“Wonder if this is finally the year “big bags are coming back soon” becomes true?” a reader commented on our seasonal roundup of the bag trends we spotted during fashion month fall 2023. Far from wrong, the statement got me thinking; can big bags ever be as big as they were in the 2000s and early 2010s (no pun intended)? Or, have our collective mindsets toward bags and the items we deem daily necessities shifted so drastically that massive daily hailers have become obsolete?
Go Big or Go Home?
Another reader brought up a second valid point that COVID greatly changed our perspectives, and where once carrying our entire lives in our bags felt like a must, these days, not so much. While yes, in the last few seasons, specifically since fashion returned to its traditional fashion calendar, big bags have had a pretty big presence on the runways, the move from mini to massive on the streets hasn’t really taken off.
The decision lies in our hands, in the hands of the consumer. Spending power is a real thing, and no matter how hard designers try to push a specific trend season after season, if shoppers continue to pass on big bags, they’ll never truly be big again. This year, designers like Loewe, Celine and Saint Laurent continue to push larger, roomier shapes. Ultimately, it often takes a few seasons for a trend to really pick up, and eventually, the trickle-down effect will bring it to the masses, and time will truly tell.
Can Big Bags Comeback Big?
I do not see a seismic shift toward the massive bags that once ruled. Still, I do see us moving away from the micro bags and unrealistically tiny carries that won’t even fit our most needed item – our cell phone – towards mid-size bags that are more practical. The ones that can take you from day to night but won’t weigh you down.
What do you think?
Big bags are great if you have to carry a lot, like I do. Otherwise… I don’t see the point of carrying a big bag. 🤷🏻♂️ Carry a bag that’s the right size according to what needs to be carried.
I think everyone scaled down to carrying the bare minimum in small bags kept close to our bodies when COVID hit and no one understood it wasn’t transmitted through touch. Now big totes seem unnecessary and cumbersome unless you are headed to work, the airport or out with your baby’s diapering products.
Micro bags are a NEVER for me. I need to at least fit my phone, lip balm, a tiny wallet/ card holder, keys, and a few other things would be nice (blotting papers, pen, mints…). I don’t need a giant bag either, even though I have a 2yo and an 8mo. Am I the only one who wants a medium sized bag? Remember those? Speedy 30 sized?
I’m not interested in a big bag. To be honest, I’m only really seeing the Neverful which is not unusual. Small and medium bags seem to still rule. I see the Lululemon Everywhere bag ALOT. I was at the mall just today, and I didn’t notice a large selection of big bags.
Well I work at a hospital and have a big bag. When I am not there I have my two kids out and about again I tend to need a fair size bag. Maybe when they r older I will have a bag just for me and it will be small but for now my big bag has been with me for years even though it’s not trendy and I do not care.
When just my husband and I go out to eat I do take a smaller bag.
Mary, I also work in a hospital and carry a huge bag! I have a specific bag that I take to work because it often gets thrown on the floor of our workroom or stuffed in a cubby. My daily hauler, outside of the hospital is also a big bag, mainly because I carry around a bible-sized paper planner, French wallet, and other odds and ends that I might not *need*, but kind of just *want* to have near me. 🙂 When my husband and I go to dinner, I also carry a smaller bag! So I think there is a place for both big bags AND small bags in ones collection.
I used to exclusively carry big bags when I worked in an office. There were items I’d need being there all day, but now that has changed and they’re seldom used. I’ve been willing myself to bring them back out but the weight and size and fuss just isn’t drawing me in. This has led me to toying with the idea of selling them. Not quite there yet though.
well Jeans took their time skinny jeans jeggings and all types of tight cigarette jeans lingered for years… so my hope is big bags do make it back ….. since i never stoped wearing mine and my every day bag is a 40 or 35 birkin I’m happy if it happens but if it does not then………….. all is well
I don’t like/follow trends, and I’ll only do whatever fits my lifestyle. And at the moment, a small-medium shoulder bag (my fav atm is Dior 30 Montaigne normal size) is perfect for me and I’m not changing that.
“I don’t like/follow trends”
Cut to Miranda holding the blue belts.
I vote for the medium size bag.
I need room to put some things in for day to day use but don’t need EVERYTHING . I also don’t need a tiny bag that carries only a few small things. Medium size is the win for me and my lifestyle.
I do carry a small bag when I go to dinner or looking around at flea markets, antique stores,etc..
I like to be trendy but I can do that without going super big or super small
I have two shelves of large bags…. I loved using them. Can’t wait wait to take them out again. I now carry a small bag but then can’t fit all my daily essentials if I’m gone more than a few hours. Bring them back! 👜
I’ve already downsized what I carry to the point that a big bag would literally be empty. They forced us to downsize our essentials to fit mini bags, now I’m not going back.
I use a LV Neverfull as my work/travel tote, along with a couple of other leather totes that I have; but I have fully embraced the small crossbody bag life. I want my bag to be light and I want my hands free. I’ve come to realize at 46 years old that I never needed 3/4ths of the crap I used to lug around. I’m also pretty loyal to my Lululemon Everywhere bag. It may not be the cutest, but it certainly is functional.
I have lots of designer totes, unfortunately they rarely get used unless I’m traveling.
It’s not just covid; we can do more with less now, space-wise. My phone has everything I need, in some states even my official driver’s license. So no, I don’t think we’ll ever see small bags completely disappear because they don’t cause any inconvenience. People who want to carry big bags can and do, and I do see a shift that more people are doing that than before, but the people who switched quick were usually people who had a reason to (ex: they were carrying a tiny bag but a giant water bottle in their hand with it, or they kept eyeing their big wallet and wishing they could use it again, etc.).