Jane Birkin's original Birkin bag sells for US$ 10 mil. at Paris auction

An original Hermès Birkin bag, designed in 1984 for Jane Birkin, sold at Sotheby's Paris on Thursday for approximately 10 million U.S. dollars, setting a new record as the most expensive handbag ever auctioned.

The starting price was slightly over 1 million dollars, with a Japanese collector winning the bid over the phone.

The leather handbag, created after Birkin famously sketched it on an airplane sick bag, bears her initials "J.B." and a fixed shoulder strap, unlike commercially sold models.

Worn by Birkin for nearly nine years, the bag was originally auctioned in 1994 to benefit HIV/AIDS charities and subsequently sold in 2000.