- Maker
- Hermes
- By price in handbags
- 33 of 100
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- Hermes, Paris
- First made
- 1923, as le sac pour l'auto, the bag for the car
- Claim to fame
- Widely recognized as the first handbag closed with a zipper
- Original sizes
- 27, 31, 35 and 45 cm; the newer Bolide 1923 line runs Mini, 25 and 30
- This configuration
- Bolide 27 in Epsom calfskin, color Gold (a golden brown), palladium hardware
- Size
- About 10.5 in long, 7 in high and 4 in deep on a 2021 example
- Original vs. Bolide 1923
- The original has an oval patch for a monogram and a seam across the body; the 1923 line has neither
- Comes with
- Removable shoulder strap, plus lock and keys on every size but the Mini
- Quota bag?
- No; a 2023 guide said boutiques sell it without Birkin and Kelly style restrictions
- Tracked bag's last listed price
- $6,550 asked for a 2021 Gold Epsom Bolide 27, shown sold out on October 1, 2026
A bag for the trunk of a car
The Bolide began as luggage for motorists. During World War I, Emile-Maurice Hermes, grandson of the founder Thierry Hermes, traveled to North America. One account dates the trip to 1916 and says he met Henry Ford, toured a few dozen automobile factories and found a sliding fastener on the cloth top of a car in Canada. He came home convinced the device could close leather goods, hand luggage and suitcases.
In 1923 the house introduced a carryall with a zippered opening in place of the usual metal clasps. It was called le sac pour l'auto, the bag for the car. Its curved, trapezoid-like shape let it sit in the rounded trunks of the cars of the day, and the zipper kept jewelry and other valuables in place at speed. Hermes still describes the bag as designed in 1923 to fit easily into the rounded trunks of cars.
The bag was later renamed the Bolide. Most guides say the word is a 16th-century term for a meteor or comet, chosen as a nod to the booming sports-car industry; one guide translates it simply as 'racing car.' Either way, the name was about speed.
Emile-Maurice Hermes and the 'fermeture Hermes'
Hermes was founded in Paris in 1837 as a harness and saddle maker. In 1880 Charles-Emile Hermes moved it to 24 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honore, still its headquarters, and his sons Adolphe and Emile-Maurice later worked alongside him. In 1919 Emile-Maurice bought out his brother and became sole proprietor, and he extended the business into travel goods, sports, automobiles, jewelry and fashion. He summed up the house as 'leather, sport, and a tradition of refined elegance.'
The zipper was his bet, though sources describe the legal side differently. One says he came back from America with a two-year patent; another says Hermes patented the zipper for leather goods in 1923; a reference account says he was granted exclusive rights to use it for leather goods and clothing. In France the device became known as the fermeture Hermes, the Hermes fastener. In 1918 the house put one on a leather golf jacket made for Edward, Prince of Wales.
The fastener itself was American. Gideon Sundback's 'Separable Fastener' patent was issued in 1917, and in 1923, the Bolide's own year, the B. F. Goodrich Company used the device on a new line of rubber galoshes and called it the zipper, the name that stuck. Its chief early uses were boots and tobacco pouches. A handbag that opened and closed with one pull was a genuine novelty.
1923: the motoring decade
The year the Bolide appeared, motoring was becoming a spectacle. The first 24 Hours of Le Mans was run on May 26, 1923, and won by Andre Lagache and Rene Leonard. Hermes served the same appetite with more than one product: an account of the period lists trunks made to fit on the backs of Bugattis, leather wallets for road maps, driving gloves and silk racing scarves, and says the Bolide was soon carried on trips by car, train and ocean liner.
Elsewhere that year, the first issue of Time magazine appeared on March 3. Calvin Coolidge became president on August 2 after Warren G. Harding died in San Francisco. The Great Kanto earthquake devastated Tokyo and Yokohama on September 1, killing more than 100,000 people. Roy and Walt Disney founded the Disney Brothers Studio on October 16, and in Munich the Beer Hall Putsch failed in November.
From travel bag to handbag
The Bolide was first a traveler's bag, and the 45 cm size is still pitched for weekend trips. According to one account, Hermes introduced it in handbag size in 1982, with a removable leather shoulder strap and a padlock with its clochette. A green Epsom Bolide 27 that an auction catalog dates to 1993 shows the 27 cm size was in the range by the early 1990s.
