Your guide to the year’s most popular street style-approved handbags
A product of both TikTok hype culture and everday popular culture, these are the top six most coveted bags of the year
There’s much to be said for street style’s most coveted bags of the year. Notably, that they sit neatly between TikTok’s hype culture and everyday's popular culture; what street stylers have, we generally want, because it’s reflective of ‘the next big thing’ that has moved fashion’s dial.
Whether it’s Loewe’s raffia tote bag – which is the fourth hottest product of the year according to the fashion-tech platform Lyst – or Fendi’s sequins baguette bag popularised by Carrie Bradshaw in And Just Like That…, here’s your unmatched guide to the year’s most popular handbags.
Mulberry: the North South Bayswater Tote
Slung over the shoulders of Kate Moss and Sienna Miller in the early noughties, Mulberry’s iconic Bayswater tote bag is still one of the most recognisable and iconic bags on the circuit – and it celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The North South Bayswater tote is a new season update on the style that chimes with a modern feel – the Bayswater’s second coming, you could say, and it has already proven popular. Priced at €1,140 and available at mulberry.com and the recently-opened Mulberry store on Duke Street, Dublin 2. mulberry.com
Saint Laurent: the 5 À 7 bag
It started with Saint Laurent’s 5 À 7 hobo shoulder bag in 2021 and the appeal has continued ever since. The latest refresh to the style, however, is its generous roomy-update, relaxed shape, and soft leather fabrication, which makes it a winner in quiet luxury’s books, but not so much in the savvy shopper’s book – for a cool €2,100 you can have the small or €2,450 for the large. Or, the Irish luxury resale platform Designer Exchange is retailing a second-hand version for €1,900 – bag it while you can, we say. ysl.com
Telfar: the shopping bag
Launched almost a decade ago, Telfar’s shopping bag seems always aligned with the zeitgeist, with clever and consistent collaborations keeping it fresh. Its latest partnership with Melissa (the original maker of jelly sandals since 1979) following a collaboration with Ugg in March has seen new reinventions of the shopping bag, while equally keeping the kaleidoscope of colours of the original style popular. The dark olive, from €400 on Vestiaire Collective (it’s sold out on teflar.com) is our pick. vestiairecollective.com
Loewe: the basket bag
Loewe is the world’s hottest fashion brand right now, according to Lyst, and its basket bag is ranked the fourth most popular fashion item of this year’s second quarter. You’ve seen it in every beach-related Instagram post, and it’s been a staple of this year’s street style. Thankfully, as the late Jane Birken’s affinity for a basket bag will prove, it is a summer style that will always remain. €480, loewe.com
Fendi: the sequins and leather baguette bag
Carrie Bradshaw pretty much brought the Fendi baguette bag to our screens, so it’s fitting that the Sex and the City reboot features the beloved purple sequined leather version once again – it was originally worn by Bradshaw in season three. Its re-popularisation has made it a coveted item to those in the know, and it’s been selling out consistently over the past year. It’s eye-watering €3,800 price tag makes it the most expensive of this edit. fendi.com
Longchamp: the Le Pliage bag
The only other bag that made it to Lyst’s hottest products list was the Le Pliage bag by Longchamp. Its versatility and generous size means its instantly work-to-life-approved, while videos related to the bag on TikTok have generated 104.2 million views. As such, its popularity isn’t just the preserve of Gen Z, but it helps. At an affordable €120, it’s a sound investment. brownthomas.com
