So You Want a ‘Walmart Birkin’? Good Luck

It did not. I was forced to walk through the airport carrying my laptop and my coat over one arm as the bag sat on top of my carry-on. As my arm started to ache and the Wirkin bounced disconcertingly on my suitcase, threatening to skid off and fling my belongings all over the airport floor, I fumed to myself. I hate this thing, I thought, over and over.

The size issue was only the first of many plagues this bag would hoist upon me. Think of all the ways a purse is supposed to be used. Now imagine a purse that did none of them correctly.

The bag didn’t fit on my shoulder, forcing me to carry its (very small handles) in my hand. If I used its shoulder strap, it hung open precariously, threatening to spill its contents if I jostled ever so slightly. The shoulder strap also didn’t stay in one place, forcing me to readjust it constantly. If I put it down, it slumped over like a deflated balloon.

The latching system on the front was confusingly complex. I tried to tighten the straps so the bag wouldn’t hang open, but it kept falling apart if touched by even a slight breeze. This meant that inside the Wirkin, my belongings were suspended in a state of terror, always at the cusp of falling out and leaving a trail of lip gloss and tampons in my wake. The leather felt cheap, the hardware unimpressive. And maybe worst of all, I don’t think that anyone who saw it would have thought it was real.

By the afternoon of my first full day in New Orleans, I started fantasizing about a large tote bag that I could just throw all my stuff in and call it a day. I soon ditched the bag entirely, squishing it into my carry-on like a misbehaving child being put into time-out. To be honest, I considered leaving it in the hotel room and skipping away, thankful to never see it again.

My annoyance did lead me to one question, though—is the real version of the bag this difficult to maneuver? Or are dupes just duds? Was my TikTok shop version a dupe of a dupe, a knock-off attempting to ride the coattails of the viral product?

According to Charles Gross, a fashion content creator who went viral in 2022 for his expertise on the bag, the front latching system that frustrated me to no end seems to be pretty similar to the real deal. As he explained in a 2023 video, a Birkin can be latched several different ways, including completely open, locked in the front, or halfway closed. The major difference seems to be that a real Birkin stands up when unlatched, making it a lot easier to grab things from and presumably less frustrating.

I was also surprised to learn the Birkin 35, the original size of the bag, also has a smaller handle. This means it must be carried in your hand (some people say they can put it on their shoulder, but it’s tight). You could add a shoulder strap to the Birkin, something one YouTuber called ”life-changing,” and according to her video, that strap addition seems to be a lot better than the one I received.