The original line comes in four sizes: 27, 31, 35 and the travel-size 45. A newer line, the Bolide 1923, named for the year of the first bag, comes as a Mini, a 25 and a 30. In a 2018 forum thread a collector reported that a sales associate called the 31 the bestseller but said the 27 had recently been trending. Owners disagree about the small size: one wrote that an Epsom 27 suited their daily needs and worked for business and evening events, while another gave up both a 27 and a Bolide 1923 because they held too little and it was hard to get an arm through the handles.
Hermes has used the shape for playful variations. The limited Bolide 25 Picnic of 2012 combined Barenia leather and woven rattan; the Bolide Secret of 2015 added a zippered compartment underneath; the Bolide Smile of 2020 traded the oval patch for a gold 'Eye of Cleopatra' with lizard inlay. The Bolide on Wheels, with tiny working wheels, appeared in 2022 to mark the reopening of the Madison Avenue flagship in New York and retailed for $15,900. Around the bag's 100th year Hermes added the Bolide 25 en Desordre in 2023 and the sticker-printed Bolide 1923 Mini Pique-Colle in 2024.
Celebrities carry it without fuss. Jennifer Lopez paired a large white Bolide with her second wedding dress at her Las Vegas wedding in 2022.
How to identify a Bolide 27
The Bolide is a dome with two rolled top handles and a zipper that arcs almost from side to side. The original model, which includes the 27, has an oval patch on the front meant for a monogram and a seam running about three-quarters of the way up the body. The Bolide 1923 drops both the patch and the seam, and one collector described its top as a little less curved. A bag with the patch that measures about 27 cm across is a Bolide 27, not a Bolide 1923-25.
Measurements vary with the person holding the ruler. A 2021 example was listed at 10.5 inches long, 7 inches high and 4 inches deep, with a 4.25-inch handle drop and an 18-inch strap drop. A 1993 example was cataloged at about 10 inches long and 8 inches high with a 3.5-inch depth, a 4-inch handle drop and a 17-inch strap drop, with a green lambskin lining and one interior slip pocket.
Two styles exist. The Rigide is upright and structured; the Mou is soft and slouchy. Epsom, the leather of the bag tracked here, is an embossed calfskin with a fine cross-hatched grain. It is lighter than Clemence, holds its shape and resists scratches and water, which is why it gives the Rigide its crisp outline. Gold is the Hermes name for a golden brown, and palladium is a silver-toned hardware finish that resists tarnish. Most Bolides come with the house lock and keys; the Mini does not.
The bag outside the quota
The Bolide has never been a waiting-list bag. A 2023 guide said it was not treated as a quota bag and could be bought in boutiques and sometimes online, though it sold out quickly. After the February 2023 US price increase, that guide listed the Bolide 1923-25 in Epsom at $6,850 and the Mini Bolide in Epsom at $5,600.
On the secondary market, age and condition drive the price. The tracked configuration, a 2021 Gold Epsom Bolide 27 with palladium hardware in very good condition, was last listed at $6,550 and shown as sold out on October 1, 2026. That day a 2016 Rose Jaipur Epsom Bolide 27 with palladium hardware was offered at $4,400, and a vintage Bolide 27 in Courchevel leather at $5,950. At auction in Chicago on July 22, 2026, a 1993 green Epsom Bolide 27 in fair to good condition sold for $1,920 including premium, under its $2,000 to $3,000 estimate.
Special editions behave differently. A Bolide 1923 Smile 30 in black Tadelakt leather and shiny Niloticus lizard sold for $22,680 at auction in 2021, and a Bleu Saphir Epsom Bolide on Wheels sold for $20,320 in December 2023, above its $15,900 retail. Hermes does not publish production numbers for any Bolide size.
The numbers
- Dimensions
- About 10.5 x 7 x 4 in (length x height x depth) on a 2021 example
- Handle and strap drop
- 4.25 in handle drop; 18 in shoulder strap drop (2021 example)
- Material
- Epsom, an embossed calfskin with a fine cross-hatched grain
- Color
- Gold, a golden brown
- Hardware
- Palladium-plated, with lock and keys
- Closure
- Top zipper with rolled leather handles and removable strap
- Production quantity
- Not published by Hermes
Timeline
Thierry Hermes founds the house in Paris as a harness and saddle maker.
