Time to bag a midi
ROSIE HUNTINGTON-WHITELEY knows that a flight isn’t a necessary evil to reach your destination, but a flex. Her recently posted private jet pic (above) – all blowdried hair resting against creamy leather upholstery – will make your next economy seat feel more budget than ever. But none of that compares to her plus one. Not Jason Statham, who sat opposite his wife in a very snazzy pinstriped suit, but Margaux, the impossible-to-get-your-hands-on bag from The Row. Also owned by fellow first-class travellers Jennie Kim, Margot Robbie and Jennifer Lawrence, Margaux is as elusive (and exclusive) as it gets, selling out almost as soon as she drops.
The reason? As well as being the textbook definition of stealth-wealth style – logoless and made of buttery soft leather – it’s the perfect example of the bag that’s been trending all season: the midi. Big enough to carry everything – even a tablet – with a practical inner cavity and multiple pockets, it’s the lite version of the kitchen-sink bag – better for your back but still able to fit all your crap (sorry, essentials). Miu Miu’s midi bags are the other cult style to carry, especially if you clip on a cornucopia of keychains, like the influencers at Paris Fashion Week (or curate them to look as if they’re on the point of exploding, gracefully of course, with your headphones, change of shoes or stylish on-the-go snack like a bag of Taralli). Ferragamo’s Hug is another such cult bag in the making.
Neither ludicrously capacious nor too diminutively proportioned to even fit your phone, the midi is the middle ground you’ve been looking for in a handbag. And it doesn’t have to break the bank. C Nicol, the contemporary handbag brand based in Scotland, has just released the Rosa, an update on a style that first dropped in 2018. ‘We’ve brought [it] back, but this time with a softer, slouchier, more casual feel,’ says founder Cathleen Nicol. ‘Our bag styles are typically on the smaller size, and while midi bags and totes aren’t new, I’ve seen an increase in people looking for larger, softer shapes of bags that don’t compromise on functionality and help people feel really “put together” when they wear them.’
Elsewhere, it’s also worth looking at Guess, M&S and COS, whose shoulder bag has external pockets for easy-access and plenty of room besides for your water bottle, change of shoes and dog-eared book club read. Who says you can’t have it all?