Chain-Strap Flap Bags are the Trend That Just Won’t Quit

Chanel made the style famous long ago, but its recent resurgence across brands shows no signs of slowing

Writing about a trend that was clearly spawned by one brand or one bag is always a little tricky—some people are inclined to dismiss all those that came after that first arrival as copying or stealing. In reality, the situation is a little more complicated than that. Some designs are so influential that they change customer expectations across the market for years at a time, and at a certain point, brands hoping to reach those consumer groups just have to give up and design to the trend, even if they do so grudgingly—fashion can be art, but it’s always capitalism, and brands need to sell bags. That’s the case with the Chanel Boy Bag and all the chain-strap flap bags that have come after it in recent years (and that still continue coming).

The Chanel Boy Bag itself is inspired by the Chanel flap bags that came before it and that have long inspired imitators at all levels of the accessories market, but it’s safe to credit the relative newcomer with the resurgence of similar bags in both the luxury and contemporary markets in the years since its debut. The Boy Bag reimagined the somewhat formal idea of a flap bag with a hardware strap as young and edgy, which helped encourage scores of women to adopt the look into the more casual parts of their wardrobes. At first, I thought it would run its course like other structural trends have in that time, like the flared gussets that abounded in the wake of the Céline Luggage Tote.

Instead, chain-strap flap bags have stuck around, and even brands that otherwise don’t show much of an interest in making shoulder bags have relented and given shoppers an option or two in Chanel’s image. And now, with the ascendant popularity of the Gucci Marmont Bag—which takes no steps to hide its homage to the Chanel original—it seems like chain-strap flap bags will be abundant for the foreseeable future, not as a trend, but simply as a wardrobe staple. Even Louis Vuitton has acquiesced to the look. For some of our favorites from a variety of designers, check out our picks below.