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Who needs an It bag when you have a personalized bag? On TikTok and the streets, people are decking out their lived-in luxury bags with keychains, charms, ribbons, bows, and stickers. Accessories are now accessorized.
For some, this phenomenon has been a forever way of life. “I remember my mum telling us to decorate our suitcases to make them easy to spot on the luggage rail when I first started to travel as a child, and I think that totally ignited something in me–this idea of embellishing something to make it ‘noticeable yours’ and individually special,” says the stylist Jamie-Maree Shipton, who’s favorite combination as of late is her Abra X Gucci Vault red handbag with a hand-beaded penis with Prince Albert piercing in baby pink, plus a pair of pastel pink handcuffs emblazoned with “I Love NY” that she sourced last September during fashion week. Unlike anything else out there, it’s definitely 100 percent representative of Shipton’s niche aesthetic. Another favorite? A Balenciaga Cagole bag weighed down by a plethora of travel keychains. “It’s getting a bit out of hand,” she says with a laugh.
Some of the most interesting combinations of carefully adorned handbags have a DIY sensibility. Take, for example, the Paris based content creator Lara Violetta Giller’s puffy avocado green Margiela bag bedecked in lace trim and a mini ballerina slipper. “I tried to find things I already have at home to make it really me-like,” she says. “So, I used a piece of lace, some pins, a mini ballet shoe which used to be my keychain and a ‘Figa’ lucky charm.”
But perhaps what’s most interesting about this trend is that so many people are citing Jane Birkin as the inspiration behind it all. And so, countless videos were born in the past few months in tribute to decorating one s bag just like Jane Birkin, as a brand new generation is discovering photos of her for the first time. The icon, who helped design the infamous Birkin bag in 1983, was known to personalize her bag with colorful cords, keychains, jewelry and even a bite mark or two from her cat. “I started a few months ago because I saw pictures of Jane Birkin’s Birkin bag,” says Violetta. “She accessorized it with pearls, strings, little bells and many different lucky charms. It made this infamous bag so personal and cool.”
For others, the mass appeal of thrifting and upcycling has everything to do with adding found objects onto everyday bags. “I upcycle clothes using thrifted and recycled materials, so I naturally apply repurposing techniques to everyday items,” explains Mahea Firestine, who has tacked everything from a vintage Tamagotchi to Byzantine style necklaces onto oversized bags, also inspired by Jane Birkin. “It’s a great way to make the most out of what you have, while expressing yourself and stepping outside of the box. I love anything metal because they add a luxurious look; pendants, bracelets, necklaces, waist chains, belt buckles. I also have fun with adding things my younger self would love, such as a Betty Boop keychain and bows.”
Trend forecaster Jessica Richards describes the phenomenon as “representative of the ongoing desire of the collective to be recognized for individuality.” Though people have been adding individualistic touches to their clothing for centuries–especially in times when subcultures flourished, like punk in ‘70s—this feels slightly different than the past. “We re seeing that many adornments relate to ‘cute culture,’ with a nod to the optimism and feel-good spirit of so many nostalgic trends; we re seeing amulets of protection and safety, like crystals.”
And though this is the kind of trend that’s flourishing on TikTok, the effect is also ever present elsewhere. Take, for example, Junya Watanabe’s spring 2023 bags covered in silver chains and pearl necklaces. The designer Hillary Taymour of Collina Strada has played with bows in a multitude of DIY ways, on bags and, “on collars as ties, on the end of a braid, around my belt, or sometimes on the strap of a tank top. I also love to take a bow through the neckhole of a T-shirt and out the sleeve, or scrunch up the shoulder seam of a t-shirt with one.” Many of the bags she sells under her own label are covered in crystal fringed brooches and bows and have that feeling of someone decorating it themselves.
The only rule is that there’s absolutely no rules. “I’ve covered a bag in safety pins, graffitied them, burnt them, added studs, weighed them down heavily with keychains: to anyone else it probably looks like I’ve ruined the bag but to me it’s what makes them one of a kind and special,” adds Shipton.
The personalized bag also subverts status in an interesting way, especially when the item at hand is worth thousands of dollars. That Birkin bag? Or even a Margiela or Balenciaga? It says a lot more, in much more of an interesting way, when it’s tattered up and covered in charms, rosaries and ribbons.