Are “It” bags over? The phenomenon as we know it materialized in the late ‘90s and 2000s, during the golden age of tabloids and Sex and the City—before (believe it or not) social media came and changed everything.
The first time I felt an emotional connection to a bag was back in 2005, when I was a fashion-loving high school senior headed to New York University. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were famously enrolled at the school then, and I religiously studied the magazines featuring countless photos of the twins swaddled in bohemian layers, clutching their Venti Starbucks cup in one hand and a giant Balenciaga motorcycle bag in the other. “Chicest backpack ever,” I thought. I was convinced possessing that bag would validate me as a person.
Kate Bosworth carrying the Chloé Paddington bag.
Splash News
I wasn’t alone. Another quintessential “It” bag making the rounds at the time was the Chloé Paddington. Thanks to editorial hyping and strategic gifting to oft-photographed celebrities like Sienna Miller and Kate Bosworth, all 8,000 of the Paddington bags produced for its debut spring 2005 collection sold out before they hit the stores.
This exclusivity fueled demand. Other sought-after styles included: the Fendi baguette (debuted 1997, famously carried by Sarah Jessica Parker on SATC); the Luella Gisele (debuted 2002) the Marc Jacobs Stam (debuted 2005); the Alexander Wang Rocco (debuted 2009); and the Mulberry Alexa bag (debuted 2009, named after Alexa Chung).
Sarah Jessica Parker carrying the Fendi Baguette bag.
WireImage
During that era, it was difficult to keep up with all the bag crazes of-the-moment. Attitudes have since changed, and now it’s more about personal style and what works for your lifestyle than following a trend. Anything goes, really. Even former “It” bags thought to be dead. Case in point: Mary-Kate Olsen resurrected her old Balenciaga earlier this year. Ten years later, it looked equally cool (arguably better) with her more minimal, streamlined look than her previous boho aesthetic.
Mary -Kate Olsen carrying the Balenciaga Motorcycle bag in New York City.
Splash News
“Tastemakers were few and far between, so the few magazines and celebrities were our only influencers then,” says Tina Craig, who launched her blog Bag Snob over ten years ago. “Now social media has democratized things. Neither one person nor one publication can dictate what bag we should be carrying. It’s more of a personal choice. There’s no more of that crash-and-burn mentality.”
Last year, Alessandro Michele revitalized Gucci’s popularity with an eccentric collection featuring covetable new accessories reminiscent of the brand’s monogram years. All of a sudden, my mother’s logo-stamped Gucci bag (which had been gathering dust in the closet since the ‘80s) looked cool again, so I got it refurbished. “We’re seeing incredible demand for all the old logo bags, all the interlocking G belts, all the horsebit loafers that might’ve felt too vintage just a year ago,” says Rati Sahi Levesque, chief merchant at the The RealReal.
On the flip side, some bags are immune to the fad. Levesque says there’s always a demand online for classic styles such as the Hermès Birkin and Kelly, the Chanel 2.55 quilted flap, and Louis Vuitton’s Speedy and Epi. Craig agrees. “I collect Hermès, Chanel, and diamonds,” she says. “Those things I will always keep. Usually I get rid of a trendy bag when I haven’t used it in a year, but I actually didn’t part with my Paddingtons until recently because I was like, ‘Will they ever come back?’.”
Victoria Beckham carrying the Hermès Birkin bag.
FilmMagic
Levesque points out that The RealReal still accepts former “It” bags. “There’s always a market for them, it’s just that the price decreases because the demand is not at its peak,” she says. For example, a Paddington bag originally priced over $1,500 now goes for around $295 on The RealReal. “There are collectors, or someone who is attached to the specific style for nostalgic reasons,” says Levesque. “I recently spoke with a customer who said, ‘Your site has stuff that I remember loving when I was younger but couldn’t afford’.”
Olivia Palermo shares what's in her bag:
Clearly, women’s shopping attitudes have changed since the golden era of “It” bags. One key difference: Millennials are reportedly putting more thought and deliberation into their handbag purchases, according to a study by the NPD Group. Both Craig and Levesque cited young women who might wear a head-to-toe trendy look from a fast fashion retailer like Zara or ASOS, but they’ll carry a designer handbag.
“The whole disposable ‘It’ bag thing is over. Now we buy something we truly love, that works for our lifestyle, and use it for years,” says Craig. “There’s always going to be another bag I crave or want. I stopped having such an emotional attachment when my 4-year-old son told me, ‘Mommy, your bags can’t hug you back.’”
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