as one fellow mess to another...hi! I'm never quite comfortable in a place unless I've managed to mess it up a bit (a lot), my bedroom may look like a pigsty but even Sofia Coppola has a messy office, long live the imperfectly organised.
My bags have never had aestheticised contents (way too many receipts, sweet wrappers and tissues in there) but my main bag at the mo is a Sophie Hulme that came with a little brass dinosaur charm, bag charms were a major feature of her handbag line before she closed it in 2018. And in April I added a little panda keychain from a zoo gift shop where I'd gone to see the pandas, I think that's where I'll stop. Sure, influencers trying to replicate the 'contents of a toyshop' iteration from the runways looks ridiculous but broadly this is a trend that I can actually see in the real world, you know? Just not with hanging actual toys off my bag. Also it's been around for years in some form, like every other kid I had pins on my school bag as a teenager and now the kids hang plushies off theirs.
Everything has a place, even in the mess - happy to hear I'm in good company :)
I'd forgotten all about Sophie Hulme - I loved those bags!
Yes, you're so right - buttons and badges and key rings were a huge thing when I was in school many moons ago (we had to carry around locker keys), though I couldn't stand all the jangling of lanyards in the corridors, so maybe I'm a bit scarred from the sensory overload of it all. I'm also terrible for losing things - is anyone attaching bits to their handbags worried they're gonna fall off? Maybe if it's a Miu Miu bag trick people are more watchful.
I do love that we're exploring different ways of expression over quiet luxury and all the better if there is a story behind it and its been built up over time instead of just pimping out a bag for TikTok - of course fast fashion has latched on to our desire for uniqueness as an excuse to sell more cheap stuff as customization.
Also really hope that anyone who bought a Sonny Angel purely because he's seen as a status symbol right now will sell him off to a die-hard fan (even if it's not a rare one) or pass him along instead of chucking him away when the mainstream western hype dies down.
re: school bags, I notice that kids from the schools with strict uniform policies go hard on their bag decorations because it's basically their only chance to express any form of unbridled personal taste (it's the only thing they wear that schools here don't dictate the shape/size/colour of). It's rather similar to phone cases and (pre-smartphone) bag charms that way.
I'm definitely a believer in getting only doodads you actually love for your bag, the prefab bag decorations might have major cachet at the moment but they'll inevitably get dumped when fashion dictates a 'clean bag' look in a year or two - or sooner. But I think this trend is a keeper on a broader level, even if Emily Kirkpatrick is right that the same fashion victims who were trying to suppress all hints of personality to do their beige cosplay at 'quiet luxury' just last year, are now buying the simulacra of personal taste/ patina to look like they're cool (and still looking like fashion victims anyway - the bullshit radar will not be fooled).
THIS POINT EXACTLYY and i think it ties directly into identity becoming commodified and purchased at whim…for example the buying of jewelry sets and bag charm sets rather than accumulating and collecting them over time. It maintains the idea that personality and depth is something to be bought and displayed aesthetically rather than naturally earned. It also feels very tied to instant gratification to me and internet culture…excellent piece <3
Thanks Elise! Agree, I know for some people this aesthetic comes more naturally and there's no shame in jumping on a trend you really resonate with and starting a collection of trinkets you will love once it's died down but I just can't see the logic in buying stacks of bag charms from SHEIN or another fast fashion brand just to discard them to move on to the next viral thing. I know this happens with several trends but this is so very plastic-driven.
also yes the turning it into a trend and commodifying the mess is a bit off-putting, but I do think that after the stifling dullness of 'quiet luxury' as a trend (no hate for Gwyneth P's court wardrobe I still think it was perfect and had a flair that was entirely personal to her) which was even more off-putting to me, I don't mind having fashion turn in a direction that at least offers the possibility of expressing personal taste without it being synonymous with 'good taste'.
as one fellow mess to another...hi! I'm never quite comfortable in a place unless I've managed to mess it up a bit (a lot), my bedroom may look like a pigsty but even Sofia Coppola has a messy office, long live the imperfectly organised.
