When I was pulling celebrity images for our weekly roundup last week, I, like some of you, was struck by the image of Sharon Osbourne with her Vintage Lady Dior bag. It hit me that the Lady Dior bag just may be one of the, if not the, most timeless bags of modern handbag history. Its classic shape may make it an ageless icon, but it is sneakily versatile, working well for nearly any age or style aesthetic. It’s that versatility that is no easy feat for a handbag, and it’s why the Lady Dior can arguably be considered the bag of our time.
The Lady Dior was given its name in 1995, when it was carried by the late, great style icon Lady Diana, Princess of Wales. And from that moment, almost 3 full decades ago, it cemented itself as an icon, synonymous with the House of Dior, worn by some of the world’s most stylish celebrities and influential people. And while other It-Bags of our time have come, gone, and come back, the Lady Dior has remained a mainstay for the House of Dior, reimagined season after season in countless iterations.
The bag itself is incredibly clean and sleek in its design, with strong architectural lines that allow the bag’s Cannage motif to take center stage. Simple, yet unmistakably Dior, as with other House icons, the Lady Dior pays homage to House elements. The bag’s charms are an ode to the lucky charms Christian Dior always kept with him, and the Cannage leather can be traced back to the Napoleon III seats the House used to set up for guests at fashion shows.
But what remains so striking about this bag is how it is truly for everyone. Few bags boast the versatility of the Lady Dior, having been carried by royalty, celebrities, fashion’s most elite, and your average handbag lover and worn with virtually every style aesthetic from the dressiest of outfits to the most casual. That makes this one of the, if not the, most timeless bags of modern handbag history. Do you agree?
