As an admirer and passionate collector of bags, I feel like it’s my mission to demystify trends and viral styles that take over social media by storm. I’m thinking of the Uniqlo round shoulder bag, the Gucci Jackie or Balenciaga’s Le City – all of which I have previously acquired with the purpose of trying to figure out what makes them so popular. Sometimes, it’s their affordable price point or simplicity of design that makes them widely appealing. Or it just might be that the right celebs and influencers flaunt a bag enough so that some buzz catches wind. Either way, what follows is usually quite prescriptive. Like in the case of Labubus (seriously, where are they now?) – mania ensues, products widely sell out, and their resale price suddenly skyrockets.
So, I thought, what about the bags you might not see everywhere? Instead of buzzy moments and celeb endorsement, I decided to dig a bit deeper and try out seven shoulder bags you might not have heard of yet. All with the goal of proving to myself – and everyone out there – that a great bag doesn’t always have to come with an accompanying viral moment. Sometimes, they are just out there waiting for you to pick them up.
The rules? I gave myself a week, with each day having a dedicated shoulder bag I had to carry with me to any/all outings. I tried to assign the bags to each day in a way that corresponded to what was going on, in order to maximise their success rate. For the purpose of this road-testing experience, I wanted to specifically focus on shoulder bags that can work from day to night, and can hold all of my necessities, regardless of my destination for the day. The biggest challenge? Spending 15-20 mins at the end of each day clearing out the bag and shoving all of its contents into a new one, dirty tissues included. Here’s what I learned after a week of road-testing seven high street and designer shoulder bags.