What Makes an It Bag an It Bag?

The Dior saddle bag debuted in Galliano’s Spring Summer 2000 collection, catching the eye of collectors and costume designers alike. Instantly recognizable, thanks to its huggable shape and branded hardware, the bag has become a cult classic with some rare iterations—including a 2004 tattoo-inspired piece by John Galliano—that command upwards of $10K on resale apps like Vestiaire Collective. (Again, we have Carrie Bradshaw to thank for this.)

First released as the Constance in 1961, this now-iconic silhouette quickly became a favorite of Jackie Kennedy Onassis and the fans who copied her every look. Reissued in 1999 during Tom Ford’s sexy Gucci revamp, the bag got a new geometric buckle and was reworked in several scintillating designs. My favorite? The extremely hard-to-find all-rubber version, a kinky take on a first-lady classic. If you can’t find one, Demna has you covered with his own renditions, like a new oversize Jackie for men.

Photographed for Harper’s Bazaar March 2026

The Nicolas Ghesquière–designed slouchy leather silhouette quickly became an emblem of early-aughts downtown cool, worn to filth by club rats and movie stars alike. While some of the original well-loved bags have deteriorated, their status as the go-to for girls who are unafraid to leave their purses on the ground in seedy bars has not. In fact, Demna doubled down on the Le City lore when he cast bad girls past and present, including Kate Moss and Amelia Gray, in his 2024 re-edition campaign.

Bold, slouchy, and adorned with a giant padlock, the Phoebe Philo–designed Chloé Paddington is the epitome of boho chic, thanks to its early adopters, which included fashion icons like Sienna Miller and Lindsay Lohan. Like any great It bag, the Paddington came in a rainbow of colors and sizes, as well as some metallic iterations that have recently become popular amongst the Depop set, weight be damned. As a result, the bag was recently reissued by Chloé creative director Chemena Kamali, the queen of laid-back chic.

Photographed for Harper’s Bazaar October 2025

Named after the date it was conceived (February 1955), the 2.55 purse, with its chain-link shoulder strap, was a symbol of both luxury and freedom for wealthy women of the era who were used to toting their pocketbooks by hand. Originally reissued by Karl Lagerfeld in the 1970s, then again for its 50th anniversary in 2005, the purse is one of the most enduring It bags of all time. Just look to Matthieu Blazy, who just sent Gabriella “Coco” Chanel’s original flap bag down the runway, its leather worn yet perfectly intact.

Photographed for Harper’s Bazaar March 2026

Named after the supermodel Jessica Stam, this cartoonish take on the doctor’s bag quickly became a must-have piece in the 2000s for It girls like Rihanna and Paris Hilton. I’ll never forget the first time I spotted a snake-print rendition on a wealthy friend’s shoulder. The year was 2006, and teenage me didn’t know much about luxury fashion, but I did know that the second I stepped out with that heavy gold chain dangling from my arm, I would be that girl. Fifteen years later, shortly before the brand reissued the bag, I finally secured a heavily discounted black iteration on Poshmark.

I like to think of the Proenza PS1 like the brainier older sister of the early-aughts It bags. Designed by Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, the PS1 was a high-fashion take on the classic book bag: sleek, sturdy, and a little nerdy—the perfect accoutrement for know-it-all hipsters. Thanks to an appearance on Gossip Girl’s Serena Van Der Woodsen and seeding amongst the ultrachic downtown set, the bag quickly became a must-have. In September, Rachel Scott, the brainy new creative director behind Proenza Schouler, sent her very own rendition of the PS1 down the runway. Only hers is called the Walker. It’s slouchier, sexier, and just as likely to become a major hit with the downtown set.