Handbag Trends for 2025

 Dear reader, 

did I surprise you with the title?  

 Trends?  Me?!!   As you know, you won’t find any trends at Chez Pout! 

But I feel inspired to talk about handbags today, though first and foremost I must declare that I am not a designer bag devotee, just in case you were expecting a Birken popping up here!  The nearest I have ever got to so-called “designer devotee” is a small collection of Tula bags from the 90s-00s, but this came about purely because I was drawn to the brand’s simple yet utilitarian styling*.  And I don’t see myself as a handbag person per se.  But back in the day when I worked, and as a result, played a fair bit too, I amassed rather a large collection of bags.  48+.  I know this number because I counted my “stash” during lockdown. I took all my bags that I’d irreverently stuffed into a small cupboard, spread said bags out on the bed, counted them, 48, and then stuffed every one of them back into storage again. The 48 did not include bags that I had in current use, of which they were probably 2-3 idling around the house.  So let’s say 50 is a good number to use as my “collection”. 

So although I do have a rather large “collection” of handbags which I seem to be holding on to for dear life, I don’t actually use them most of the time. These days I prefer pockets. When choosing outer wear and cardigans I immediately zone in on what pocketage is available with that item. I find this method so much easier, freer and safer than toting around a bag each and every day, a bag that could forgetfully be left in the restaurant I parked myself (shoulder straps are an absolute must these days - if I can’t tether it to my body it’s not leaving the house with me!).  And then add to that the further trauma of the contents changeover when switching bags according to the outfit.  Well, a mature lady should not be exposed to these stresses.  It is my firm belief that a pocket can serve all your out-of-house needs … in retirement of course, when working that’s a whole different ball game.

(Is any of this resonating?)

So it was with mild amusement that I read this morning that there are trends for bags, and these trends change on a yearly basis.  Who’dathought?  

I openly admit that the bags I have in my stash date back to the late 80s early 90s in the main, and up to the point I stopped working in the v. early tensies.  Thus you can see in the past decade or so I have not been keeping up with trends in any way.  A few new bags have been acquired since, but that has been on a needs basis rather than trend basis.

So this post on the handbag trends for 2025 was born  from the standpoint of mild curiosity; as you well know you’re not going to get any serious trend advice on this blog!  What trend gene I may have had in my genetic make up rusted obsolete from lack of use some decades ago.  And as we drift into retirement/maturer years, there is a certain freedom in having slipped into a state of mind where we wear anything we want, do anything we want, and think anything we want, n’est pas?  Eating and drinking anything we want is unfortunately the exception as we age. 

Right, enough preamble (waffle), let’s crack on with it, let’s see what the trends are for 2025 in the handbag world, and warning, some have silly names.

I also decided it would be fun to match these current trends against bags I have in my embarrassing stash of unused carryalls, and I think I did rather well. This proves my view that if you hold on to something long enough, you can cut out the middleman, the years in between purchase and it re-trending, and save yourself a fortune and the environment some considerable stress. 

Let’s see how well I did!

1.  Fringed bag.  2.  East West bag.

1. Fringed Bag

I don’t have one. May have had one in the 70s,  but things were transient back then, so first base and I have nothing to offer!   I’m not off to a good start eh?  Best move on.

I don’t think this is the type of fringed bag the fashionistas have in mind!

2.  East West Bag

Seems this style is a straight-across type of bag, east to weat as the crow flies.

 This  much-used Jones bag comes pretty close.

This Tula is perhaps another east-wester, though larger. 

3.  Suede Slouch.  4. The Doctor’s Bag. 

3.  Suede Slouch

This so-called slouch bag looks very much like a tote bag to me, and I guess it serves the same purpose as the bag below, in that it can tote around a fair bit of “stuff”. 

My lovely black tote from Marks has a suede side and a lot of slouch about it,  and as it carries a lot of stuff too I’m calling it my suede slouch, end of. 

Flip it over and it’s leather (how clever is that?!), it’s the Jekyll and Hyde of slouch bags.

This ancient Tula shoulder bag is soft and slouchy, but all leather only so perhaps doesn’t count.  

 4.  Doctors Bag

This is pretty much the Gladstone bag of yore, imo.

This type of bag is designed to hold pretty much everything you’re ever going to need when visiting a poorly patient, or all you’ll ever need in your daily life bar the kitchen sink. 

My brown leather version took me through a good 15 years of “doctoring” (working life). It is capacious so carried all I needed on the go and it fitted beautifully over the shoulder, and heck, brown goes with everything, right?  So, it did. 

I took a pic of it’s protective bag as I couldn’t remember the fancy brand name!

5.  The Doctor’s Bag, again?  6.  Puffy Clutch

5.  Le Sac du Docteur encore une fois ?

I’m attempting a bit of creative subterfuge here, giving you this rough translation in schoolgirl French to create a new name for this one, but it does seem to be reiteration of the doctors bag n’est pas?  Big.  Roomy. 

So I’m using my brown bag again here!

But this old Tula could loosely be stretched as a doctor’s bag, it too is capacious and has lots of compartments so would be useful for toting stethoscopes and the like (I use it for travel though!). 

6.  Puffy Clutch

The Puffy Clutch seems to be something soft and squidgy that provides some form of emotional support if needed by being hugged close to your body.  

I often carried this worn and so soft Jones leather bag close to my body and forgot about the straps; that was the message I got from it so I hope it’s ok with you that I’m calling this my puffy clutch.  But was it emotionally supportive ?  Nah! 

This is another example of puffy slouchy as I often used this Tula Chanel dupe without the metal strap. 

7.  Sculptural Banana Handle

I don’t think I have anything with a metal handle (apart from the metal strapped bags above!!), but this appears to be sort of banana shaped and collects softly at the top through the handle and this one does pretty much the same thing, so I’m using this one as my example here.

Taadaa, I give you banana shaped - ish!

This Jones bag has been a go-to since bought in the early 00s.  

And you can always identify a Mary go-to bag - ink stains on the lining!

*Tula Utilitarian

Here’s a v. battered example of a Tula utilitarian!  You can see this had much use, the little compartments stored all essentials and a strap behind allowed it to be attached to a belt. Useful tethering!

Here’s another example, lots v of compartments, very useful for a working gal on the move. 

Compartments from every angle, that’s why Tula was my go to brand when working, I felt organized … almost!

So dear reader, did I do a good job of matching trend styles to what I already have?

And do you think I’d be viewed as “on trend” when sporting any of these bags in 2025? 😉!!

 

Should you be a bag person and want to read more, you can find the article I read The Daily Telegraph article here and discover what you bag says about you!

And now my lovelies, it’s over to you, what’s your stance on handbags?  How do they fit in the life you lead now?  Are you your own vintage store like me?  Can you match any bags in your stash to the current shapes as I’ve hopefully done?  And where do you stand on designer bags?

I’d love to know!

A la perchoine,

Mary x.