The remarkable thing about Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel tenure so far is that he managed to initiate a new It handbag. The unquilted shopper with double-C hardware was arguably the first It purse since Bottega Veneta’s Jodie came out in 2020 under Daniel Lee. (You remember the bright green number with the knot handle that everyone who’s ever posted affiliate links wore on their forearms in hotel mirror selfies.) 

But new It bags, defined as THE one that everyone “has to have” from a major luxury brand, have been slow to gain traction for years. The old It bags (e.g. quilted Chanel flaps, Birkins and Kellys from Hermès) are not only insanely priced but also ubiquitous. Hermès has been unable to keep their bags truly “exclusive,” given that anyone with enough disposable income can buy one on a resale site. Lower-priced It bags are still super expensive — like Celine’s reissue of its Luggage tote, which can run $4,350.

That said, many of us would reject the notion that handbags themselves are dead or over. I carry one all the time (for day-to-day, non-laptop-necessitating nonsense, like library runs and kids’ birthday parties, it’s a Lululemon belt bag). As discussed here in myriad ways for years, It bags aren’t as desired as they used to be. Luxury prices surely have contributed to this shift: The new Chanel flap that embodies ye olde It-ness is $11,000, while a Birkin 25 in togo leather costs $13,500 in the U.S. I’m hearing from the Back Row community that many shoppers simply don’t want the accessory that anyone who has ever seen Sex and the City can pick out of a lineup, nor do they want something wealth-signaling. They want something that’s good quality, harder to identify, and not marked up as sport. They want an Anti-It Bag. 

There’s a thrill of discovery in Anti-It Bags right now. And owners of said pieces delight in acting as vectors for that discovery. (Everything is marketing, and we’re all influencers.) No one interested in bags sees a Birkin and wonders where its owner got it. But well-designed bags by Strathberry, Loeffler Randall, or Polène start conversation. These Anti-It Bags bring people together. 

Polène, in fact, has become so popular that it may be bordering on It status. One reader told me she sees Polène carried at society events by high net-worth individuals who find its lack of logos appealing. “It’s what the Chanel flap and Lady Dior was until five to seven years ago," she said. "Chanel and Dior were understated and didn’t scream their logos from miles away. But now with recession and overall shift of the social and political climate, being seen with a ‘design’ bag over a ‘designer’ bag is better."

I asked newsletter readers and Instagram users to send me their Anti-It Bag recommendations. Ahead, the Anti-It Bags the Back Row community recommended most, all less than $1,000. They're not cheap, but a lot of us want a durable bag that we love carrying every single day, so the cost-per-wear math makes sense. After that, a list of honorable mentions of great bags that received fewer recs but no less enthusiasm from the community.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to contribute recommendations! If you'd like me to poll the community about other items, please make suggestions anonymously here, reply to this email, or leave a comment.

The Most Popular Anti-It Bags

First, the Polène Cyme — $630 for a large tote and $550 for a mini.  

This brand came up more than any other. It's been around for ten years and now counts L Catterton as investors — and if they Everlane it I think there would be an outpouring of social media despair. It was perhaps early, as an accessibly priced brand, to the Phoebe Philo-esque aesthetic of women who don’t do their hair and love oversized coats, cloudy days, and structured work bags.

Readers also love MZ Wallace, which one said, “hits the sweet spot between travel, function and casual style.” This small bag is $245, and this larger travel tote is $335. It’s the kind of bag that can fit all your stuff and isn’t so precious that you’d feel worried to throw your kid’s open pack of Biscoff cookies in there.

Back in the vein of chic and pensive, DeMellier London came up again and again. The Midi Stockholm ($570) and New York ($695) were popular among subscribers. This brand knows its office-bound audience — it notes the New York can fit a laptop or “A4 files,” which I now know is slightly larger than 8.5 x 11 paper.

Moving into slightly edgier (or at least, asymmetrical) territory, several readers called out Liffner (one said the quality is "unreal"). Check out the belted bucket mini bag ($595), full-size belted bucket ($695), and Pushlock clutch ($495).

For those of you who desire something that’s not plain but also can’t handle asymmetry, multiple readers love the woven bags by Dragon Diffusion. This trapeze-shaped woven leather tote is $690. The interior includes “a hand-sewn St. Christopher medal charm, believed to manifest protection on your travels,” per Net-a-Porter. OK, then!

Furla also came up more than once, with one reader saying she’s had a Furla bag for 20 years that still looks new. This large tote is $348, while this cute small hobo with interior card slots is $288 with a very good adjustable strap situation — so you can carry it by hand or wear it as a crossbody without superfluous handles.

Léo and Violette’s $603 messenger bag is what Andy Sachs would have carried in The Devil Wears Prada 2 if she had remained a fashion woman during the years she wasn’t at Runway. It’s very, “this old thing?” but for someone who buys her jeans at APC.

Next, a brand I can personally endorse: Strathberry. They have good small bags for day or dinner (I like this $595 mini tote) and big ol’ laptop commuter bags, like this $925 tote that the brand says is large enough to accommodate “a laptop, water bottle, and even your gym kit.”

Portland Leather Goods came up repeatedly as well. "Find a style you like, get it in just about any delicious color you like, and enjoy. No obnoxious logos or overpriced waxed canvas," wrote one reader. The medium tote is $160 (a large is $180), and this smaller shoulder bag is $132.

If you just want something super-casual, several readers said their go-to is L.L.Bean’s tote bag ($40 for a medium). (This is the bag unto which Anna Wintour bestows her take-home papers at the end of each day.) I use the zip-top one ($50 for a medium) for the pool/beach with the kids.

Lastly, a slew of honorable mentions. These got fewer recs, but were no less beloved by buyers. Besides, in order for AIBs to reign, we all need to… buy different bags. 

A Moment for Ming Xi’s Wedding

Model Ming Xi married Boston Celtics co-owner and founder of esports company Ninjas in Pyjamas Mario Ho at Mont Saint Michel recently, and the photos have been all over social media. I read the Vogue Weddings story so you don’t have to and learned that the couple got engaged seven years ago. “He transformed his family’s mall, L’Avenue Shanghai, into a real-life Super Mario world, [where he] performed on stage with a guitar and sang for me,” she said.

This was reportedly the first wedding to take place in Mont Saint Michel’s abbey in a thousand years. For the ceremony, Xi wore Dior haute couture by Jonathan Anderson. “We debated a long time whether to risk the Dior gown on the grassland,” she said, but her planner and photographer convinced her to do it. “Kudos to the team for sweeping the grounds of all that sheep poop that’s around there,” Vanessa Joy, who’s photographed weddings at Mont Saint Michel, observed on Instagram.

Vogue included a very nice sheep photo.

Future Billionaires Muse About Future Unaffordability

SpaceX is expected to go public Friday at a valuation of around $1.77 trillion. Page Six’s Ian Mohr reports in his newsletter that investors are plotting how to spend their winnings from the IPO, which could drive up the market for private planes, boats, Miami mansions, and art. One investor told Mohr, “Just look at the price of Knicks tickets.” It is hard to overstate the Knicks fever that has overtaken New York — Mayor Mamdani said he spent $1,000 on his standing-room only ticket, while nosebleed seats are now going for about $4,200. IPOs for Anthropic and OpenAI will only further contribute to, as one art insider said, “newly minted people with liquidity” driving up prices in cities like New York.

Maybe they will throw Bernard Arnault a bone and pick up some embellished Lady Dior bags, too. (I realize he is the last person in need of any sort of bone.)

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