This coming Tuesday, October 10, is our 5th Annual National Handbag Day, and you know what that means: we’re celebrating and preparing a lot of fun things for you! Today, that means taking a deep dive into the world of jaw-dropping celebrity handbag collections.
We love looking at celebrity bags because, believe it or not, they’re often pretty relatable. Most of the bagspotting we do is through paparazzi photos, which means that often we’re seeing what celebs are carrying in their personal time: to go to the mall, to grocery shop, to go to the dermatologist. Those are all activities very familiar to even the most non-famous among us, and the bags that pop up and the ways they’re styled are a great source of inspiration when plotting new purchases or just getting dressed in the morning.
Not all celebrity handbag collections are created equally, though: some celebs know what we want to see a lot more than others. Below, check out the collections we think are the best based on the photo research we’ve done in the past. (Some collections we know are insane, like Kimora Lee Simmons’s or Mariah Carey’s, got left off the list because they most avoid paparazzi attention. We still love them, though, as we do celebs who got honorable mentions in our book: Chrissy Teigen, Jessica Alba, Miranda Kerr and Céline Dion.)
10. Jada Pinkett Smith
I really, truly wish the paparazzi gave Jada a little more trouble (sorry, Jada), because from what we can see, her bag collection may in fact deserve to be a lot further up this list. As it is, we love all the personality that shines through in Jada’s picks, and she’s especially clear on her love for Hermès.
Check out The Many Bags of Jada Pinkett Smith
9. Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson is, perhaps more than any other person on this list, seemingly One Of Us. Outside of her own (booming) apparel business, she’s kept a pretty low Hollywood profile for the past half dozen years, which means that her bags are very likely to be her own fun purchases instead of designer favors. Another interesting thing about Jessica’s collection is that instead of loyalty to one or two designers or a particular color, like a lot of celebs, Jessica seems most loyal to a particular size: big. You can’t take the girl out of Texas, but you can’t take the Texas out of the girl.
Check out The Many Bags of Jessica Simpson, Part 1 and Part 2
8. Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez is one of the most glamorous women on the face of the planet, and her selection of handbags reflects that. Also, paging through her photos is also worth it just to see how meticulously put together she always is, even if you weren’t a bag person. (But you are, so the exotic Birkins might be a better sell.)
Check out The Many Bags of Jennifer Lopez, Part 1 and Part 2
7. Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is the fashion girl’s fashion girl, which is why she was so thoroughly convincing as Carrie Bradshaw. In real life, though, SJP appears to be at least a obsessed with bags as she is with shoes, and because of her longtime relationships with plenty of designers, she carries tons of special seasonal pieces, limited editions and indie designers alike.
Check out The Many Bags of Sarah Jessica Parker, Part 1 and Part 2
6. Hilary Duff
It honestly wouldn’t surprise me to find out Hilary Duff creeps on our Chanel subforum over at tPF: that’s how much she seems to love Chanel bags. We can’t blame her. What we can do is celebrate her.
Check out The Many Bags of Hilary Duff, Part 1 and Part 2
5. Kris Jenner
Going into compiling this list, I assumed Kim would be the Kardashian-Jenner to make the cut, but in the past couple years, she’s almost entirely stopped carrying handbags in public. That happens to a lot of people who eventually reach a level of untenable superfame that means they’re constantly surrounded by security and fans; after all, in those situations, they don’t need to carry anything unless they absolutely want to. So instead, I found myself most impressed by mama Kris’s collection. She clearly loves handbags, and the more special, exotic and hard-to-get bags she can get her hands on, the better. She’s due for a Part 2.
Check out The Many Bags of Kris Jenner
4. Reese Witherspoon
For someone with a very preppy personal style, Reese Witherspoon does an inspiring job making a range of bags work for her. From her collection, my sense is that she tends to evaluate bags on each design’s specific merits instead of assuming a whole brand is or isn’t for her based on its goth, glam, or otherwise non-preppy aesthetic. That makes for a pleasantly variable collection, as well as one that includes a ton of color. (Especially pink.)
Check out The Many Bags of Reese Witherspoon, Part 1 and Part 2
3. Rihanna
Right now, in The Year of Our Lord 2017, Rihanna is unquestionably the ultimate fashion celebrity. She’s been near the top for years because of her uncanny ability to convincingly pull off even the most difficult and avant-garde of designer pieces. That includes bags—she’s one of relatively few celeb to embrace mainstream and odd designer bags alike.
Check out The Many Bags of Rihanna, Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3
2. Nicky Hilton
As with Jessica Simpson, I get the distinct feeling that Nicky Hilton is One Of Us. I don’t get the impression that Nicky is the kind of celeb who can get shipments of free stuff from virtually any brand in the world (think Rihanna), but rather that she simply has a very developed sense of personal style and intense personal interest in fashion, which means her collection is wide-ranging and often involves her bringing old favorite bags out the back of her closet to use again. (We caught her carrying a Chloé Paddington, like, last year!)
Check out The many Bags of Nicky Hilton, Part 1 and Part 2
1. Victoria Beckham
Victoria Beckham’s collection may not be the one we’ve documented most extensively, but listen: we all have heard the legend of her accessories closet. She’s also the only celebrity outside the Olsen Twins to be so trusted for her exemplary taste in leather goods that people will pay four figures for bags from her own line, which is, by all accounts, doing quite well. If you have Hermès dreams, you’ll want to step into Vicky B’s world.
Check out The Many Bags of Victoria Beckham
