Today's Handbag fashion is for micro styles just the right size for your phone and lippy
2019-12-02
When it comes to designer handbags, size matters - but not in the way you`d think. If you want to make a big style statement this season, you need to go tiny.
From the Duchess of Cambridge to Rihanna and Jennifer Lawrence, celebrities have been spotted carrying tiny versions of designers` full-size offerings.
Forget huge holdalls or roomy shoppers. It`s all about `micro` or `nano` bags, with every designer from Louis Vuitton to Fendi shrinking their popular styles to doll-like proportions, barely big enough to hold a mobile phone and a lipstick.
Even Theresa May has one. Our on-trend PM was recently spotted carrying a dinky Redford bag by her favourite British designer, Amanda Wakeley. At 17cm tall and a mere 7.5cm deep, it`s roughly the same size as a box of chocolates, yet still costs almost £1,000.
And the High Street has followed suit, with sales of micro bags up 72 percent on last year at John Lewis, and a staggering 200 percent at Debenhams. On fashion sites such as Net-a-Porter, the tiny bags often sell out seconds after they arrive.
`Micro bags are the new luxury must-have,` says Selfridges` accessories buyer Caroline Fielder. `They`re a more discreet way to wear fashion`s biggest names and the antithesis of the oversized It-bags of the early 2000s.
`Back then, we saw bags getting bigger and bigger. Right now, we see the trend in reverse. These bags are all about shape, colour, adding interest and being playful - almost a crossover point between accessories and jewellery.`
Partly, too, it`s a sign of how technology has taken over our lives. `These days, all you really need are your keys and your phone,` says Emily Seares from online style magazine Fashion Bite.
`A phone can act as a diary, travel card, camera and even bank card in one - so why cart around a huge bag when you can carry these essentials in a chic, tiny one?`
Nano bags are also a way for designers to tap into the younger market.
`Cross-body styles look younger and more casual so are hugely popular with the Instagram-loving crowd,` says Emily. `Micro bags are a very canny move by fashion brands as they make designer labels more accessible to a younger customer who might not be able to afford a full-size bag for more than £1,500, but could just save up and splurge out on a mini one that`s a few hundred pounds.`
But while some women may well swap their oversized bag for a neater, shrunken version, there will always be those who can`t decide between the two - and buy both, even using them at the same time.
`More and more women are storing their essentials in a nano bag and then stashing it inside a larger tote bag,` says Emily.
`That way, you can still carry around your laptop and gym kit - then, when it comes to the evening, you can check your big bag into the cloakroom and just carry your tiny bag with you to the table, bar or dancefloor.`