Handbags
Sep 25, 2023

So Long, Tote Bags—This Is the It Bag Celebs and Fashion People Are Carrying Now

by Remy Farrell

As we well know, fashion is entirely subjective, and there will always be those pieces that speak to our individual senses of style and get our hearts racing the most. But whether you're a tailored minimalist who focuses on structure and silhouette, or a vivacious maximalist who comes alive in colour and print, the one thing we all have in common is accessorising. I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a true (hand)bag lady. In my role as Who What Wear UK's shopping editor, I spend a lot of time looking at and writing about accessories, and after collecting bags for as long as I can remember, I'm well versed in what it takes to make a good one great. Lately, there's one style in particular that has been taking up a lot of my attention.

Dua Lipa wears the new gucci horsebit shoulder bag

Photo:

Getty

The latest celebrity to style the bag, Dua Lipa has firmly cemented the It status of the new season style, wearing the silver version with leather trousers and a sparkly top whilst out in London.

After succumbing to the virtues of the supersized tote bag (and feeling the repercussions of carrying such a huge bag and all of its contents), my focus is now solely on the kind of mid-sized shoulder bag that sits easily under your arm. They're chic, they're practical, and most importantly, they're easy to style. But my sudden appreciation for this style really came from one bag in particular that has been popping up all over my feed in the last few weeks, tucked under the arms of some of the best dressed women in fashion: the new Gucci Horsebit Chain shoulder bag.

Eagle-eyed readers will have spotted this reinterpreted baguette-meets-clutch in the brand's A/W 23 show, the first without former Creative Director Alessandro Michele at the helm—a sign of things to come for what fashion insiders are calling "new Gucci". Although the colourful fur coats, boxy suiting and sheer dresses and skirts made us sit up and take note, it was what was on the models' arms that became an instant hit. The reissued Horsebit revives the incredibly popular archival design from the Tom Ford Gucci era, and from the hot-red padded iteration to the logo canvas version, this unexpected hit was all over the streets of Milan Fashion Week, and it's only a matter of time before you'll spot it in the wardrobes of fashion editors everywhere—believe me.

Right now you can shop the Insta-famous bag in green, white, black and (my favourite) red quilted leather, as well as in logo-printed canvas, so there really is a Gucci Horsebit for every style and personality. Personally, I'm just happy to see a trending bag that's small enough not to give us a backache and roomy enough not to require us to stuff our pockets with what we can't fit inside, so thank you, Gucci. Finally, an It bag that anyone can wear, any time of day, for any occasion. Whether you sling it over your shoulder, put your hand through the front strap and carry it as a clutch, or nonchalantly tuck it under your arm like the street style set, this bag is already iconic, and I have a feeling that the rest of 2023 will belong to the Gucci Horsebit.