Once upon a time, in fashion circles and beyond, the bag you slung over your shoulder was the ultimate form of social stratification. Showing up to a party with a sequinned Fendi ‘Baguette’ tucked under your arm signalled Girl About Town, doing well enough to afford designer and, despite emphatic denials of such a thing, a closet Carrie wannabe. Doing your grocery shopping with a Louis Vuitton ‘Neverfull’ in tow indicated that you just got a promotion in your finance role, and you’re busy! Important! Need a bag to handle a life so, well, full! And
running errands with an Hermès ‘Birkin’ in the crook of your elbow? Oh, you had capital-M money.

Today though, while luxury handbags remain as hotly desired as ever, their purpose and meaning is shifting. Between the accessibility of designer secondhand, the prevalence of dupes and a housing crisis that has younger generations shelving their dreams of home ownership in favour of an instantly gratifying Prada ‘Re-Nylon’ shoulder bag, what you use to hold your phone and lipstick now says less about the tax bracket you’re in.

Your ski trip to Courchevel, however, says a lot. A couple of decades ago, the only people privy to the panoramic views from one’s luxe Lake Como villa were the friends invited around post-trip to patiently observe a slideshow. Now, via social media, those same friends (and cousins, co-workers and the girl you met on a night out in 2019) can experience your holiday in real time with you – today’s ultimate not-so-humble brag.

Watches, too, have evolved from pieces of practical purpose to instant class identifiers, especially among women. According to a study by Deloitte, the number of women who said they wouldn’t buy a watch has decreased from 17 per cent in 2023 to 12 per cent in 2024, with the vintage watch market increasingly appealing to female consumers. A mere flash of the wrist is now as much of a flex as the car you drive. Add to that the fact that quiet luxury succeeded yesteryear’s logomania – seeing us all trade flashy logo hoodies for nondescript cashmere and it’s no surprise that the It-bag of the moment is no longer the only bag worth coveting.

But what does it mean, then, if the It-bag no longer possesses (nor subsequently, bestows on you) the same cultural cachet it once did? Well, it means you now have the freedom to decide on a bag you actually like. Which, if you’re brutally honest, is probably not the most recognisable one, nor necessarily the one that Chloë Sevigny’s toting. Maybe while everyone was fawning over Loewe’s ‘Puzzle’ bag, you really preferred the ‘Pebble’. Perhaps you can finally do away with the neutral crossbody on a girls’ night and wear the feather-adorned one you know you could pull off. And if you truly think your Sandy Liang makeup pouch is too cute to stay hidden in your work tote, to hell with it! Carry it all on its own. Which is actually a thing. On TikTok, there’s no shortage of tutorials on how – with the simple addition of a crossbody chain and a little creative Wite-Out-ing (e.g. Prada B̶e̶a̶u̶t̶y̶) – you can transform a luxury makeup pouch into a chic evening clutch.

As fashion commentator Liana Satenstein says, “Maybe you’re in a more niche noughties zone, and you love logos and more flashy looks. Maybe you veer more classic. I have a Louis Vuitton ‘Multipli Cite’ that is monogrammed and loud, but I’ve been wearing it for over 10 years.” Because at the end of the day, who gets to decide what an It-bag is anyway?