Answer
The Hermes Kelly 28 measures about 28 cm wide, 22 cm high, and 12 cm deep. A bag sold as a Kelly 28 that misses those numbers by more than a few millimeters is not a Kelly 28. Most fakes fail on stitch type, stamp depth, and hardware weight before size.
Dimensions and shape
The Kelly 28 comes in two builds. Sellier has rigid sides and outside stitching. Retourne has soft sides and inside stitching. The Sellier base runs narrower. A tape measure settles most disputes. Measure base width, center height, and gusset depth.
Fakes get scaled from photos. The flap then sits high or low on the front panel. The turnlock plate lands off center. The handle opening is too narrow for a hand.
Stitch type
Hermes uses saddle stitch. One waxed linen thread passes through two needles. Each stitch locks by hand. The result is a slant in the thread and an identical look on both faces of the leather. Machine lockstitch is flat on top and looped underneath. That difference shows on the flap edge, the sangles, and the handle base.
Hardware
Hardware is brass with gold or palladium plating. The turnlock, called the touret, opens with a firm quarter turn. Plated brass has weight in the hand. Fakes use zinc alloy. Zinc alloy is lighter, and the plating pits within months. The padlock and its keys carry matching numbers.
Stamps
HERMES PARIS is heat stamped into the leather on the front of the bag. Heat leaves a clean edge and no ink halo. A date stamp with a letter inside a shape sits inside, next to the craftsman stamp. Stamps in the wrong position, or stamps with ink bleed, mark a fake.
Leather is Togo, Epsom, Swift, Chevre, or Taurillon. Grain depth varies by tannage. A uniform plastic grain across the whole panel is a sign of coated split leather.
Price and sales channel
A new Kelly 28 from a Hermes boutique costs about $11,000 to $13,000 USD. The figure moves with leather, hardware, and year. Resale prices run higher. Hermes does not sell handbags through wholesale accounts. A listing at $300 to $1,500 is a replica, and the seller knows it.
Legal note
US law bars import of goods that carry a counterfeit trademark. Customs and Border Protection can seize and destroy those shipments. Federal penalties target importation and trafficking.
What a replica cannot copy
Hand saddle stitch on a Kelly takes a craftsman several hours per bag. Machines cut that to minutes. The stitch line is the fastest check, and it needs no tools. Count stitches along 25 mm of the flap. Compare the top face against the underside. Identical faces mean hand work. A flat top with loops underneath means a machine.
Unknowns
Date stamp letter cycles change and Hermes does not publish the key. Treat any single stamp as one signal, not proof. Weight figures for a loaded Kelly 28 vary by leather and hardware, so no official number exists.