Charles-Emile Hermes moves the business to 24 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honore.
Emile-Maurice Hermes tours North America and brings back the zipper, by one account.
Gideon Sundback's 'Separable Fastener' patent is issued.
Hermes makes a zippered leather golf jacket for Edward, Prince of Wales.
Emile-Maurice buys out his brother and becomes sole proprietor of Hermes.
Hermes introduces le sac pour l'auto, the first handbag with a zipper, later renamed the Bolide.
The Bolide is offered in handbag size with a removable strap and padlock, by one account.
A green Epsom Bolide 27 later sold at auction in Chicago is dated to this year.
The Mini Bolide arrives with a removable shoulder strap.
The limited Bolide 25 Picnic pairs Barenia leather with woven rattan.
The Bolide Secret adds a zippered lower compartment.
The Bolide 1923 Smile replaces the oval patch with an 'Eye of Cleopatra.'
The Gold Epsom Bolide 27 with palladium hardware tracked here is made.
The Bolide on Wheels marks the reopening of the Madison Avenue flagship, at $15,900 retail.
The Bolide turns 100; Hermes adds the Bolide 25 en Desordre.
A Bleu Saphir Epsom Bolide on Wheels sells for $20,320 at auction.
The Bolide 1923 Mini Pique-Colle marks the centenary with printed travel stickers.
A 1993 green Epsom Bolide 27 sells for $1,920 at auction in Chicago.
The tracked 2021 Gold Epsom Bolide 27 is shown sold out at a last listed $6,550.
The world in 1923
The first issue of Time magazine is published.
The first 24 Hours of Le Mans is run, won by Andre Lagache and Rene Leonard.
Calvin Coolidge becomes US president on the death of Warren G. Harding.
The Great Kanto earthquake devastates Tokyo and Yokohama, killing more than 100,000 people.
Roy and Walt Disney found the Disney Brothers Studio.
The Beer Hall Putsch in Munich begins; it is crushed the next day.
B. F. Goodrich puts the hookless fastener on galoshes and calls it the zipper.
Price record
| Date | Price | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $22,680 | Sold at auctionBolide 1923 Smile 30 in black Tadelakt leather and shiny Niloticus lizard; a special edition, not a Bolide 27. |
| Dec 2023 | $20,320 | Sold at auctionBleu Saphir Epsom Bolide on Wheels with palladium hardware; retail was $15,900. |
| Jul 22, 2026 | $1,920 | Sold at auction1993 green Epsom Bolide 27, gold-plated hardware, fair to good condition, at auction in Chicago; estimate $2,000-$3,000; includes premium. |
| Oct 1, 2026 | $6,550 | Asking price, not a sale2021 Gold Epsom Bolide 27, palladium hardware, very good condition; last listed price, shown sold out. |
| Oct 1, 2026 | $4,400 | Asking price, not a sale2016 Rose Jaipur Epsom Bolide 27, palladium hardware. |
| Oct 1, 2026 | $5,950 | Asking price, not a saleVintage Bolide 27 in Courchevel leather, color Ultraviolet. |
This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.
By reference price, Hermes Bolide 27 is number 33 of 100 in the handbags entries of the FLOAT 100. 19 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (24 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.
Did you know
- The Bolide is widely recognized as the first handbag ever made with a zipper.
- In France the zipper was once called the fermeture Hermes, the Hermes fastener.
- The word zipper dates from 1923, the Bolide's own year, when B. F. Goodrich used it for a line of galoshes.
- Its curved shape was meant to fit the rounded trunks of 1920s cars.
- The oval patch on the front of the original Bolide is there for a monogram.
- Hermes made a Bolide with working wheels in 2022, a nod to its travel roots.
- Hermes put a zipper on a leather golf jacket for the Prince of Wales in 1918, five years before the Bolide.
How this page is made
- The figure
- One reference price, shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
- Realized or not
- A realized price is a completed sale. An asking price, an estimate and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
- The story
- Researched from published records and checked fact by fact. Updated Oct 1, 2026.
- Archive
- Oct 5, 2026