Bag charms — this summer’s latest accessories are from the toybox

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Recently I had a sudden urge to update my keyring situation — a random impulse I justified with the notion that the set to my new home deserved something pretty and shiny to swing off. A colourful bead vibe, perhaps, or something pearly to match my phone charm.
Now, after some deep self-reflection and significant time browsing £20 iterations (stringting.com), I realise I have just fallen victim to luxury fashion’s latest obsession. Am I silly to want a silly-cessory?
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You tell me. But take a look at your collection before you answer. Are you wearing a friendship bracelet or two; is your phone, like mine, decorated with some gingham ribbon or a charm?
Do you wear lurid-hued Crocs strewn with the pop-on stickers known as — oh, how I hate this word — Jibbitz; has your laptop got stickers on? If the answer to even one of those is yes, then you too are a silly-cessory billy. Or a silly-cessory goose. Take your pick.
Let me explain. We all know youth is always in fashion, but right now it’s items aesthetically suited to a playroom toybox that are delighting even the most stylish grown-ups most. It is a trend that started last year, which between the release of Barbie, Taylor Swift’s tour and the viral trend for picky-bit “girl dinners’’, became known as the Year of the Girl.
Bows were in fashion, as were mary-janes. I remain haunted by the number of marketing emails I received about Barbie pink. Still, the mood stuck — and now, if it’s bright, plastic, girly and a bit silly, it’s cool. As usual the trend can be found concentrated in its purest form on the front row.
There, the latest incarnation of the movement comes in the form of bag-scots: designer charms intended to be layered up messily on the zip and handle of your handbag. And when I say handbag, I mean It bag. Balenciaga’s Le City tote is £2,050 and Le Charms which go with it — think keyrings, heart mirrors, cursive text, tiny purses — start at £275 apiece.
I know. But there’s more. Miu Miu, the Italian label which is owned by and is known as the little sister (how fitting) brand to Prada, launched its Beau bag last year on its spring 2024 catwalk. The £2,650 sleek rectangular leather top handle style looks elegant and ladylike — until you style it up with its corresponding attachments.
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A £650 suede or silk “Duchesse’’ pouch; £480 tiny wallets on neon bungee cords; leather “tricks’’ — rough translation: “things’’— and keyrings that cost as much as £410. My favourite might be the oversized woven leather scoobies. Perhaps you remember making your very own as a pre-teen with plastic lace. Core millennial memory unlocked!
Those who sit in the boardrooms at Balenciaga et all must be laughing. Small accessories have always been big money for luxury brands: they offer an entry point for aspiring customers who can’t afford to size-up. Some brands have made these their signatures: think of Anya Hindmarch’s clever leather stickers.
But it’s not just designer charms influencers are using as bag-scots. Oh no. On TikTok you can find the Miu Miu Beau styled up with Pokémon softies, tiny teddy bears and Hello Kitty. At Copenhagen last week I saw Disney soft toys clinging to handbag handles — and not on the shoulders of anyone who was visiting Tivoli.
Most were likely obtained not from an arcade claw machine but a niche Instagram account set up this year called — excuse my language — Bag Crap (@shopbagcrap). It sells vintage Teletubby keyrings and $65 curated kitsch keychains, or “packs”, that are intended to jazz up an Hermès Birkin or classic Louis Vuitton tote. If the market of those flush enough to buy a designer bag is currently small, those who feel theirs needs further garnishing is teeny tiny. But still, Bag Crap’s creations quickly sell out.
As for me, I’m getting a scoobie for my keys. But I’m going to make my own.