The Everything Bag Is Back: When Did Carrying Your Entire Life Become Chic?
There was a period in fashion when carrying a bag large enough to hold anything more than a lipstick and your phone felt almost embarrassingly practical. The micro bag had taken over. Jacquemus made handbags so tiny they became an internet phenomenon, evening bags escaped the evening, and somehow, we all collectively agreed that fitting absolutely nothing inside your handbag was the height of chic. Your keys? Coat pocket. Your charger? Someone else will have one. And if you needed a laptop, water bottle or, heaven forbid, an umbrella, you were apparently expected to carry another bag entirely.
But fashion, as it always does, has swung in the opposite direction. The big bag is back. And this time, it is not neat, structured or particularly precious. It is oversized, slouchy and often slightly overfilled. It sits under your arm or hangs heavily from your shoulder, carrying everything you could possibly need for the day and probably several things you don't. It is, quite simply, the everything bag. And suddenly, carrying your entire life around with you looks incredibly chic.
Fashion's obsession with tiny bags was always slightly ridiculous, which was also part of their charm. There was something deliciously impractical about a bag that could barely accommodate an AirPods case. It suggested a life in which you simply didn't need to carry anything. For a while, that was aspirational. But our wardrobes have been moving towards something different. Fashion is still interested in fantasy, of course, but there has been a noticeable appetite for clothes and accessories that actually work in real life. The modern wardrobe has become increasingly occupied by pieces that can move between different parts of the day. Tailoring is softer. Trainers are worn with almost everything. Ballet flats and loafers have become everyday staples. The best outfits often look as though they have been put together in five minutes, even when we know they probably haven't. Against that backdrop, a handbag that can actually hold your belongings suddenly makes perfect sense. And designers have certainly embraced scale again. Oversized totes, enormous shoulder bags, relaxed suede shoppers and capacious leather carryalls have steadily replaced the miniature proportions that dominated accessories for so long. The bag is no longer an accessory that merely finishes the outfit. It is part of the silhouette.
The Appeal of the Everything Bag
There is something wonderfully liberating about a bag you don't have to organise your life around. The everything bag holds your phone, wallet, sunglasses, headphones and keys, obviously. But it also holds the laptop, charger, notebook, make-up bag, perfume, water bottle and emergency cardigan. There may be receipts from three weeks ago buried somewhere at the bottom. There is probably a lip liner you thought you had lost. Perhaps an old boarding pass. Definitely several loose hair ties. And somehow, that is part of its appeal. Because the big bag has returned at exactly the same time fashion seems to be relaxing its obsession with perfection. For the past few years, we have been surrounded by highly curated versions of womanhood. Perfectly slicked buns. Perfectly organised wardrobes. Perfect morning routines. Perfectly arranged handbags where every object seems to have its own little compartment. The everything bag belongs to a slightly different woman. She might be wearing a beautifully cut coat, great sunglasses and the perfect pair of trousers, but open her handbag and you will discover the contents of an entire day. She is put together, but not pristine. And perhaps that is exactly why she feels so modern.
There is an interesting contradiction happening in fashion right now. Looking polished is still desirable but looking as though you have tried incredibly hard to achieve that polish is less so. The coolest outfits increasingly contain something slightly undone. A shirt is half tucked. A jumper is thrown over the shoulders. Hair isn't perfectly styled. Jewellery is layered rather than meticulously matched. An expensive leather bag is stuffed until the zip would have no hope of closing. The everything bag fits perfectly into this new version of elegance. It says: I have places to be. There is something strangely glamorous about that. The tiny bag suggested you had nowhere to be except dinner. The everything bag suggests you have already been to a meeting, stopped for coffee, answered 14 emails, bought something you didn't need, changed your shoes and are now on your way to drinks. It is less about appearing effortless and more about looking like you have a life. Perhaps the ultimate luxury is no longer pretending you don't need anything. It is having one beautiful bag capable of carrying everything you do.
A Bag Should Look Better Lived In
There is also something refreshing about the return of bags that are allowed to look used. For years, certain handbags have been treated almost like museum pieces. They remain carefully stuffed when they are not being worn, protected from rain, placed inside dust bags and positioned delicately on restaurant chairs. The new everything bag feels different. Particularly when it comes in soft leather or suede, a little wear can actually make it better. The shape relaxes. The leather softens. It begins to mould to the person carrying it. It becomes yours. There is something very appealing about a beautiful object that doesn't require constant protection. A bag should be able to survive a commute, an airport, a coffee shop floor and the occasional overenthusiastic packing attempt. Maybe we are entering the era of the anti-precious handbag. Not cheap. Not disposable. Quite the opposite. Something beautifully made that you use so much it develops a life of its own. That feels much more luxurious to me than owning something you're afraid to touch.
What's Actually Inside?
Of course, the return of the everything bag also brings back one of fashion's most enduring fascinations: what's inside it? There is a reason “what's in my bag?” content never really disappears. A handbag is strangely revealing. You can tell a lot about someone from the things they consider essential enough to carry around all day.
The minimalist has a cardholder, phone and one lip balm. The prepared-for-anything woman has plasters, painkillers, hand cream, a portable charger and snacks. The beauty obsessive is carrying four lip combinations that, to everybody else, appear to be exactly the same shade.
The working woman has a laptop, charger, notebook and approximately seven receipts she has promised herself she will expense. And then there are the objects that have absolutely no explanation for being there. One earring. A hotel key card. Three pens that don't work. A packet of almonds. A tangled necklace. A foreign coin from a holiday two years ago. The everything bag makes space for all of it. Perhaps that is why it feels more personal than the perfectly curated handbag. Its contents aren't aesthetic. They're evidence of an actual life.
The End of Impractical Chic?
I don't think the tiny bag will ever disappear completely. There will always be something irresistible about an evening bag that forces you to decide whether your phone or lipstick is more important. I personally still love it, for occasions. But the return of the everything bag feels like part of a bigger change in fashion.
Maybe we are becoming slightly less interested in looking perfect and slightly more interested in looking interesting. Perhaps the woman we want to dress like isn't the one whose handbag contains three beautifully arranged objects. Maybe it's the woman rushing down the street with an enormous leather bag over her shoulder, sunglasses on, headphones tangled somewhere inside it and no idea where her keys have gone. She may be carrying half her life with her. But somehow, she has never looked more put together.
