Just in time for throwback Thursday, Tracee Ellis Ross took to Instagram yesterday to share some old polaroids of herself from back in the day. In addition to seeing evidence of how the chic fashionista has always been rocking coveted brands from head-to-toe, the star also let us in on the fact that in one instance, one of the designer labels she donned wasn’t the real thing.
“2002 POLAROIDS,” Ross recounted of the photos at the beginning of her caption. Describing the first, where she is seen holding the “fake” Birkin, the actress detailed the whole outfit by saying, “1. for the @entertainmenttonight Emmy party, I wore @pegahanvarian with a vintage @judithleiberny belt (that I still have), and that is the only birkin I’ve owned and it is a fake 😂 . One time I packed it for a trip and when I opened the suitcase, the little latch for the lock broke off. So I crazy glued it back on 😂😂😂 .”
Describing the second photo shared in the post, she added, “2. head to toe @missoni for the @soultrain Music Awards and those skinny little legs were mine. I still have the legs (you know I keep everything) but they do not quite look the same 🙃 😒 .”
Despite already achieving a level of celebrity and being on Girlfriends at that time, it’s crazy to think that even Ross couldn’t get her hands on a Hermès Birkin bag at one point. As per the details of her story, going as far as to glue the latch of the bag back on just so she could still continue to rock a counterfeit Birkin that she knew wasn’t authentic really goes to show how much of a status symbol Hermès’ iconic bags have always been.
Even though they’re still exclusively distributed and extremely hard to get one’s hands on, especially if you’re not able to afford the hefty price tag that comes with the bag’s quality, last year Birkins still seemed to be more mainstream than ever.
With Ross making light of the fact that she rocked a fake designer bag back in the day, it shines as a funny little reminder that sometimes even the best of us are willing to do what it takes to make sure we’re spotted with the most sought after styles, even if they’re a little off-brand!