My bags have never had aestheticised contents (way too many receipts, sweet wrappers and tissues in there) but my main bag at the mo is a Sophie Hulme that came with a little brass dinosaur charm, bag charms were a major feature of her handbag line before she closed it in 2018. And in April I added a little panda keychain from a zoo gift shop where I'd gone to see the pandas, I think that's where I'll stop. Sure, influencers trying to replicate the 'contents of a toyshop' iteration from the runways looks ridiculous but broadly this is a trend that I can actually see in the real world, you know? Just not with hanging actual toys off my bag. Also it's been around for years in some form, like every other kid I had pins on my school bag as a teenager and now the kids hang plushies off theirs.
Everything has a place, even in the mess - happy to hear I'm in good company :)
I'd forgotten all about Sophie Hulme - I loved those bags!
Yes, you're so right - buttons and badges and key rings were a huge thing when I was in school many moons ago (we had to carry around locker keys), though I couldn't stand all the jangling of lanyards in the corridors, so maybe I'm a bit scarred from the sensory overload of it all. I'm also terrible for losing things - is anyone attaching bits to their handbags worried they're gonna fall off? Maybe if it's a Miu Miu bag trick people are more watchful.
I do love that we're exploring different ways of expression over quiet luxury and all the better if there is a story behind it and its been built up over time instead of just pimping out a bag for TikTok - of course fast fashion has latched on to our desire for uniqueness as an excuse to sell more cheap stuff as customization.
Also really hope that anyone who bought a Sonny Angel purely because he's seen as a status symbol right now will sell him off to a die-hard fan (even if it's not a rare one) or pass him along instead of chucking him away when the mainstream western hype dies down.
re: school bags, I notice that kids from the schools with strict uniform policies go hard on their bag decorations because it's basically their only chance to express any form of unbridled personal taste (it's the only thing they wear that schools here don't dictate the shape/size/colour of). It's rather similar to phone cases and (pre-smartphone) bag charms that way.
I'm definitely a believer in getting only doodads you actually love for your bag, the prefab bag decorations might have major cachet at the moment but they'll inevitably get dumped when fashion dictates a 'clean bag' look in a year or two - or sooner. But I think this trend is a keeper on a broader level, even if Emily Kirkpatrick is right that the same fashion victims who were trying to suppress all hints of personality to do their beige cosplay at 'quiet luxury' just last year, are now buying the simulacra of personal taste/ patina to look like they're cool (and still looking like fashion victims anyway - the bullshit radar will not be fooled).
My 7yo has like 25 bag charms on his backpack. Poor thing looks lopsided while he carries it!
THIS POINT EXACTLYY and i think it ties directly into identity becoming commodified and purchased at whim…for example the buying of jewelry sets and bag charm sets rather than accumulating and collecting them over time. It maintains the idea that personality and depth is something to be bought and displayed aesthetically rather than naturally earned. It also feels very tied to instant gratification to me and internet culture…excellent piece <3
Thanks Elise! Agree, I know for some people this aesthetic comes more naturally and there's no shame in jumping on a trend you really resonate with and starting a collection of trinkets you will love once it's died down but I just can't see the logic in buying stacks of bag charms from SHEIN or another fast fashion brand just to discard them to move on to the next viral thing. I know this happens with several trends but this is so very plastic-driven.
My baggu is RAN THROUGH
Love this post🤍
Made a post like this months ago ( why we are so obsessed with in the bag videos ) I love in the bag content so much
Ooh i’ll have to check it out! X
also yes the turning it into a trend and commodifying the mess is a bit off-putting, but I do think that after the stifling dullness of 'quiet luxury' as a trend (no hate for Gwyneth P's court wardrobe I still think it was perfect and had a flair that was entirely personal to her) which was even more off-putting to me, I don't mind having fashion turn in a direction that at least offers the possibility of expressing personal taste without it being synonymous with 'good taste'.