Reviving the ‘It’ Bags of Yesteryear

Every year or two, there is a new must-have handbag that explodes onto the pages of fashion magazines and takes over your social media feeds. (Right now, my Instagram is awash in Senreve, but Naghedi is closing in.) But what happens to the fashion-forward bags of yesteryear when they’re no longer the currency of cool?

I’m talking about the brands that dominated the handbag conversation for a season or two and then went away — Reed Krakoff’s belted totes, the Mulberry Alexa and Bayswater bags, the Chloe Paddington bag, etc..  The handbags that every ‘cool girl’ carried to show that she was in the know.  The bags we ooh’ed and ahh’ed over when a friend showed up to brunch with one (even if she had to rent it). Where did those must-have bags go?

Last week, I spotted an ad for The Real Real that featured an ostrich Reed Krakoff Boxer Bag that I melted for when it was released in 2010.  The bag cost $7,600 when it was new — that was roughly three-months of my post-tax Capitol Hill salary– so I felt poorer just looking at it in the pages of Vogue, but I never forgot about it.  And there, like a beacon from the past, there it was, shining like a National Guitar from a Google sidebar ad for…wait, what?  $350?!?!? The bag was 95% off?  Were they serious?

I thought about the bag for three days. Couldn’t stop. That tote was living rent free in my head like an ex-boyfriend who gets therapy, takes up TRX and marries a girl who looks just like you.  There was no escape; so I decided to buy it.

You know, to make sure it wasn’t a scam.  When the bag gets here next week, I may host a party to celebrate.  Just a small soiree — 2022 me (pregnant with a good job), the ghost of 2010 me (size 2 waist who works weekends at a tanning salon to be able to pay bills), the Krakoff bag we both love, and a glass of Dom Perignon…nothing fancy.

Purchasing the ostrich tote made me wonder what other chic bags were available on The Real Real.  After all, most of us don’t live in a place where someone will see our handbag and think “My God, Becky, look at that bag! So 2010.”  And even if you happen to live in a city where women really care about fashion, how many of them will remember a bag from five, seven or ten years ago?  Further, where else can you get a well-made, real leather bag in a fab style for less than $300?

$150 will usually buy you a bag from Nordstrom Rack that’s covered in mall-brand logos. $295 might buy you a decent quality tote or satchel, but rarely one worth writing home about.  A fashion-forward bag, a cool bag, a bag you’re excited to carry is typically $495 at minimum.  And frankly, most of the bags your favorite influencers carry cost $795 to $3,500 without batting a perfectly lifted and tinted eyelash.

In a climate like that, wouldn’t it make sense to revive a cool style from a few years back?  To snap up a bag that you lusted after when you were young and underemployed at a great price, instead of spending the same money on a bag that’s just okay?  So here are a few bags that you may remember from the fashion magazines of your 20s, but that are just as chic today as they were then, just at 80% off or better.

This completely functional, very cool belted Reed Krakoff bowling bag comes in at an easy $140.  (This similar bag in red is $110.)

This slouchy tote, also from Krakoff, is non-descript and impossibly cool for $125.

This Meli-Melo bag was ev.er.y.where when it came out.  It’s still a unique tote for work or plane travel, and it won’t make your wallet cry.

I remember thinking the pebbled leather and blackout hardware on this Loeffler Randal satchel was to die for, now it costs the same as a canvas beach bag.

This Valentino Rose Bag is iconic, a piece of fashion history.  At this price, put it in a dust bag and wait for Mr. Valentino to pass from this Earth before reselling.

Who remembers when this Alexander Wang handle bag was the obsession of every NYC cool girl?  It’s now under-$250.

Whatever style catches your eye, there are so many stylish bags for under-$300.  Bags you would have killed for then, and that you will still love now (even if they’re gently used).  Plus, shopping for resale items is more sustainable and better for the planet.  At least that’s what I’ll be telling myself as I tote around my Boxer bag.

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