In many ways, convenience has become an epidemic. We can get pretty much anything delivered to our doorsteps, from groceries and prescription medication to toilet paper and even laundry—freshly washed, dried, and folded.
We are so used to having what we want, when we want it, and that has extended into fashion as well. Luxury brands make it easier than ever to shop—offering to messenger purchases directly to your door and offering same day delivery in larger cities.
The Convenience Culture in Fashion
It’s true that you get what you pay for, and with big luxury purchases, customers expect the most out of what they’re spending. When it comes to bags, that’s meant the evolution towards bags that can do it all—convertible straps, extra straps, sporty straps and chain straps.
It’s not uncommon for a bag to come with one or even two extra strap options.
Some examples include the Gucci Jackie 1961—designed as a shoulder bag, it can comes with extra straps and can be converted for crossbody wear. Then there’s the Celine Camille, which is a sleek, slim profiled shoudler bag similar to the Prada Cleo, but the difference is that its straps are finished with hooks to interchange them.
Vanity Cases, which are some of the most chic, elegant bags out there, do it too, like the Bottega Veneta Bang Bang, and Louis Vuitton Vanity PM. Even Givenchy’s latest bag, which is sleek, elegant and ladylike, offers the addition of a longer strap, which works ok for the mini size, but looks out of palce on the larger models.
Fashion Over Function: A Call for Restraint
Here’s the thing—not every bag is meant to have a longer strap. While crossbody straps offer convience and are fuss free, sometimes a top handle should just be a top handle, and a shoulder bag should just be a shoulder bag—you get my point.
Plus, I find that interchangeable straps with clips can often cheapen the look of a bag, versus a singular strap sewn onto the bag. That’s not to say that a longer strap option doesn’t ever work—sometimes a bag looks like it was intended to be worn two ways. Many times though, it feels out of place or cumbersome.
Maybe I’ve been looking at bags too long and I’ve become too picky, or maybe I simply wish we’d return to a time when fashion, trumped function.
What do you think?
Pretty bags that don’t offer practicality I admire but don’t end up using. They have been my worst purchases because real life happens. I just try to look put together as I am going through it. For me, the option to have hands free matters.
Respectfully disagree. When you are spending upwards of 5-figures for a bag, having one or more strap options makes the purchase easier to justify. That way if you want to carry the bag hands free or more ladylike as a hand bag you are free to do so.
I am forever team bag strap but also understand that it can ruin the design vibe a bit! But I NEED it!
Fashion over function can make you a fashion victim! We are paying so much for luxury items why would anyone spend your hard earned dollars on anything that isn’t fashionable and functional. It is vital to me. I want that extra strap and if it doesn’t work for a particular bag, I am not buying that bag.