No your eyes aren’t deceiving you; handbags are getting smaller.
New York based fashion consultant said that the modern woman “doesn’t want to look like she’s lugging around her entire office anymore.” Instead girls are opting for smaller purses that make them look “more carefree.”
Thumbing through the pages of Vogue‘s September issue shows glossy ads for Prada, Dior, and Gucci, all with small bags front and center. Louis Vuitton’s popular Lockit purse has been superseded by a new Lockit BB model, which is more than a third smaller than the original. Mid-sized bags were also all the range at the recent New York Fashion Week.
The accessories shift mirrors the general fashion movement towards more delicate, ladylike designs. We’re still taking our cues from Mad Men, a series set in a time where women didn’t have to worry about lugging around laptops or cell phones.
It’s good news for handbag makers who are expected to enjoy increased sales as women downsize. The International Council of Shopping Centers predicts that sales of luxury purses will rise around 7.5% over the holiday period, up from 6.7% last year. It’s good news for consumers too, who don’t need to spend as much on a smaller bag they would on a much larger one. And that’s as good a reason as any to indulge in the new trend, don’t you think?
